There comes a time in everyone's life when they have to face certain realities. As a child, you did not have to think about things like taxes and termites. Now, as an adult, these things are real concerns that you have to consider each year.
Although we cannot help you do your taxes, we can provide options to stop termites from damaging your home and property. Whether you are here today looking for ways to take termite control into your own hands or are looking for professional options to combat these pests, this article discusses some things you need to know.
For direct help with an active infestation on your property, get our team at Above and Beyond Pest Control involved. We help locals here in Lake Worth find solutions to a wide range of pest problems, including termites. With just one visit, we will identify where termites are hiding and implement some fast treatments to get them off your property.
Keep reading to learn more about pest control in Lake Worth and how to identify and deal with termites.
Know The Warning Signs Of A Termite Infestation
One of the biggest facets of termite control is identifying these pests. You can do this on your own with the right tools and understanding. You will want to know how to identify signs of termites and the way these pests invade local homes. Let's start with how termites get indoors.
These pests create new colonies in one of two ways; through a process called budding or by swarming. Budding occurs when subterranean termites tunnel out from their nests and establish new colonies nearby. Swarming occurs when winged reproductive members fly out and find new locations offering food and building places.
As you might imagine, identifying termite swarmers is much easier than identifying these pests when they are budding. Winged termites are typically black, one inch long, and have long, oval-shaped wings. You don't have much time to identify these pests, however, as they can only survive about 40 minutes above the ground before drying out and dying. You can expect to see termite swarms during spring and early summer after rainy days.
Waiting to see termite swarmers around your home is not a great method of termite identification. It is much better to actively keep an eye out for other signs of these pests. Here are some of the most common signs these bugs might leave around your home and property:
Mud tubes crawling up your home's exterior
Moisture spots on floors, walls, and ceilings
Bubbling wallpaper or paint
Sagging floors and ceilings
Buckling beams
Visible wood damage
Hollow sounding wood
Rustling noises coming from inside wood
We will be completely honest with you; termite damage is hard to identify. It is common to have to wait until these pests cause serious damage before you can identify an active problem. Because of this, we recommend investing in a termite inspection for your home and property once a year. Let us visit you to ensure these invasive insects are not causing trouble for you and your investments.
Understanding The Long-Term Consequences Of Termite Damage
Knowing how to identify termites goes hand in hand with understanding how these pests ruin homes. First, you need to know that these insects will not destroy your property in a week. A fully mature colony can only consume a two-by-four piece of wood every six to seven months. Even if multiple colonies are all munching away at your home, it will still take at least four months for noticeable damage to occur.
With this in mind, most people do not identify an active termite infestation until severe problems present themselves. In other words, these pests are silent and will go undetected for as long as possible.
Many people ignore signs of termites, which can lead to serious trouble. They don't take long to reproduce, so by the time you notice any early warning signs of these pests, there are already thousands of members in a colony. The longer you wait to address the problem, the quicker termites will be able to damage your home and outbuildings.
We highly recommend involving our team of professionals as soon as you think these pests are around or be proactive will yearly professional termite inspections.
If you catch termites early enough, addressing the damage they have caused is not difficult. Most of the time, repair work involves identifying and addressing areas of moisture-damaged, rotting, or decaying wood.
We recommend you repair building damage even if you don't have a termite problem. If you let these pests chew through your home, problems will worsen and become more challenging to repair.
Subterranean termites, the most common local species, spread moisture damage as they tunnel through buildings. This type of damage can be especially challenging to address. We have seen situations where homeowners must pay several thousand dollars to fix several sections of serious termite-damaged wood. Had they invested in termite control early, they would have saved a lot of money.
Reasons And Factors For Termite Infestations
Understanding termite damage is only one side of termite control. It is equally important to know how and why these pests invade local properties and what methods work to keep them away. Let's start with the reasons termites have to invade your home and outbuildings.
These insects often settle into yards after finding tasty treats like wet cardboard, newspaper, sticks, paper, fallen trees, dead stumps, and other similar items that contain cellulose. After munching on these things, termites will inspect your home for a more substantial food source.
If termites find moisture-damaged or dry, sun-damaged wood, they might break into your house. One thing that helps these pests get indoors unnoticed is a direct connection from exterior soil to structural wood. These pests will also use gaps and cracks in exterior foundations to access wood.
One of the most impactful things you can do to deter termites from settling onto your property is to address possible food sources. This chore might involve small things like raking and bagging leaves or picking up sticks. It might also require larger projects like pulling stumps out of your yard, cutting down dead trees, or removing large branches from your property.
Another huge facet of termite prevention is addressing moisture problems. Something as simple as a pool of water next to your home's exterior can lead to a serious problem. To address moisture concerns, take some time to identify and fix leaky pipes and fixtures, damaged or clogged gutters, and water buildup in and around your home. We also recommend investing in a dehumidifier for your interior spaces, especially to make sure your basement or crawl space stays dry.
One big help when preventing termites is ensuring there is a non-wood barrier around your home's exterior. If there is already a barrier, make sure it is in good condition by sealing gaps, cracks, and other similar damage.
Finally, you must repair all sections of your home that are water-damaged, sun-damaged, or damaged in other ways. You want to ensure that there is no exposed, untreated, or available wood that termites can access.
The Benefits Of Year-Round Professional Termite Control
There has never been a better time to consider advanced termite control. These pests are active almost year-round here in Lake Worth and are a huge problem for any structure made of wood.
Our goal at Above and Beyond Pest Control is to provide you with unmatched services to stop these and other wood-damaging pests before they get indoors. We do this by delivering advanced pest control offerings.
Let us pay you a visit to identify where termites are hiding inside or around your house. After finding out if these pests are around, we will recommend options to address existing infestations and prevent future invasions.
Above and Beyond Pest Control is a local, family-owned provider focusing on quality and kindness. Our goal is to find effective options to handle whatever pest problems you're up against. Whether you have a few ants in your kitchen or thousands of termites in your walls, we are ready to help. All you need to do is start a conversation with our team. We will be more than happy to walk you through our control offerings and find a solution for whatever pest problem you may have.
Reach out to our dedicated team at Above and Beyond Pest Control to learn about our services and find a solution to get rid of termites in Lake Worth for good.
Customer Reviews
I would definitely recommend Above and Beyond Pest Control. They were responsive, quick to come out, and honest. Corey came to inspect a possible bed bug issue. Turns out he did not detect any signs of bed bugs which was a huge relief. He was very knowledgeable and gave us possible explanations for the issues we were having and recommendations on what to do. I would call them again in the future.
