SAY GOODBYE TO TERMITES: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TERMITE CONTROL FOR AIKEN PROPERTIES

You spend a lot of money to make sure your home stays in good shape. Many homeowners invest in expensive insurance plans to ensure their property is safe in case of a disaster. These plans are great for protecting against things like fires, storms, and other unforeseen events. 

Unfortunately, home insurance plans do not provide coverage for pests like termites. Why? Unlike other disasters that might happen indoors, termites are considered preventable. For this reason, insurance providers have decided that it is your job to stop these pests before they invade and cause trouble. Keeping this in mind, we would like to offer you some helpful options to prevent and deal with active termite infestations in Aiken. 

Take some time today to learn more about these wood-devouring little insects and find the best ways to identify and address an active problem on your property. Reach out to our qualified team at Aiken Pest Control to learn more about our service offerings and discover how easy termites are to deal with when you have a professional on your side. We will walk you through your options for pest control in Aiken, and you'll find what you need to stop invasive and destructive bugs. 

How To Identify Termites: Types, Behaviors, And Warning Signs

When termites invade local homes, they do so quietly and in a way that makes them difficult to identify. Subterranean termites, the most common type of termite in Aiken, invade homes through tunnels underground. 

If termites are able to find an area where soil directly touches the wood of your house, they will be able to get indoors without leaving behind any initial signs of infestation. If there is a non-wood gap between the exterior soil and the wood on your house, these insects will need to build mud tubes to travel upwards safely. Mud tubes can be more difficult to spot if hidden inside cracks, gaps, or other openings in your home's exterior.

Another early sign of termites is swarmers. Termite swarmers are winged reproductive members tasked with flying away from mature nests to find new areas to build. If you see these insects around your home's exterior, it means they are looking at your home as a potential food supply. If swarmers are indoors, it could mean you are already dealing with an active infestation. 

After termites have been inside a home for a while, they begin to leave behind more obvious signs of their presence. These signs usually accompany severe water damage and the hollowing out of structural wood. Common clues that may indicate a termite infestation include overly-tight doors and windows, squeaky floors, sagging ceilings or floors, buckling beams, and visible moisture spots. 

If you are uncertain whether or not your home has an active infestation, call our team at Aiken Pest Control for a thorough termite inspection. An inspection will allow us to identify any active threats inside or around your home so we can properly design a treatment plan that will meet your needs.

Understanding The Termite Threat: Why Termites Infest Homes

Understanding termites and the threats they pose is important. Besides, understanding your enemy is half of the battle. The first thing we want you to know about these pests is that they do not destroy homes in a day. It often takes months for them to cause considerable damage. What you can be certain of is that they will eat away at it consistently. As colonies mature and split, the speed at which damage can occur will drastically increase, and why early identification is so important. 

The second thing we want you to know about termites is that the damage they do is hard to address. These insects create tunnels that span across support beams, struts, and other structural wood. By the time you notice a problem, damage can be extensive and require large repair projects costing thousands of dollars. 

The final thing we want you to know about termites is why they infest homes. All termites are motivated by sources of cellulose. Cellulose is the main component in wood and other organic materials like leaves. Often, infestations start outside of homes around yards and other outdoor spaces. 

Subterranean termites love munching on things like wet cardboard, fallen trees, decaying stumps, sticks, leaves, and many other similar treats. If they can snack on these things on your property, it is only a matter of time before they will look to your home for food. 

Subterranean termites check homes for sections of water-damaged, rotting, or decaying wood that they can infest. If they find what they are looking for, they will invade and start causing serious trouble. The same principles are true for outbuildings like sheds and garages. 

If you want to reduce your chances of finding these pests inside your home or on your property, it is important to have some form of termite prevention in place. There are many great options for this, including DIY and professional strategies. Next, we'll discuss some DIY options to consider.

Prevention Is Key: How To Remove Factors That Attract Termites

As a professional termite control provider, we offer lots of amazing options to combat termites around your home and property. However, this does not mean that we will withhold DIY options from you that can help deter these pests. 

Here are a few simple tips and tricks that will help you keep termites away from your home and property:

• Termites find it easier to invade homes that offer easy access from exterior soil to structural wood. Thoroughly check your home's exterior for gaps, holes, and cracks. Seal any of these potential entry points using silicone caulk or liquid cement.
• Termites love yards that have lots of things to munch on. Check your property for things like sticks, leaves, wet cardboard, fallen trees, and dead stumps. If possible, remove these items to reduce the chance of finding food near your home.
• Most termites require moisture to survive and thrive. Do your best to address as many moisture problems around your property as possible. These may include fixing damaged pipes, cleaning out and repairing your gutters, eliminating sources of water buildup, terraforming your yard to channel water away from your home's structural wood, and other similar things. 
• Termite infestations often start outside of the home. Check your property regularly for signs of termites inside trees, stumps, and other similar items around your yard and property. 
• Termites will feed off of any source of wood that suits their needs. Store all untreated lumber and firewood at least 30 feet from your home's exterior. With this, make sure these piles are covered and kept dry.
• Termites like humid environments. Take precautions indoors to reduce humidity by using a dehumidifier; this is especially important in areas like basements and crawl spaces.

To be completely honest, stopping termites on your own is challenging. These pests are elusive and nearly impossible to control once they establish a foothold. If you are looking for a reliable option to stop these insects before they cause considerable damage to your home and outbuildings, you need professional help. 

Our team at Aiken Pest Control will be more than happy to help you find solutions to deal with these insect invaders effectively. All you need to do is start a conversation with our team and learn more about our advanced pest control offerings. 

Professional Termite Control: Long-Term Termite Control And Protection

At Aiken Pest Control, we believe that everyone should have proper protection against pests like termites. For this reason, we provide advanced treatment offerings to deal with these and other invasive local species. 

Whether you suspect your home has active termites or you are looking for a reliable way to prevent these pests year-round, we have options for you to consider. For termites, in particular, we use the Sentricon® System with Always Active. 

This treatment involves the installation of advanced bait stations. These stations work as a tasty and easy option for hungry termites to get a bite to eat. What these pests do not know is that the food inside Sentricon® stations contains a slow-working poison. Workers carry this poison back to their nests and spread it to other workers as well as soldiers and reproductives. 

This method works especially well to eliminate existing nests and prevent any future colonies that might consider settling on a property. The only question is, are you ready to have this prevention method installed and find permanent relief from the stress of termites? If you are, we are here to help. Let our team pay you a visit to walk you through our termite control process and make sure you have everything you need to identify, prevent, and eliminate these wood-eating creatures.

Contact our team at Aiken Pest Control today to learn more about our advanced pest control options and find the best method to combat termites here in Aiken.