Signs your Home Has Termites

Homeowners that live in the United States are often living under the threat of costly damage caused by wood-destroying insects. Creating an effective termite control plan will help in identifying and understanding their behavior and controlling all the damage they may cause to your home.

Termite Food

According to the Structural Pest Control Board, www.spcbtx.org, termites subsist on the substance known as cellulose, which they get from wood. Termites are social insects that exist in a highly organized caste system similar to ants or bees. Since termites eat wood slowly from the inside, damage can be extremely extensive before it is even detected. Termites may eat away at a single structure throughout a lifetime of up to fifteen years. SPCB reports that the queen can live and produce eggs for up to fifty years, which would definitely be enough time to destroy a home.

More than 90% of homes in the United States are made up of a wood frame. Termites are even attracted to homes built of masonry and steel. Areas of the nation that have an average annual outdoor temperature of more than fifty degrees are the most susceptible to termite damage. Termites will still attack homes that have a central heat system, however, even if it resides in a colder region.

Termite Species

Over two thousand kinds of termites have been identified by entomologists, fifty-five that exist in the United States, but there are only three groups of termites that generally attack American homes:

• Subterranean
• Drywood
• Dampwood

Subterranean termites cause approximately 95 percent of termite-related damage in the United States and they are found as far north as the border with Canada. Drywood termites stick to an area that extends from Florida to California. Dampwood termites reside in the Pacific Northwest.

Recognizing Termite Damage

Recognizing termite damage as early as possible is crucial in home protection. Before purchasing a home, it is essential to have it inspected by a professional. If the home has already been purchased, and termite infestation is suspected, have the home inspected immediately. Annual inspections are highly recommended and may only cost fifty or sixty dollars a year.

Exterminating Termites

If a homeowner does in fact have termites, they should know that extermination can be very expensive. Exterminating these wood eating pests can cost from $500 dollars to over $1,000.

Before hiring an exterminator, however, make sure the professional points out exactly where in the home termites have caused damage. Make sure the inspector shows you actual damaged wood: it may be crushed or may may resonate with a dull, hollow thud when tapped with a heavy object.

Other signs termites have infested your home are:

• Mud tunnels (usually found going up the sides of exposed foundations)
• Swarmers (swarms of 'flying ants' indicate a nearby nest)
• Piles of wings (indicates termites have begun their next phase of development)
• Live termites.

Swarming is a telltale clue that a homeowner may have termite infestation. It usually occurs once a year for about twenty-four hours. The swarmer is the termite's reproductive form, and though it does not do actual damage to the wood, it is a sign that there will soon be damage, or there might already be damage.