The 5 big Signs of Termites in your Home
Here are the five big signs of a termite infestation in your home during the winter. If you see any of these telltale signs of termites, you should immediately call our team.
1. Mud tubes
The most visible sign of a termite infestation are the mud tubes they create. These tubes, primarily made of dirt, help the termites move to their food source. The tubes protect the termites and maintain a humid and warm environment for the storage of food.
There are two places where you should keep an eye out for tubes:
Your foundation slab: Check the outside of your foundation slab periodically. Subterranean termites cannot eat through the slab, so they have to travel up it via mud tubes to get to the frame of your house. If you see distinctive mud tubes here, it’s time to call Cleaneat Fumigation and Pest Control Services
Your attic: Termites like attics here in Nigeria because they’re a source of accessible, exposed wood in a relatively undisturbed place. Look for mud tubes branching out between beams: this is how some termites travel from beam to beam.
Keep in mind that other mud tubes might be out-of-sight and out-of-mind behind walls, furniture, or parts of your garage.
2. Audible tapping
In heavily infested areas, you can hear an audible tapping. The tapping sound is made by the soldier termites as they tap their mandibles on the wood. This is to signal other termites that the colony is occupied.
If you hear audible tapping, you should contact a professional termite extermination company immediately for inspection and extermination of the termite colony.
3. Tiny holes in the wood
Look at the wood beams in your attic or elsewhere where you can see them. Are they exhibiting signs of tiny holes or other damage? That rarely happens naturally. More likely, it’s the work of termites.
Termite tubes found in the garage of a Chandler home.
However, you may not always see holes in wood. That’s because termites work from the inside-out, carving their way through wood without breaking back out to the surface. In that case, you need to keep an eye out for…
4. Hollow wood
Since termites eat away the interior of wood beams before breaking through to the surface, you can sometimes tap on the wood to hear if it’s hollow inside. If the wood cracks, that’s an obvious sign that it’s been weakened by an infestation.
5. Termite droppings
Finally, look for the debris that termites leave behind. This can include both droppings and something called “frass” — basically, the wood debris that termites leave as they bore through the wood in your home. This will look like a pile of dirt or very fine wood shavings. The droppings of termites can also resemble tiny pellets.
1. Mud tubes
The most visible sign of a termite infestation are the mud tubes they create. These tubes, primarily made of dirt, help the termites move to their food source. The tubes protect the termites and maintain a humid and warm environment for the storage of food.
There are two places where you should keep an eye out for tubes:
Your foundation slab: Check the outside of your foundation slab periodically. Subterranean termites cannot eat through the slab, so they have to travel up it via mud tubes to get to the frame of your house. If you see distinctive mud tubes here, it’s time to call Cleaneat Fumigation and Pest Control Services
Your attic: Termites like attics here in Nigeria because they’re a source of accessible, exposed wood in a relatively undisturbed place. Look for mud tubes branching out between beams: this is how some termites travel from beam to beam.
Keep in mind that other mud tubes might be out-of-sight and out-of-mind behind walls, furniture, or parts of your garage.
2. Audible tapping
In heavily infested areas, you can hear an audible tapping. The tapping sound is made by the soldier termites as they tap their mandibles on the wood. This is to signal other termites that the colony is occupied.
If you hear audible tapping, you should contact a professional termite extermination company immediately for inspection and extermination of the termite colony.
3. Tiny holes in the wood
Look at the wood beams in your attic or elsewhere where you can see them. Are they exhibiting signs of tiny holes or other damage? That rarely happens naturally. More likely, it’s the work of termites.
Termite tubes found in the garage of a Chandler home.
However, you may not always see holes in wood. That’s because termites work from the inside-out, carving their way through wood without breaking back out to the surface. In that case, you need to keep an eye out for…
4. Hollow wood
Since termites eat away the interior of wood beams before breaking through to the surface, you can sometimes tap on the wood to hear if it’s hollow inside. If the wood cracks, that’s an obvious sign that it’s been weakened by an infestation.
5. Termite droppings
Finally, look for the debris that termites leave behind. This can include both droppings and something called “frass” — basically, the wood debris that termites leave as they bore through the wood in your home. This will look like a pile of dirt or very fine wood shavings. The droppings of termites can also resemble tiny pellets.
Comments
Post a Comment