What can you do as a homeowner to reduce the risk of termites?
Responsible Homeowners Should Assume A Termite Colony Is Nearby
The average single-family home has as many as four termite colonies beneath it. The smallest of cracks in your foundation is enough to gain entry into your home. Poor building practices, especially wood in contact with soil, leads to many subterranean termite infestations. Once these cellulose-feeders are inside, it is a virtual all-you-can-eat buffet with anything made of wood on the menu, lumber, doorframes, wood panels, flooring, sheetrock, wallpaper, books and other paper products, fabric made of plant fibers, and furniture. Termites also leave a chemical trail to let others in the nest know that food is near.
Homeowners can to several things to lessen their chances of being the next house on the block infested with termites. These preventative measures are based on the fact that termites, like most any insect, live to eat and reproduce. There is not too much else on their agenda. To prevent termites from easily accessing food sources, eliminate wood to ground contact. Many termite infestations result from structural wood being in contact with soil. This includes wood siding, porch steps, latticework, door or window frames and similar wood elements. Wood should be at least six inches above ground; otherwise it is like sending out an invitation to a party. Also, minimize or eliminate the use of wood mulch around the foundation. For termites, mulch is a cellulose-containing delicacy. Stack firewood and scrap lumber away from the home. Don’t store cardboard boxes on the floor of your garage. The common theme is removal of potential food sources.
How do termites get in to your home?
1) By building ingenious mudtubes, termites can cross many feet of concrete, brick, cinder block, treated wood, or metal termite shields, making it possible to reach the upper floors of a structure.
2) Termites eat wood from the inside out, defying detection for years while doing extensive damage.
What do termites require to survive?
Termites are also attracted to moisture. They are soft-bodied insects and without it, they dry up. Don’t allow moisture such as air conditioner condensation to accumulate near the foundation. Water should be diverted away from the foundation with properly functioning gutters, downspouts, and splash blocks. If you are having drainage problems causing water pooling around your house, it does more than cause wood rot; it also increases your risk of termite infestation. Reduce humidity in crawlspaces and basements by providing adequate ventilation.
Even taking preventative measures to remove moisture and food sources from your home is not a guarantee that termites won’t attack your home. The surest protection is to work with a pest management professional to conduct a termite inspection and implement treatment barriers that will stop termites before they reach your home. Said Cowley, “Many homeowners have a termite inspection conducted when they buy their home and never give it another thought. It is unfortunate because a little preventative maintenance today can save a homeowner literally thousands upon thousands of dollars down the road.”
What can homeowners do to reduce the likelihood of termites?
Although using professional termiticides is often necessary despite prevention efforts, homeowners can do several things to lessen their chances of being the next house on the block infested with termites. According to Mike Potter, extension entomologist for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, homeowners can reduce the risk of termite attack by following these suggestions:
- Eliminate wood contact with the ground. Many termite infestations result from structural wood being in direct contact with the soil. Earth-to-wood contact provides termites with simultaneous access to food, moisture, and shelter, as well as direct, hidden entry into the structure. Wood siding, porch steps, latticework, door or window frames, posts and similar wood elements should be at least six inches above ground level.
- Don't allow moisture to accumulate near the foundation. Termites are attracted to moisture and are more likely to enter a structure if the soil next to the foundation is consistently moist. Water should be diverted away from the foundation with properly functioning gutters, downspouts and splash blocks.
- Reduce humidity in crawlspaces by providing adequate ventilation. Shrubs, vines and other vegetation should not be allowed to grow over vents since this will inhibit cross-ventilation. Moisture in crawl spaces can further be reduced by installing 4-6 ml polyethylene sheeting over about 75 percent of the soil surface.
- Never store firewood, lumber or other wood debris against the foundation or inside the crawl space. When stacked against the foundation, these materials offer a hidden path of entry into the structure and allow termites to bypass any termiticide soil barrier, which is present. Vines, trellises, and other dense plant material touching the house should also be avoided.
- Use decorative wood chips and mulch sparingly, especially if you have other conditions conducive to termite problems. Any cellulose-containing materials, including mulch, can attract termites. Termites are especially drawn by the moisture-holding properties of the mulch.
Cowleys Termite & Pest Services was founded in October 1991 and has been helping homeowners deal with a full range of pest infestations ever since. Additionally, Cowley’s offers bird, rodent, and wildlife removal.
You can read more about us and about our company history. See why you should choose Cowley's. We offer customers help with residential pest control, commercial pest control, residential termite management, and offer other additional services. We help customers exterminate bed bugs, termites, wood destroying insects, beetles, carpenter bees, ants, rodents, ticks, stinkbugs, and offer bird control and nuisance wildlife services.
