Termites can be seemingly invisible. They can spend weeks, months, and sometimes even years, undetected inside the walls of your home. Before you know it, you’re seeing signs of damage as the structural integrity of your home has been compromised.
Is there any way to detect termites before they cause damage to your home? Can you protect yourself from these unseen pests? What should you do if you suspect termite activity in your home? Here are some tips to help you identify termite presence and prevent their entry in the first place.
What Are Termites, Anyway?
Termites are small insects that feed on cellulose found in wood. The reason they are so dangerous to homeowners is that they can get inside your walls and feed on the wooden structures of your home without you noticing.
Termites live in a caste system. Worker termites feed the colony and can’t survive in the open. Soldier termites protect the colony. Alates, or swarmer termites, are the only ones who can reproduce. In the summer, they emerge from the nest and head off to find a mate and a place to start a new colony.
Termites eat wood, but they don’t live inside your walls. Instead, in Florida you’re probably dealing with subterranean termites who, as their name implies, live underground and build tunnels from the soil to the wood where they feed.
Quick Tips For Termite Identification
Worker and soldier termites are rarely seen. They spend all their time underground or inside of wood. Workers are creamy white and 1/8 of an inch long. Soldiers look very similar but have larger heads and jaws. You may, however, see swarmer termites in the spring. These are the reproductive members of the colony and are both darker and larger than workers and soldiers.
Flying termites or their discarded wings are an important sign that you might have a termite problem and should call for help.
Other signs of termite presence are soft clicking noises that seem to be coming from the walls, mud tubes along the foundation of your home, and tight-fitting doors and windows. Once the damage is severe, you may also notice that the floors, walls, or ceiling appear uneven or drooping.
If this is the case, you want to call Pest-Aside for an immediate inspection before the damage becomes irreversible.
Preventing Future Infestations
When it comes to termites, you need to know how to prevent an infestation before it’s too late. The best way to deal with these pests is to keep them away in the first place. Here are some tips:
Store firewood as far from your home as possible.
Clear your yard of debris such as branches, stumps, or even cardboard.
Reduce the moisture in your home using a dehumidifier.
Fix leaks promptly.
Repair water damaged or storm damaged wood.
Minimize the amount of soil-to-wood contact.
Call Pest-Aside for year-round prevention.
Knowing whether or not you have termites in your home is the first step in protection. However, it’s just as important to know who to call if you suspect termite presence.
We at Pest-Aside will help you determine whether or not you have termites. If you do, we’ll create a treatment plan that works for you, so you can find long-term relief from these pests. Don’t spend your summer worrying about termites, let us eliminate the worry.