13 Reasons Why Do Termites Choose Your Home – Termites! They’re in your home, eating up all of the wood and causing structural damage. What attracts termites to a house? Here are 13 reasons why they choose yours over another one.
1. Old trees in the yard.
The conditions inside the old tree may be just right for a termite colony. If you have an old tree stump or roots in the ground, it attracts all kinds of pests, including termites. Make sure to have these removed by a professional if they’re close enough to your house that they might affect it.
2. Old equipment stored near the home.
You might have stored a barbeque or a lawnmower against the side of your house years ago without thinking about it being a potential food source for future pests like termites. Now you’ve got dry rot or termites in your home.
3. Cutting the lawn too short.
Keeping your grass cut short attracts termites because they can’t hide in tall blades of grass. Cut around your foundation to about 2 inches, then maintain that length throughout the hot weather to reduce the risk of attracting pests like termites.
4. Improper waterproofing.
Make sure you’ve got all proper types of insulation on pipes and water lines leading into your house, with caulk where needed, including around windows and doors. Seal leaks immediately before they cause more severe problems like creating an entry point for pests like termites, ants, or cockroaches.
5. Hiring an unlicensed pest control specialist.
You might think you’re getting the best price possible by hiring someone not licensed to perform exterminating work, but you could be inviting all kinds of pests into your home, including termites.
These people often cut corners with pesticides and don’t have the same expertise as a reputable company, putting your family at risk for dangerous health conditions like cancer or respiratory distress.
6. Not keeping up with general maintenance.
Keeping up on general house cleaning is essential in keeping termites out of your home, especially if you live in an area that attracts termites. Your garage may still house old oil; paint can ensure there’s no leftover paint or refinishing materials, including old wooden planks.
Make sure to store all chemicals in specially made cabinets that pests like termites can’t get to.
7. Leaving dead tree branches near the home for too long.
Dead tree limbs hanging over your roof or too close to your foundation are just asking for problems, including termites.
Cut off any branches touching the house within 12 inches of the ground. If there’s more than one branch, consider cutting them all off at once and burning them rather than stacking them up against the side of your house where they might attract termites.
8. Not properly maintaining gutters.
Gutters need to be flush with the walls on both sides, so they drain properly. This is where termites can get in quickly, so make sure yours are working correctly by inspecting them every year and cleaning them out when needed.
9. Lack of landscaping near the house.
If you don’t want grass growing too close to your foundation, consider using landscaping bushes, wildflowers, or other types of plants to give termites fewer places to get inside your home.
10. Not taking care of general maintenance.
Blocked gutters are one thing, but even clogged gutters cause severe damage when water pools around your foundation. This attracts termites and other pests, as well as bacteria that can grow in pooled water.
Make sure you clean out gutters at least once a year so they drain properly and have any leaks fixed right away to prevent this from happening.
11. Overgrown vegetation.
You might think bushes or trees near your house can help provide shade in the summertime, but overgrown plants will attract many pests, including termites. Keep these pruned back from your home between them and the house.
Any overgrown vegetation near the foundation of your house should be removed or trimmed back as well.
12. Excessive humidity.
Many people don’t realize that termites are attracted to the smell of moisture, cellulose, and wood. If you want to reduce your chances of attracting these pests, try reducing the humidity in your home by using air conditioning or installing a dehumidifier.
You can also seal cracks around windows and doors with silicone caulk, so they stay closed tightly when it rains outside. These two changes should help lower the risk of having an infestation inside your house this year!
13. Leaking pipes.
The water that leaks from pipes attract termites into your home. They use the water to drown any bugs in the area. When they are flooded, they offer them protection by surrounding them with streams of their bodies. If excess moisture is coming into your home via pipes, that’s an obvious issue.
You can check for leaks with a simple solution of food coloring and water (clear is best so you can see it quickly). Place the mixture at suspected areas in your basement or around your pipes and see if any of those spots change color.
13 Reasons Why Do Termites Choose Your Home – Conclusion
In summary:
Moisture attracts them – Termites need water to survive, so if you have leaky pipes, it will draw them from miles away. Fire attracts them – If there is a fire near or inside your home, don’t be surprised when termite numbers increase rapidly.
Food attracts them – Well-cooked meats and other food scraps can attract many types of pests, including termites, cockroaches, ants, and mice which means that the more trash you leave around, the more likely it will attract them.
Structure attracts them – If your home is full of cracks and holes, it attracts termites by giving them away. Pests attract them – Termites usually come from nearby areas where there are serious pests, which means that if you have mice or ants in your yard, you should also expect to see termite activity increase.
Wood attracts them – They love wood due to the starch content, so don’t be surprised when termites start eating your house away. Openings attract them – Have you ever noticed how termites will follow the grain pattern on wood? This is because they are looking for any gaps or cracks that they can use to get inside your home.
Hidden attracts them – If you haven’t looked closely at your house, you likely don’t know where their colony nests could be hiding.
Flooding attracts them- Termites tend to increase in numbers when there has been a lot of flooding, which is why it’s essential to make sure your home stays dry.
We hope you enjoyed and learned something from this article – 13 Reasons Why Do Termites Choose Your Home. Good luck and if you need any pest control services, feel free to call us, and we will be here to assist you!