What To Do if You Have Termite Problems

Your home is their food. Termite infestation, if unnoticed, may cause catastrophic damage to the structural stability of your building, leaving behind a massive debt in your pocket simultaneously. 

If you have a termite problem, you can avoid the expensive and stressful damage by staying vigilant, knowing what to do, and reaching out for help in time. 

What Is Termite Damage?

Do termites damage wooden structures only? Well, the answer is no. These social creatures chew more than just hard and soft wood. They hog on plantations, plasters, cardboard and books, swimming pool liners, metal sliding, and even insulations in your premises. Carpets and rugs are vulnerable to termites as well. 

Signs of Termite Damage

Termites build tubes for transportation, connecting their underground colonies to the food sources above. Signs of termite damage include bulging floors, sagging ceilings, bubbling paint, and swollen wallpapers. Also, keep an eye out for slender mud tubes in corners, termite droppings called frass, shunned wings, and the presence of swarmers. These signs indicate that the pests have established deep-rooted galleries in your premises. 

How Common Is Termite Damage?

As per some estimations, close to 600,000 homes in the U.S. spend a whopping $5 billion annually to restore the mayhem caused by these dreaded pests. The mighty subterranean termites pose a challenge virtually across the globe (except Antarctica). A colony of these expert technicians can be deceptively quick in plowing down the entire infrastructure. The onslaught of termites continues 24 hours a day. 

Termites Problem: The Solution

Even the best specialists can fail to read the signs, discover termite damage, and protect the property. Termites snack on cellulose sources and wood and can rarely survive outside. A termite infestation is much quicker and more damaging than an ant. Knowing the various types of termites and their sizes is critical.

Here are some of the steps you can take to curb any termite infestations.

Careful Self-Inspection

Keep monitoring and stay vigilant. Self-inspection for a termite colony is often challenging and will require you to probe the corners and areas you rarely visit, like crawlspaces, attics, and basements. Tap and keep an ear out for a hollow sound on the wood. Discolored and rotting damaged wood sections, exposed foundations (floor and wall junction), cracked subfloors, discarded wings, soil-to-wood contact points on exterior walls, damp areas (kitchen and toilets), masonry voids, stuck windows, and doors are a few vulnerable areas to inspect. 

Clicking photographs, too, may be helpful for insurance reasons and can also come in handy for future expert review. Just be careful around any suspected wood rot.

Call a Professional

A termite control treatment on your own may not be a good idea. While basic steps like practicing proper home care maintenance, cleanliness of surrounding areas, and enrolling in a basic pest control service may help, they will not work against these pesky termite colonies. This easy-to-attract but hard-to-detect menace will require adequate support from a pest control professional to address the situation. 

How to Inform Your Household/Residents

The sooner you act, the lower the risk of widespread infestation or excessive damaged wood. Inform your loved ones about the infestation and immediately arrange a pest management professional inspection. Do not push the panic button. Instead, be subtle and seek their confidence. Safety comes first. Calling a professional exterminator may be the best plan. The damage could be irreversible if not handled efficiently.

Take Further Precautions

Pay attention to the dos and don’ts the pest control expert conveys before the treatment begins. These instructions will inform you about the safety hazards of treatment. The precautions may include the following:

1. Clearing the kitchen area (covering all utensils). Covering food and water sources.
2. Unplugging your fridge, grinder, and other kitchen appliances (consume all perishables).
3. Moving the furniture aside from walls (even remove in worse cases). 
4. Emptying the wardrobe and cabinets.
5. Wrapping the essentials in plastic sheets (including bed linen). Do not use newspaper or cloth.
6. Keeping pets and kids away. Stay away from all areas unless thoroughly dried.
7. It may be a great idea to shift elsewhere for a day.

Patience is the key to success. Please wait until your exterminator company confirms that it’s safe to re-enter your premises. Remember to seek post-treatment advice from them when attempting to repair termite damage and maintain structural integrity.

Budget Brothers: Eliminating Termite Problems

Tackling an infestation ill-prepared and by yourself can make matters worse, especially if the species or colony size of the termites is yet to be determined. Reach out to experienced professionals like Budget Brothers and opt for an effective, safe, affordable pest control solution.

Budget Brothers Termite & Pest Elimination has been an Arizona leader in pest control for over 25 years. Our trained and experienced specialists will address your infestation issues with customized plans for every situation.

Reach out to Budget Brothers now.