Termites can do a ton of damage to your home if you don’t find them in time. Both subterranean and drywood termites can lurk in Arizona homes and feed on wood. Over time, this can lead to structural damage that makes homes unsafe. Knowing which common places to look for termites in your home can help you detect a possible infestation.
Common Hiding Places for Termites
Termites can infest many different parts of your home, but they tend to hide in certain areas. These are the most common places to look for termites:
- Furniture: Drywood termites prefer to eat and nest in dry sources of wood, including wood furniture. This includes headboards, sofas, and chairs with wooden frames and patio or deck furniture.
- Window and door frames: Subterranean termites prefer softer sources of wood. This can include the wood around your windows and doors, especially if these areas are moist or damp due to water damage or other causes.
- Walls: Subterranean termites can end up infesting the walls inside your home, especially in areas that offer moisture, such as near pipes. If you have had any water damage to your home, these termites can eat their way through rotted or softened wood easily. This can cause significant damage to structural areas of your home since termites hidden inside walls are difficult to detect. These hidden areas allow them to continue eating away at wooden walls for months or years.
- Attics: Subterranean termites can make their way into your attic by building mud tubes on the interior of your walls or on plumbing lines. Drywood termites can enter your home through rotted or damaged wood on your home.
- Crawlspaces and basements: These areas inside homes can provide easy access for termites if they have damaged wood or any openings, such as small cracks. Subterranean termites can typically find the moisture they need in this part of your home since a basement or crawlspace tends to have a higher humidity level.
Causes of Termite Infestations
What draws termites to homes? Subterranean and drywood termites both eat the cellulose inside wood as the main part of their diet. Going into homes provides them with a plentiful supply of wood to feed on. A few factors that can raise your risk of termites include:
- Moisture: Subterranean termites need moisture in order to survive. They can find it in areas of your home that are damp or moist, such as near leaky pipes or in areas where your home doesn’t have good airflow. Clogged gutters and overwatered soil can also put your home exterior at risk of having water-damaged wood that attracts termites.
- Wood next to homes: Termites can use sources of wood or soil next to homes to gain access to them. This includes shrubs and bushes that touch home exteriors, stacks of firewood, and mulch.
- Gaps in exteriors: Termites can get through tiny gaps and cracks in a home’s exterior. Subterranean termites build tubes out of mud that connect to these openings and use them to go back and forth to their nest.
What to Do About a Termite Infestation
If you find termites in your home, you’ll need to take action right away. The professionals at Budget Brothers Termite and Pest Elimination can come to your home and check for termites with a thorough inspection.
This inspection includes the most common places to look for termites, as well as other places they might be hiding. Having professionals look for these pests helps ensure that infestations are found and dealt with promptly.
If you need termite removal for your Arizona home, contact Budget Brothers Termite and Pest Elimination immediately.
