The nightmare of any homeowner or building structure managers is the termite. They are tiny insects that can cause expensive damages to your structure. To add insult to injury, it is hard to detect if your structure is infested by termites. It would be wise for everyone to equip oneself with the information about termites, how to kill termites and how to make sure your home will be free from termites. As a homeowner you have a choice on how to kill termites. You can either do it on your own or ask the help of the termite control experts.

Termite Inspection

Before putting yourself in a panic mode about termites, it is best that you first conduct a thorough inspection of your structure and environment to make sure that there are really termites. The prevalent evidence that your house might be termite infested is that there are visible holes in the wood around your structure. When you knock on your wood foundation and it sounds hollow, then there might be colonies of termite that might be living there.

The termite inspection can be done by you if you are confident enough and know how to look for the possible termite damages. If you want a more professional inspection then you can hire a pest control company that can do it for you. Either way, this will be the first step you can do to make sure that you have termite infestation in your structure.

After concluding that you have termites, the next thing to do is to identify the kind of termite that inhabits your structure. Why do you have to do this? Treatments for termites differ. It is best that you know the type of termite so that the treatment used would be effective.

Different Termite Treatments

Now that you have identified the termites, then you can plan on what treatments you can use to kill the termites. You can consult the pest control on what is the most effective way to kill termites. Since there are many ways on how to kill termites, it is best that you proceed with caution if you are going to do it yourself. The materials you will use may contain poisonous substances that can be lethal to your health.

If you decide to hire a professional pest control company then it is wise to discuss or plan on what will happen to your structure for the termite treatments and what is expected of you just in case you will need to transfer to another place if the termite infestation is quite big.

The well-known termite treatment is fumigation. It is tested to show good result in killing termites and without any fuss on the owner’s part. This kind of treatment is done by expert pest control exterminators. It may cost more than other termite treatments but it can assure that you will have a termite free home.  Almost all pest control companies do this kind of termite treatment.

Another option for the termite treatments is baiting. This is a new way to kill termites. Many people respond favorably to this kind of treatment because it uses fewer amounts of chemicals. Unlike fumigation that can cover a large area, baiting is done in specific areas where the termites are more prevalent. The target is very specific and focused. They make sure that the poison would directly hit the termites. The advantage of this is that it decreases the contamination of other areas specially the natural environment. It is also safer for human and pets because it is hidden and out of reach.

If the termite infestation is quite small, then there are do-it-yourself options for the homeowners. There is the liquid termite treatment. You can use this by spraying it all over the house to kill the termites.

After the treatments, you can also consider prevention to stop the termites from coming back to your structure. You use borate treatments by applying it directly to the woods. It is sort of a coat of paint for the prevention of termites. This is more ideal if your house is just under construction and you can treat the wood with this treatment.

Other termite treatment to consider are electrocutions, heating, cooling and microwaves.

As you can see, there is not just one answer on how to kill termites.  It will depend on which will be best for you structure and environment. It will also depend on how you want to do it. It does not really matter what kills termites as long as they are removed from your home.  There are also the factors of costs and time to consider. If you think that it is too much for you to handle then it is best that you let the professionals handle it.

Termites have a great role in our ecosystem. They produce humus by decomposing dead trees and plants. Humus is a natural by-product which improves the soil’s ability to hold moisture and provides plants the nutrients it needs to grow. However, termites also affect the wood found in our homes and buildings, causing a lot of damage. Termites are spread all over the United States and every home is a target.  There are two different types of termites that can infest your house: subterranean and drywood termites. We’ll be talking about drywood termites, how these creatures can destroy your home, and what you can do to prevent it.

Drywood vs. Subterranean Termites

It is very important to identify which termite is which because each type has a specific treatment. Termites differ in their size of colony, roles of every member, appearances, etc.

Formosan subterranean termites are mostly found in damp grounds. They travel underground through mud tubes to search for new dwelling places. These mud tubes are built using their own fecal matter and they use these mud tunnels to travel from one place to another. They eat along the thread of the wood and only eat spring wood, western drywood or any soft woods.

On the other hand, drywood termites directly infest the wood structure. They do not need to produce mud tubes to travel from place to place. Alates or swarmers fly distant places to look for new places where they can start a colony. Drywood termites eat across the thread of the woods which are mostly spring or summer woods. They produce kick holes in their dwelling places where they push out their fecal matters (Drywood termite droppings).

Drywood Termites

Drywood termites look different from subterranean termites. Alates or swarmers have 3 – 4 thick veins on their wings which are usually dark in color. They discard their wings in just a few minutes after they have found a new spot. They are night swarmers. However, there are some species which swarm during the daytime. Redwood termite’s soldiers have round heads. The size of the head will depend on their species. Some of them may also have teeth on their mandibles.

Drywood termites have three life stages: young, immature and adult. Mature or adult drywood termites are the main workers of the colony. They gather food and feed the young, immature redwood termites and everybody else in the colony.

Signs of Infestation

Basically, identifying redwood termite infestation is really very easy. Review your drywood termites’ pictures to properly identify these pests. If you found the following, you might be infested with drywood termites:

• Live termites
• Fecal pellets
• Kick holes
• Discarded wings of alates or swarmers

It is very obvious that your house is under infestation if you can see live termites at your home. It is also alarming to see piles of fecal pellets just beside their kick holes as this is one of the signs that pest control services usually look for during a termite inspection. You should also be aware of the alates or swarmers. Their presence indicates that they are already inside your house. When you can find discarded wings from alates inside your house, then, your house is already infested. Alates or swarmers are considered as secondary reproductives. Reproductives are termites that could create their own colonies.

Termite Control

It is very important to check every part of your house often. Termites particularly like these areas of the house: exterior rims, corners on the floors and ceilings, windows, door frames, supports, dormers, cornices and stairs.

As much as possible, avoid leaving firewood or scrap wood outside your house. If you absolutely have to, elevate the wood by by a few inches or put them on a table and make sure the area surrounding the pile of wood is clean of debris like dead leaves and garbage. Termites are attracted to debris and nearby wood structures can make it easier for termites to attack your house.

Drywood Termite Prevention and Treatment

It is important to detect drywood termite infestations as early as possible. You don’t want to wait before your supports crack, do you?

You can prevent drywood termites from infesting your house by applying chemicals that can repel these pests. This should be done during the construction. Remove all possible dwelling places like dead branches and the likes. Another thing, drywood termites won’t initiate infestation if your house is painted thoroughly. Drywood termites don’t like the smell and taste of paint. It is very important to consider these preventive measures during the pre-construction plan. If you’ve already built your house, you can still apply these preventive treatments but they won’t be as effective. You also have to remember that these treatments have to be repeated every few years to make sure that termites will stay away.

If your home is already infested by termites, there are 2 things you can do: wood replacement and fumigation. Wood replacement is safer choice as it doesn’t involve harmful chemicals. Wood replacement will replace your damaged wood and other wooden structures. However, this type of treatment may not be applicable to all structures and you have to use treated wood to make sure termites don’t attack the same spot.

Fumigation is the technique most pest control companies use. This is where they cover your house with a tarpaulin tent and they spray insecticides to suffocate all drywood termites inside.

Drywood termites are serious pests. The damage they inflict costs us around $1.7 billion every year. Drywood termites are one of the highly devastating kinds of species. As destructive as termites can be, there are always ways to prevent them that are easier and cheaper than treating them and replacing our homes.