updated blog post Black Homeowners Guide to Fighting Termites - 6 Signs You Have Them
The termites are coming! With the combination of unseasonable weather, a slow real estate market, and lack of termite inspections and control, termites continue increase at alarming rates - especially in African American neighborhoods. Other than water, termites are your homes many enemy. They love to moderately eat away at your homes foundation. In fact, all they do is eat and make love, not a bad life if you ask me. But I digress.
Black Homeowners Guide to Fighting Termites - 6 Signs You Have Them
The three groups of termites that love to snack on your home are dampwood termites, drywood termites and subterranean termites.
The most lethal to your homes structure and foundation comes from drywood termites and subterranean termites. Drywood termites live above ground and love mostly warm coastal locations. For example, California, Texas, Florida, Louisiana.
Subterranean termites have the largest population and are in the most locations, thus pose the biggest threat to the largest amount of homes.
Here's Five Signs You Have Termites:
1. Hallow wood.
Poke wood near foundation of your home with a pointed metal object. Severely damaged wood eaten from the inside is normally a sign of termites.
2. Dirt in wood.
Termite love moisture, so many population often confuse termite damage with water damage and vice-versa. The best way to identify termite damage is that termite bring dirt up into the wood.
3. Large numbers of winged termites swarming from wood or the soil often are the first noticeable sign of termites. Termites normally swarm in early spring. You may also consideration winged termites swarming nearby wind sills.
4. Other signs of termites contain mud tubes and mud advent from cracks between boards and beams nearby or under your home.
5. Light attracts winged termites and they shed their wings in window sills, cobwebs, and other on other surfaces . When you consideration winged termites or the wings they shed inside your home, this is often a sign of termite infestation. Consult a mighty termite company.
6. Result the moisture trail.
Moisture is the amount 1 source that attracts termites. Check areas nearby your house that constantly moist. For example under leaky faucets, sprinklers, pipes, puddles, etc.
Follow the water. "Moisture is probably the No. 1 draw for termites," says Potter. So look in areas beside the house where moisture holds - under leaky faucets or nearby air-conditioning units - "anything that lets water puddle close to the foundation."
What To Do If You See Termite Signs or Clues.
First don't panic. Fortunately termites like to savor what they eat, so they are slow eaters. Agreeing to termite experts it normally takes a colony five years to eat straight through a pound of wood. But if you consideration an infestation you should call in a professional, you most likely have multiple colonies happening.
How to preclude Termites
The best safety from termites is prevention.
Here's five tips to preclude involving termites to evening meal at your home.
1. Avoid stacking of allowing wood or wood products against your home, like lumber, tree branches or limbs. This is like putting a juicy piece of meat out for your termites, a very involving evening meal bell.
2. Avoid allowing moisture to stand close to your homes foundation. This is also very involving to termites, they adore moisture, it's very refreshing to them, they like having a drink with their evening meal too.
3. Homeowner with decks love storing wood and wood products underneath. This is also like placing a let's do lunch invitation to hungry termites.
4. Make sure you keep dirt nearby your home from touching the wood siding of your house. This allows subterranean termites to certainly enter your home. It's like providing elevator service. Make sure you keep the wood nearby your home at least 12 inches off the ground, Agreeing to University of California's Integrated Pest supervision Program.
5. Make sure you precise anything that allows standing water, moisture or doesn't allow water to simply flow away from your homes high-priced foundation. A dry foundation is boring to termites.
Termites damage is responsible for billions of dollars in damage to homes and industrial building every year, Agreeing to a up-to-date University of California study. Now you have simple, effective tips to identify and preclude these pesky creatures from certainly eating you out of house and home.
If you presume you may have termites consult your local pest operate enterprise for a free inspection.
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