Termites can damage your wood structures like fences and buildings. Therefore, identifying a termite infestation early and performing professional termite control is important to protect the wood on your property. But how do you know that termites are present on your property? Here are the indicators.
Hollow Wood
As termites feed on wood, they leave tunnels in the wood. Therefore, if you knock or tap on wood damaged by termites, it may sound hollow. Note that damaged wood may not be strong enough to support your structure. This may threaten the structural integrity of your home. In this regard, call termite control services to confirm termite presence on your wood. Once the professionals positively identify the termites, the professionals may use various termite control methods, including spraying chemicals to eradicate the destructive insects from your property.
Wood Components Damage
Termites may eat away at your walls. This damage may resemble water damage as your paint may appear bubbly. Also, severe insect damage may cause your floors, walls, or ceilings to warp or crack. Furthermore, termites may damage your window or door frames, leading to functional problems. Hence, you need to inspect your walls to confirm termite presence. This can help you implement effective termite control interventions.
Termite Droppings
When dry wood termites feed on wood, they may produce frass. Frass refers to wood-brown droppings of dry wood termites. Termites usually push out the frass from their mud tubes, resulting in dark and powdery matter around termite-infested areas. However, you may mistake frass for sawdust. So, take time to inspect suspect areas to be sure of a termite infestation.
Mud Tubes
Exposure of termites to direct sunlight may cause dehydration of these insects. Therefore, termites usually bud mud tubes from mud and sometimes their droppings. These tubes are channels where termites move from one place to another. You're likely to see mud tubes near your home's foundation.
Flying Termites
Flying termites or alates leave the nest in large swarms to find mates. Nevertheless, you may mistake skates for flying ants. But alates have a straight body and two even-sized wings, while ants have a pinched waist and uneven wings. Besides, when alates find a mate, they shed wings. Hence, you may notice discarded wings around windows or doors.
The signs of a termite infestation include termite dropping, hollow-sounding wood, flying termites, wood components damage, and mud tubes. Consider hiring termite control services when you see these indicators.
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