You love and cherish your home. Your home is where all your best memories are made. And it would feel uncomfortable and maybe even intimidating to find out that your home was infested by termites. Termites can be very unpleasant and can cause severe damage if they are not eliminated in a timely manner. According to a recent survey carried out in the US, homeowners in these regions have spent billions of dollars every year trying to eliminate termites and repair the damages as a result of the infestations.
There are a few ways to eradicate termite infestations, but early detection of infestation, for proper treatment, is crucial. But more often than not, the majority of homeowners rarely notice termites right away as they usually breed in dark and moist hidden places in the walls. In today’s post, we will share how you can easily spot termite damage and quickly take action to prevent further infestation and wood damage.
How to Notice The Signs of Termite Damage
1. Inspect suspected damaged wood
The first way to notice the signs of termite damage is to look for damaged brittle wood, sandy frass, and/ or brown mud tubes or tunnels. Termites are all different, which means they are going to leave their own distinctive patterns.
Subterranean termites usually infest softwood and they are known to chew along the grain of the wood. This distinctive eating habit leaves a noticeable pattern that looks similar to a spiderweb on the surface of the wood. Subterranean termites also have mud typically visible at the exterior foundation or in a garage.
Once you’ve discovered the trails and damage caused by termites, the next step to take is to eradicate the infestation. Formosan is considered to be the most voracious type of Subterranean termite. Their colonies are usually massive in number and are known to be fast destroyers. They chew up through the wood very fast leaving tiny slivers behind.
2. Check for evidence of termite infestations
When looking for termite infestations look specifically for visual signs of damage. While looking for the evidence of an infestation, you will either discover the termites or notice visual signs of infestations, for example, loose tiles that buckle or sag on the floor of your home, drywall showing signs of pinpoint holes, hollow sounds from wood when hitting with an object, and little crums from damaged wood.
If you notice little tubes with wiles of little slivers on the surface of woods this would also be an early indication of termite infestation. Naturally, termites are wood eaters they will chew through any type of wood. They create little tubes starting from the surface of the wood under the soil upwards to the surface. The presence of these tubes on wood around your home is an indication that the termites are already active around your home.
The infestation by dry wood termites looks a little different. This particular type of termites is common around furniture or dry wood and their activities are usually noticed on the surface rather than inside the wood. They kick out frass or excrement that looks like colored sand. Once you notice the signs of the dry wood termites around your furniture, it’s time to think about the way to eradicate them from your home.
3. Listen carefully
Another way to detect a termite infestation is to tap on any part of your wooden walls with a screwdriver when carrying out a home inspection. If you hear an obvious hollow sound this could be the sound of wood chewed up by the termites. You can also confirm their existence in your walls by holding a stethoscope against a different part of the wall and listen for any rustling sounds. If you do hear any swishing sounds there is a chance that your home is infested.
4. Know how to distinguish different types of termites
We understand that the safety and comfort of your home are very important and eliminating termites may feel like a very tedious and complicated task that involves a lot of effort and specialized knowledge. If not eliminated in a timely manner, these pests can create a lot of damage to your home and furniture. This is why we believe that this is when you absolutely need professional help to eliminate the termites as well as causes of infestations.
Rot Repair by Good Life Construction specializes in working with termites, treating dry rot, replacing and removing wood damaged by termites and dry rot. Our company was established in 2008 and for the last 11 years, we have been providing our customers with high-quality service and excellent customer care and have helped hundreds of happy customers. We pride ourselves on the quality of our work, just look at our reviews on Yelp!
Eliminating termites can involve a lot of work and knowledge and we highly recommend that you hire professional help to eliminate them, treat, and replace the wood as needed. Our friendly and experienced team would love to help! Call us today for an in-house consultation (916) 833-1379 and we will help you to detect and eliminate termites and make your home safe and comfortable for you and your family.