Protect Your Home from Termites

Termites are insects who live below ground in colonies, and like to eat dead plants, trees, and wood. To a homeowner, an infestation of termites could be devastating, causing thousands of dollars in property damage. There are two main types of termite. The subterranean termite usually lives underground in soil, while the drywood termite finds its home in wood and furniture.[1] Both of these termites can destroy your home, but if you take the correct measures you can eradicate the termites you have and prevent them from coming back in the future.

Steps

Identifying a Termite Infestation

  1. Look for dead termites, termite wings, or termite droppings. These signs are a dead giveaway that you have a termite infestation.[1] Termites are similar in appearance to winged ants. Unlike ants however, termites often shed their wings.[2]
    • Termites will leave worm-like mud tunnels that are visible on the surface of walls within your house. These tunnels are used to protect worker termites.[3]
    • To determine if it’s an ant or a termite, look at its antennae. If they are bent, this is a sign you have flying ants. If they are straight then they are termites.[4]
  2. Examine wood in your house for small holes or sawdust-like matter. Termites like to live in dark, damp places and will often bore into wet wood to find a home.[5] Look for sawdust like material around any holes or cracks around your house.
    • The sawdust like matter is known as frass, which is a form of termite excrement.[3]
    • Probe the small holes with a pin or other thin object to see if you can locate an exit hole for the termites.[2]
  3. Look for paint that has bubbled or cracked. Termite tunnels that run too close to the paint on the surface of a wall will leave blisters and cracks.[5] This is a sign that termites have created colonies in the walls of your house.
    • Common places to look include your door, window frames, trim, perimeter, walls, and baseboards, especially if your house is constructed of wood.[6]
    • Check any place in your house that contains wood if you suspect there are termites.
  4. Knock on non-hollowed walls to see if they’ve been hollowed by the termites. Termites are capable of breaking down cellulose in wood which creates a digestible food source for them.[7] Sometimes this can include entire walls.
    • Solid walls should make a thud noise and sound like there is something behind it.
    • If your walls make a hollow or echoey sound when you knock on them, there’s a good chance your walls are hollow and you have termites.[8]
  5. Look at places that have moisture or cellulose material. Termites are attracted to wet wood, whether it be a part of your house or a wood pile next to your property. These are the most likely places you’ll find termites, so examine these areas of your property carefully.
    • Leaking pipes over wood flooring make a perfect breeding ground for termites.
    • Recycle leftover wood after you landscape to prevent your property from attracting termites.

Eliminating the Termites

  1. Create a barrier around your house using liquid termiticide treatment. A termiticide treatment will not only kill termites in the ground, but will protect your house from any termites trying to burrow into it.[9] Create a trench around your house, then spray termiticide in a perimeter around your house, in the trench, which will create a natural barrier.
    • This treatment is a lot easier to perform when you are building a new house.
    • Trenching may be necessary if your house is already built.[9]
  2. Use a termite bait to poison the entire colony of termites. Termite bait is a poison that slowly acts to kill termites. It also spreads the poison around the colony to eradicate the infestation.[10] Place the baits in a perimeter around your house, each bait being 10-12 feet apart. Add additional baits in areas where there is high termite activity.
    • Termite baits are made of cardboard, paper, or other cellulose material, with a lethal poison for termites.[11]
    • You can use either above or below ground baits.
  3. Use nematodes to kill the termite colony. Nematodes are roundworms that can kill termites.[12] Expose the termite colonies to nematodes by releasing them in areas where there is high termite activity.
    • This is not always the most effective method of extermination. Nematodes have varying mortality rates depending on their environment.
    • The Steinernema carpocapsae is one of the most effective types of nematode to eradicate termites and other wood borers.[13]
  4. Call in a professional to remove the termites. While do-it-yourself methods may seem appealing, your best solution is to hire a professional to remove the termites. Look online for exterminators who specialize in removal of termites and their colonies. Make sure to read user reviews and choose an exterminator who has a good reputation.
    • Calling in a professional may cost more money initially, but will save you money on repairing structural damage around your house.
    • Talk about future prevention methods with the exterminator as well.

Preventing Future Infestations

  1. Get termite inspections done annually by a professional. A professional exterminator will typically have the knowledge to spot a termite infestation before it’s too late. The earlier you catch termites, the easier it is to deal with them.
    • If you live in a densely wooded area, you may be more prone to termites.
    • Make sure the service is part of the National Pest Control Association or your local or state pest control association.[14]
    • Ensure that the company offers a guarantee with their service.
  2. Remove cellulose based debris from around your house. If you have any sort of organic material made of wood around your house, make sure you’re disposing of it. The longer it’s allowed to stay out and gain moisture, the more likely it will attract termites to your location.
    • You can make compost out of your landscaping trimmings.[15] Breaking it down will prevent termites from infesting the wood.
    • Another alternative is to contact your local municipality and ask about wood recycling in your area.
  3. Eliminate wood to ground contact in your house. Termites can enter your house easily if there is wood making contact with the ground. Some examples of this include a wood lattice, wood siding, and door or window frames that make contact with the ground. Anything made of wood should be at least six inches above ground level, to prevent termites from getting into your house.[16]
    • You may have to put a concrete base on some wooded items on your house.
    • Cutting off the base of wood lattice work that touches the ground will help you keep termites out of your house.
  4. Have your house pre-treated for termites. If you're building a new home make sure to consider getting your house pre-treated for termite prevention. It’s much easier to set a termite barrier with termiticide before you begin construction, by creating the barrier on the land where the house will be.
    • If you live in the southwest of the US, you should highly consider this option, as this is where most termites are found.[17]
  5. Remove termite access by filling cracks in your house. After locating where you think the termites may be coming from, make sure to fill the holes and treat the surrounding area with termiticide to prevent further termite infestations. [18]
    • Laying down termite poison around entry points will kill them before they can begin boring new tunnels.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.orkin.com/termites/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.jcehrlich.com/termites/identification/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.orkin.com/termites/termite-droppings/
  4. ↑ http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/diff.htm
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.catseyepest.com/blog/tips-protect-your-home-termites-termite-awareness-week
  6. ↑ http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1232/
  7. ↑ https://www.terminix.com/termite-control/termite-facts/
  8. ↑ https://www.terminix.com/termite-control/behavior/do-termites-make-noise/
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/esps/factsheets/household_structural/subterranean_termite_control_hs01.html
  10. ↑ https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef639
  11. ↑ http://www.doityourselftermitecontrol.com/overview-termite-baiting.html
  12. ↑ http://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az13591b.pdf
  13. ↑ http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/nematodes.php
  14. ↑ http://www.doityourselftermitecontrol.com/choosing-professional-termite-company.html
  15. ↑ http://homeguides.sfgate.com/recycle-wood-79134.html
  16. ↑ https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef605
  17. ↑ http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Isoptera/
  18. ↑ http://www.termites.com/damage/protection-prevention/termite-prevention/
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