While termites are not harmful to humans, they can cause structural damage to homes, which is quite expensive to repair. The most damage a termite can do to you is a bite, which is painful but not toxic. Also, they don’t bite unless they’re provoked.
Your main concern should be the damage these termites can cause to your home. Termites are destructive, and interestingly, you can go for years without ever detecting that your home is infested. A single colony will cause extreme damage, and they will continue eating at your property if they aren't exterminated. How do you exterminate termites?
1. Inspection
Contact your pest management services in Woodlands Tx to come and inspect your home for termites. Before they arrive, prepare your home for easy access by clearing areas like the garage, attic, exterior walls, sinks, etc.
The inspector will look for signs of termite activity in the home, such as:
- Discarded wings- this points to the evidence of swarms as they tend to shed wings once they're out of the nest. As they seek to build new colonies, swarmers will shed their wings as they don't need them. You'll often find these wings near windows. If you find wings, the chances are that you also saw the flying termites (swarmers). Some species of swarmers are attracted to light and swarm at night while others swarm during the day.
- Headbanging- if you can hear a quiet clicking sound, especially near the walls, it's a sign that your house is infested with termites. It's a way of communication made by banging their bodies against the tunnels. The termites use the 'click sound' to alert other termites when there is danger. If you're keen, you can also hear worker termites chewing at the wood.
- Mud tubes- termites dry out quickly; thus, they need a humid environment to survive. They build mud tubes to sustain these humid conditions. They burrow underground, whether there is moisture and come out when looking for food. These mud tubes protect them from the element.
If you find mud tubes in or around your house in Woodlands Tx, crack it to see if there are termites, or you can wait a few days to see if it was repaired. That’s a sign that your home is infested. Keep in mind that not all termites build mud tubes.
- Wood damage- compared to the other signs on this list, wood damage is always the hardest to spot. Termite
- s burrow into wood and continue damaging the wood from the inside. It could take years before you notice the damage. However, you can go around the house tapping the wood and listening to the difference in sounds. Areas that sound hollow are likely infested with termites.
2. Termite control
After verifying that your house is infested with termites, it’s time to eradicate them. You can use:
- Sand
If you’re environmentally conscious and prefer to use non-chemical means to eradicate the termites, sand can be a good starting point. As mentioned earlier, termites burrow into the soil to look for a humid environment to survive. Therefore, if you take away their humid environment, the area becomes inhabitable.
Unlike loam or clay soil, sand doesn’t retain moisture. The termites will also find it impossible to tunnel through sand, which is an effective deterrent against termites. Apply termite around fence posts, terraces, crawl spaces, or any other termite hotspot. It will prevent the spread of termites by isolating them in a single location.
- Nematodes
Another non-chemical option would be the use of nematodes. These are parasites that feed on their hosts, such as termites until they die. They are safe as they don’t affect humans, plants, or pets.
- Soil treatment
If your house is infested with subterranean termites, you can use soil treatment to kill the colony and prevent future infestation. Begin by digging a trench around the foundation of your home, treat the soil using a termiticide, and refill the trench.
- Baits
Bait systems are perfect for destroying colonies as you use baits with slow-acting insecticides that have zero or negligible impact on the environment and humans. Once you place the baits in the soil, the termites will eventually find them as they return to their colonies. They will feed on the baits and die.
- Wood treatment
Termites burrow on wood, thus treating any wood in your home would kill the current infestation and prevent future infestations. Wood treatments come in the form of foams, surface sprays, injected sprays, borate wood treatment, etc.
Conclusion
Termites cause billions of dollars in property damage every year. They're silent workers, and they will gradually damage your home without you ever knowing until it's too late. You can prevent excessive damage by inspecting your home regularly and implementing preventative measures that will deter termites. When dealing with termites, a proactive approach is always better as it can prevent significant structural damage.
