Three Important Signs You Need Termite Treatment Services
Termites are incredibly destructive pests and are capable of chewing through wooden structures in and around your property. They are small, making it very difficult to detect their presence until the damage they cause becomes serious. It is essential to recognize the early signs of a termite infestation as a property owner. Here are a few tell-tale signs that indicate you need termite treatment services.
Mud Tubes
What are mud tubes? You might have come across narrow veins that run from the ground and over your exterior walls. Termites build these tubes to protect them from the dryness in the air. Subterranean termites have a thin exoskeleton which makes them susceptible to drying out. Therefore, the mud tubes offer termites protection between their colonies and their food source. If you want to find out if you have an active termite infestation, crack open a piece of the mud tube and look for live termites. If you spot them, you will need to hire termite treatment services to eliminate the infestation. However, if you don't spot termites, that doesn't mean you are safe. It could simply mean they have moved to a less exposed area in your home.
Stuck doors or windows
Have you tried opening or closing your doors or windows lately and felt a significant resistance level while doing so? If that is the case, this could be an early sign of a termite infestation. Termites will tend to attack window frames and doorframes where they can access exposed wood. Damage to these areas causes the edges to warp, making it difficult to close your doors and windows. Aside from sticky windows and doors, a termite infestation may cause other structural issues, causing sagging ceilings or even causing baseboards to crumble. If these issues are evident in your home, consider hiring an expert termite treatment service. The sooner the termite infestation is cleared, the safer your home will be.
Presence of termite swarmers
Termites are commonly organized in three distinct castes: soldiers, workers and alates. What are alates? These are winged termites that leave their nest to go out and develop new colonies. This process is referred to as swarming, whereby the female and male alates couple up and mate. It is the earliest sign of a termite infestation. Additionally, when the male and female termites couple up, they tend to lose their wings. Therefore, discarded wings around your property can indicate that a termite colony is developing close by.
To avoid future destruction of your home, hiring a termite treatment service is vital. They will be able to locate the new termite nests and neutralize them early and save you thousands of dollars in property damage.