The thoughts of termites invading your home can be fairly scary for any home owner. They can do much damage to your house. However, there is really nothing to gain by throwing your hands up in the air and submitting to the fact that your home has been invaded by termites and doing nothing to resolve the situation. Learn how to handle termites when they are present and learn how to best keep your home shielded from return.
What Are Termites?
Termites are fairly small insects that feed off of dead plant matter such as wood chips, rotting wood logs, decaying leaves and soil. They are approximately ¼ to ½ inch long. They look like whitish ants to some degree but they are more closely related to cockroaches. A termite colony typically has 3 forms of termites represented – those with wings (often referred to as flying termites), non-winged soldier termites (they usually protect the termite colony from predators) and non-winged workers (who usually forage for food and maintain the colony). Oftentimes, homeowners will initially realize they may have a termite infestation because they may spot flying termites. There are around 2,000 different species of termites that exist around the world. About 40 of these species are found in the United States. Regardless of your climate, there will be a species of termite who dwells there. Lucky us, right? For instance, some termites thrive in dry environments, others in moist environments. Dry wood termites dine on dry wood. Damp wood termites dine on damp wood.
Signs You May Have Termites – How to Spot a Termite Infestation
Fortunately, termites are easily noticeable. They usually travel in swarms. If you happen to come across any whitish, winged insects inside your home, particularly if they tend to be swarming around books, wood, or the foundation of your home, unfortunately, they could be and probably are termites. Those are actually very common signs of a termite nest present in your residence.
Other signs include the discovery of stray wings left lying around. You may also discover mud tubes running alongside your home’s exterior. You may even find trace amounts of termite waste or excrement. These are other signs of an issue that needs to be addressed and a potential termite infestation. In order to pinpoint the exact location of the nest, consider tapping on your home’s exterior walls. A termite nest will have a hallow sound. And If you have ever purchased a home and hired a home inspection service as a buying precaution, you may have noticed your home inspector doing just that with a fairly skinny pole.
So You Have Termites – if Left Untreated, What Could Happen?
So, you have determined that your home has a termite infestation. You have no idea how large of an infestation you are dealing with, but perhaps you have witnessed them or have seen signs of a problem. If left untreated, how large of an issue are we talking about?
Unfortunately, if left untreated, your entire house could be at a serious risk. A single queen termite may lay an egg every 3 seconds. That is close to 30,000 eggs each and every day and more than 10 million eggs a year. To say that is a staggering number may be an understatement. If you believe you may have an issue, you will need to address the matter swiftly and now not later. There is not much of anything positive that will come out of the situation if a termite infestation is left untreated. Your entire house is fair game if left untreated. Your home may acquire foundation or structural damage. Not good. If a termite colony does make their way far enough into the interior of your home, the walls and attic of your home, any wooden window frames, doors, stairs, floors, kitchen cabinets and even furniture can become an issue. The situation really needs to be addressed. If you believe you may have an issue with termites, it is best to contact a pest management professional immediately to have an inspection done properly, have them determine an appropriate termite control plan and have them treat the situation.
Some professional services that offer termite control services are Terminix and Orkin.
Are There Ways to Handle Termites Yourself?
How to handle termites yourself? As mentioned above, termites are not a pest you want to linger for too long within or around your home. They can cause significant damage. Damage that will be far more expensive than the service acquired to help. If you do first want to attempt to handle termites on your own, here are some possibilities.
- Orange Essential Oil – This is poisonous to termites. Place several drops of orange essential oil into a spray bottle and mix with liquid – faucet water or olive oil. After mixing vigorously simply apply anywhere you have previously witnessed termites frequent. You may wish to secure children and pets away when applying so that they are not directly exposed.
- Neem Oil – Applied in a similar style as the orange essential oil mentioned above, neem oil will also prove poisonous termites. Again, You may wish to secure children and pets away when applying.
- Borax – Borax is a derivative of boric acid and also lethal to termites.
- Diatomaceous Earth – formulated from silica, diatomaceous earth will destroy the termite’s exoskeleton and eventually dehydrate the termite. Simply apply it around the foundation of your home and on any infected area you know of. Diatomaceous earth will kill any ants, beetles, centipedes and termites that are currently there and may discourage any future infestation. Below are some diatomaceous earth products available on Amazon.com.
| HARRIS Diatomaceous Earth Crawling Insect Killer – By Harris | Perma-Guard Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth – By: Perma-Guard Inc. |
| Diatomaceous Earth – 100% Natural Food Grade -By: EasyGoProducts | Diatomaceous Earth, Ready to Use Crawling Bug/Roach Killer – By: Bonide |
- Termite Bait Traps – These consist of spikes or cylinders that are implanted to the ground and will attract termites. The bait is then consumed by the termites and transported back to their colony where it will be regurgitated and then infect the entire colony. Proper placement of the termite bait traps is required, however. Many pest control companies will utilize this method as well, using professional-strength termite bait as part of a complete termite-control approach. Below are some termite bait traps available on Amazon.com.
| Advance Termite Bait Stations – By: BASF Chemical | Terminate Termite Detection & Killing Stakes – By: Spectracide |
| Advanced Termite Bait System Kit – By: BASF Chemical |
- Termite Spray and Powder Pesticides – Examples of these are Carpenter Ant and Termite Killer – By: BioAdvanced and Termite Killer Home Perimeter Treatment – By: BioAdvanced. Again, while there are a few termite sprays, like those mentioned above, that will certainly help a termite problem from growing and growing, the professional strength version of the spray is much more effective. Links above and below are to Amazon.com.
| Carpenter Ant and Termite Killer – By: BioAdvanced | Termidor Foam – By: BASF |
| Termite Killer Home Perimeter Treatment – By: BioAdvanced | Termite Treatment – By: HARRIS |
Again, the chief disadvantage to the natural forms of termite control or even the diluted professional type of products available at your local hardware store is that these solutions may only expose the worker termites to the poison, or in the case of the bait traps and termite spray, the solution may not be as potent as the professional version. In order for a nest to truly be eradicated, the queen and any eggs must be destroyed. This is why it is often necessary to call in professional pest control services for hard-to-reach nests and infestations. For this reason it is often necessary (and strongly encouraged) to call in the assistance of a professional pest control service such as Terminix and Orkin.
Professional Termite Services
Termites, in my opinion, are one of the pest control issues that we really need to call professional help for. As mentioned above, Terminix and Orkin are both services that have fantastic reputations and quite simply will be well worth the expense. They simply know how to handle termites and have been doing it for a long time. Termites are very destructive and they need to be taken care of efficiently.
Get Multiple Quotes for Termite Treatment and Ask Questions
I mention before that when you do realize your home has a termite problem that it is extremely important to tackle the issue head on. There is really nothing to gain by waiting it out and hoping the problem goes away. However, it is also important to get the best professional service for the best price. It is commonly recommended that you receive multiple quotes by different termite exterminators, compare prices and see what service you feel most comfortable using.
Ask for a list of references and contact several of the references to see how satisfied they were with the work done. Ask the companies you are getting the quote from how long they have been practicing in the area you live in. Afterwards, you may want to check out the better business bureau to see if the company has had complaints and, if so, how many? Have they dealt with any complaints in a manner you feel comfortable with. Does the company offer any warranties that guarantee the service performed? Does the company offer a re-treatment warranty if the termites are not fully exterminated after the first treatment? Does the company offer a damage replacement warranty in the event that any possessions are accidentally damaged during treatment?
What to Expect When Hiring a Professional Termite Service
In order to find the best approach to handle the termites, the technician will perform a thorough inspection of the area. He or she will inspect the home from both the interior and exterior to best decide the extent of the infestation and also the most appropriate means to eliminate the infestation.
If you have a fairly severe termite infestation they may recommend fumigation. Fumigation is basically an approach of pest control that requires a team of technicians to entirely fill the problem area with gaseous pesticides in order to poison or suffocate the termites that reside there. This technique will reach termites that are essentially unreachable with other methods. However, if this is the case, you may need to spend some time preparing both your home and family for the service.
- You will need to seek temporary alternative housing, as you and your family (including pets, fish and plants) will not be able to reside in the house once fumigation process begins and until approximately 30 hours after the process completed.
- You may need to open all doors between rooms, closet doors, cabinets, drawers and even appliances in order to allow the fumigant to pass freely in the area.
- Any food, medication, dental products, tobacco products and pet food in your home should either be removed or tightly sealed in Nylofume bags for protection. These bags may be supplied by the fumigating service.
For an infestation that is less severe, the technician may instead recommend a stay at home treatment. For the stay at home treatment the technician may decide on baits, repellents, a spray pesticide or termiticide specifically for termites.
After the treatment and any necessary follow-up treatment, the service will discuss next steps. After all, you do not want to go through this again anytime soon. It will be very important to understand whether additional treatments are needed, or if any additional work is required around your home to prevent additional infestations.
Future Prevention
In addition to any prevention techniques discussed with the pest control expert, it is also important to seal off any and all possible entry points to your house, position screens on windows and vents, and eliminate any wood debris or clutter that may reside near your house. You can pre-treat any wood in your residence with borax. Frequently clean gutters and any drain spouts in order to avoid water and debris buildup. Do not stack firewood close your home. Remove any rotting tree stumps from your yard.
There is really no way to guarantee termites won’t bother you and your family ever again, but these steps as well as any methods offered by the pest control company will at least help reduce your risk of another termite infestation.
In Conclusion
You truly do need to handle termites promptly and efficiently. Termites can easily be an extreme hassle to deal with and can be fairly scary for any home owner. They do need to be dealt with and dealt with efficiently however. Both you and your family deserve to live in a home that is termite free and one that remains structurally sound. Fortunately there are many companies out there today that know how to handle termites in an efficient manner. By working together and continuing to perform any additional prevention and home maintenance steps required to keep termites away, this problem can be a thing of the past and one that never returns.
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