Termites are notorious for their ability to infest and destroy wooden surfaces in a short amount of time. Once these small insects invade your home or wooden structure, they can continue to thrive and consume wood all year long.
At HomeShield Pest Control, we know that early detection is the key to minimizing termite damage in your home. Our Orange County termite exterminators know how to look for early warning signs and stop the infestation before the damage becomes too severe.
How To Identify Termite Infestations In Your Home
Most termites in a colony will stay hidden in their nest or in the wood they consume. You may, however, see the reproductive termites, also known as alates. These winged termites will usually leave their nest during the spring and summer months to go and look for a mate. Once they have found a mate, they will discard their wings and start their own colony. Our termite exterminators usually find discarded wings on door and window sills, around outdoor furniture, and in basements and attics.
If you have termites living in or around your home, some of the other signs you may find include:
Holes in drywall or wooden surfaces
Piles of termite droppings that look like tiny wood-colored pellets
Wooden surfaces that are brittle or hollow-sounding when tapped
Doors and windows that are difficult to open and close
If you have several termite colonies around your home, you will likely find these same signs but on a much larger scale. The damage will be more severe, and you will probably find mud tubes in several different areas around your home. A termite inspector can help you determine how severe the infestation is in your home.
Why Early Detection Matters
Termites can cause an excessive amount of damage in a short amount of time. Once they invade your home, they will continuously eat away at the wooden surfaces all day and night. By catching a termite infestation early, you can minimize the damage to your home, which can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
Ignoring a termite infestation can also be dangerous. Our termite extermination experts have seen some severe damage: foundation damage, sagging ceilings, brittle floorboards, and crumbling stairs. A severe infestation can also weaken the structural integrity of homes and buildings.
What To Do If You Find Termites
If you think you have termites in your house, it is important you don’t disturb them in any way. If you try to remove them on your own, you could cause some colony members to retreat further into the nest while others move to other areas of your home; this could cause your infestation to become much more severe.
Instead of trying to deal with the termites on your own, you need to call a professional termite removal specialist as soon as possible. A professional will have advanced tools and treatments to eliminate an infestation quickly.
Prevention Tips To Keep Termites At Bay
Termites like to hang around areas with a lot of moisture; make sure the rooms inside your home are properly ventilated, and remove any standing water from outside your home. Having your home inspected regularly is also a good idea to keep termites at bay.
At HomeShield Pest Control, our termite exterminators use one–of–a–kind solutions to remove termite infestations of all sizes and prevent these destructive bugs from coming back to your Orange County property in the future.
If you suspect termites have invaded your property, don’t hesitate to contact us.