Termites: How to Identify and Control Them

Table Of Content

• How to Identify Termite Activity
• Is the Cost of Termite Treatment Worth It?
• Types of Termites and How They Get into Homes
• How to Prevent Termite Infestations
• STEP 7: Hire a professional if you need help or if the infestation is too large to handle with DIY methods.
• Venture Inside This Eco-Conscious Costa Rica Home
• Related Products
• What Types Of Situations Commonly Require Tenting?

They might also build tubes from the ground up through a crack in a crawl space. You could start with the below methods and see how effective they are, but there’s a chance you’ll need to resort to stronger measures with help from a professional. Because worker termites spend their entire lives creating and maintaining tunnels, they’re the insects found in damaged wood. Soldier termites–with an even larger head and pincers than their worker counterparts–may also be present. Many homeowners discover they have a termite problem when they see a stream of swarmers emerging by the hundreds from a tiny crevice and flying off to form a new colony.

How to Identify Termite Activity

Unless you live in Washington State, Oregon, coastal California, or some other areas in the Southwest, it’s unlikely that dampwood termites are going to be the cause of your termite problem. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the many types of termites and how you can evict them from your property. Terminix has been battling termites for 95 years and offers advanced solutions. High moisture levels and lots of wood are the popular reasons for luring termites to your home. Putting these together, like rotted water-wood, is a feast for these little crawlers.

Is the Cost of Termite Treatment Worth It?

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Types of Termites and How They Get into Homes

Liquid or fumigation treatments will also cost extra and will depend on the scope of the infestation. Because of all these factors, it’s important to get price quotes from several termite control companies. You can also look for bodies of dead termites or termite parts like wings, which could indicate a termite infestation. Some of the best places to look for these signs include in spider webs, along window sills or inside light canisters. Flying termites—also called swarmers—shed their wings when a termite colony has reached maturity.

Hiring professionals guarantees that you not only get to keep your home but that you can eliminate all traces and potential recurrences of these egregious pests. This is one of the most popular DIY termite treatment methods out there, and it’s used for all sorts of insect infestations. Boric acid is a toxin in the form of a white powder that you can purchase in any supermarket or hardware store.

Pest management professionals have the knowledge, expertise, and equipment as required by the label, which minimizes risks and maximizes effectiveness. To make such determinations, we require more than 100 different scientific studies and tests from applicants. Most states also review the pesticide label to ensure that it complies with federal labeling requirements and any additional state restrictions of use. During construction, use a concrete foundation and leave a ventilation space between the soil and wood.

The fastest way to get rid of termites is to call a professional pest control company like Orkin or Terminix. These companies have access to high-quality products that can eradicate termites more quickly and completely than conventional DIY methods. If you suspect you have termites of either variety, call a professional pest control company to investigate. These tenacious pests can destroy the foundation of your home quickly. DIY methods may help slightly in the short term, but they’re no match for professional equipment, products, and expertise.

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One method is to walk around the outside of the home and caulk or repair cracks, gaps, and crevices where termites (and other pests) may be able to gain entry. Some of the most common culprits are windows and doors, but anywhere that pipes or ductwork are routed outside will also need to be checked. Subterranean and dampwood termites love moisture, so repairing leaks in the home’s plumbing or roof will make it less attractive to these varieties. Lastly, for new builds or repairs, choosing materials like termite-resistant wood can stop an infestation before it begins.

Termite damage often presents as water damage at first, what with the buckling paint, tight window frames and door frames, and swelling wood. All the damage is caused by termites tunneling through the wood in your floors, ceiling, and walls, and those structures expand as the termites build more and more nests and have more young. After that, floors and walls can give way completely due to the damage to their structural integrity. Most newly constructed homes these days have foundations made of concrete blocks.

To learn about the habits of termites in your area and state pesticide regulations, contact your state university or local cooperative extension service. Exterminators send high-voltage discharges through the wood and fry any termites present. (The same tool can also be used to find termite-weakened wood.) Effective as long as all the colonies are discovered. By removing some of the things that attract termites, you'll stand a better chance of controlling them. In some areas, you as a layperson can purchase termiticide yourself, like Termidor SC or Taurus SC.

This is a good treatment option for subterranean termites—sprinkle the affected outdoor areas with potting soil, water, and nematodes. For drywood termites, drill a hole in the infested piece of wood, fill it with termiticide, then putty over the holes. Drywood termites in particular leave behind fecal droppings on floors, window sills or other horizontal surfaces, Webb says. Other “remnants” of termites include discarded wings—they collectively shed their wings into piles before they start a new colony. The average termite damage repair costs thousands of dollars, according to Terminix.

If it’s a full-blown infestation, you need to call a pest control company or an exterminator. Hexaflumuron is the termiticide specifically designed to work in termite bait, like the popular Sentricon baiting system. Termites find the bait station, pick up the poison, and leave a trail indicating the food source’s location to the other termites. The termites then carry the chemical back to the colony, where all of the pests are slowly infected and killed.

New breed of termites invading South Tampa - FOX 13 Tampa

New breed of termites invading South Tampa.

Posted: Fri, 19 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The workers, the bugs that actually eat the wood, are visible only if you break into their tunnels or galleries, as are the soldiers that guard the nest. Termites can be a difficult pest to deal with, especially in warmer weather. For smaller infestations, there are many DIY solutions that homeowners can use and apply to get rid of termites. However, when dealing with large infestations, homeowners will want to look up “termite control near me” to choose a termite company that can handle the issue.

To help you, we’ll identify the signs of a termite infestation, discuss some ways to eradicate them, and recommend the best pest control providers for the job. If you suspect you might have a termite infestation, it’s wise to act quickly to keep the problem from getting worse. Once termites get inside your house, they can build additional colonies within your home and attack several different parts of the structure. For example, subterranean termites usually need to return to soil in order to reproduce and grow their colonies.

Termite spot treatment involves drilling holes into the wood where termites nest, filling the holes with termiticide, and sealing the holes. Termites are not able to detect termiticide on the wood and will ingest the poison unknowingly. Not only are termites who eat the termiticide affected, but one infected termite can spread the poison around to the rest of the colony like a viral infection. Drywood termites can be also exterminated with household items such as essential oils. Orange and neem oils inhibit termites’ ability to lay eggs or shed skin. To use these oils, combine 2 cups of water with 10 drops of oil and a squirt of dish soap in a spray bottle, then spray it onto the infested area.

Wall termites need moisture to survive, so as they inhabit the interior of your walls, they will bring some moisture inside with them. This moisture could react with your painted drywall surfaces, causing bubbles, flakes, peeling or cracks. There are several ways to treat termite infestations, depending on the severity of the problem. During the initial stages of a termite infestation, DIYers might be able to resolve the problem themselves, but if the infestation is widespread or severe, it’s best to contact a professional. Subterranean termites aren’t the only kind of pest that uses tubes that look like mud. For example, mud dauber wasps also build a series of tubes that they use as nests.