Familiarising yourself with the signs of an infestation can help you protect your property from the costly effects of termite damage.
A termite infestation can be hard to spot as they live underground and eat away at wood from the inside.Rentokil shares some tips…
What are termites?
Termites are a species of wood-boring insects. This means that they attack the wood on your property, and that weakens the structure of your home.
Even properties built primarily out of brick or stone can still suffer from termite damage because structural supports, as well as other building components, are constructed of wood and other cellulose-based materials -the substances on which termites like to feed.
Why are termites a problem?
A termite infestation can be hard to spot as they live underground and eat away at wood from the inside. Termite damage can therefore run into millions of rands, as they can steadily eat away at the structure of your home for years without any obvious signs to alert you to the damage they are causing.
When you consider that untreated termite damage can cause structural instability, it’s no wonder that termite damage can be so costly. This is why termite control is so important.
What should I look out for?
Termites need two things to survive, wood and moisture, so minimising access to both of these is a good start to protecting your home.Be on the lookout for termite swarms, mud tubes and piles of discarded wings, which are an indication of an infestation.
After termites swarm, which is typically during warm spring days, they can shed their wings and leave piles of them behind.
Termites need two things to survive, wood and moisture, so minimising access to both of these is a good start to protecting your home. While it’s always best to get a professional pest control company in to survey for termites, there are a few practical termite control tips that homeowners can employ to protect their homes.
Wood that directly touches soil gives termites easy access to your property. To deal with this, regularly inspect fence posts, trellises and landscaping ties.
Checking firewood that’s stacked up against the house, mulch that touches the house, structural supports and wood debris (often from building) buried in the soil will help you spot early signs of termites.
A seemingly small leak can create perfect moisture conditions for termites. Whenever possible, try to fix leaky tapes, gutters and downspouts that leave water near the foundation.
To discourage termite activity around your property ground sloping toward the foundation and fix insufficient ventilation in basements and crawl spaces.
For more information, visit the website.
Print
