How to identify Termite Infestation? Termites are insect pests that can chew through solid wood. If they eat enough of your house, without being found, they can demolish it. They use underground tunnels to move around and have wood-based nests all through your home, and are attracted to moisture.
If you think you have termites, it is important to act fast, as they can eat quite quickly, and soon will demolish the wooden structure of your home, causing it to collapse.
Signs that You Have Termites
1.They build mud tubes, that they use to shelter in.
So it is a good idea to keep moist soil and earth from around your house. The mud tubes are a common warning sign of their presence.
2.Power short circuits
This is another sign of their presence, as they are attracted to the warmth of the electrical supply. Inspect your electrical supply and power points to be sure there is no termite mud build-up around them.
3. Damage to the floor or ceiling
The termites will wreak a lot of damage on the structure of your property by eating through ceiling beams and skirting boards. Tap the skirting to see if it is hollow, as the termite will eat through from the inside.
4. Flying insects at dusk.
A white-winged insect is a termite flying around and is an indication of a colony of termites nearby. These are known as Alates and can reproduce in rotting wood, like an old tree stump on your property.
5. Cracking Walls.
A cracked wall can look like minor water damage but can be termites damage and difficult to fix. If you notice this sort of damage it is too late to remediate it, and you will need to call in an expert to demolish the termites.
What to do Next
You need to know whether you have termites or not, very quickly. So you call in an expert who will be able to tell you. Sometimes they may bring a termite dog, usually a Beagle or a Bassett who sniffs around the wood paneling and gets very excited when he sniffs termites in the skirting, a bit like a drug dog at the airport.
The expert will note if the doors are tight-fitting, or if there are any termites droppings to be seen. He will want to inspect the attic and under the floor, if you have a subfloor space. and you have termites under the floors, the floor could be sagging.
Termites Eat Quickly
A termite colony contains an average of three million termites, and they can eat through a whole board of your house in around 48 hours. So a termite can destroy your home very quickly. Sometimes the colony leave and will go somewhere else, but not before they have caused a lot of damage.
The first sign that termites are present in your house may just be damaged wood. Make sure that if you build a new house that no wood is buried in the ground as fill during the construction phase. If this happens it is not just if you will attract termites, but when they will arrive.
This is another reason why your house should be kept in good repair, as moisture and damp leaks will also act as an invitation to the termite to move in. Even untreated garden mulch can be attractive to the termite and encourage them to invade your house.
What species of Termites have Invaded Your House
- Subterranean Formosan termites may even attack a living tree.
- Drywood
- Dampwood
You will then need to know how large the termite colony is and get it eradicated fast.
How to identify Termite Infestation? –
How do you Keep Termites out of Your House?
There is a lot you can do to keep termites away from your house. If you have a lot of wood in your house, the only way you can be certain that they don’t move in is to have an annual inspection and treatment for termites carried out by a Pest Inspector. He may either apply a treatment to the soil or treat the wood.
How to identify Termite Infestation? – Conclusion
Once the termites get into your house they can do terrible damage, so it is much better to keep them away from the start with an annual treatment.