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Termite season is in full swing and your home may be at risk! Sometimes, you may be tempted to think that a pest inspection is only necessary when you are seeing… well… bugs in the home! After all, if you aren’t seeing any bugs, what is there to worry about?
However, the truth is, your home can have an extensive termite infestation without even the smallest sign of trouble. Termites are an extremely reclusive pest, and oftentimes the damage that they cause is behind the scenes. This is particularly true when you are dealing with subterranean termite species. Since these species cannot survive for long outside of the soil, they typically attack homes from below, feeding on areas of wood-to-ground contact and through gaps in the foundation.
Termites feed on cellulosic materials, which is essentially anything wooden or derived from wood. This makes the framing of your home an ideal target for subterranean invaders. While extensive infestations may feed on wallpaper, furniture, and other more obvious targets, the early stages of many infestations often begin inside of walls or beneath floors. This means that many months and years of feeding may go on before you even see evidence of termite activity.
If termites are allowed to feed on your home unchecked, they can cause tremendous damage that can weaken the structure and carry a substantial repair cost. For this reason, it is critical to identify termite activity in its early stages and administer treatment.
The best way to catch signs of termite activity is by having your home regularly inspected by a licensed pest control technician. A trained technician knows exactly where to look for signs of termite activity, and even the most subtle evidence can be uncovered with a trained eye. Further, your pest control provider can make recommendations for mitigating conducive conditions that allow pests to thrive in your home.
While there is no “right number” of inspections that will keep your home termite free, it is best to have your home inspected at least once per year. With termite swarming season currently in its early stages, there is no better time to schedule an inspection of your property.
Another common topic that homeowners have questions on is termite treatment. Since there are a variety of different treatment types and schedules, it can be confusing to determine what termite treatment would be best for your home.
The truth is, termite treatment is a complex, multi-step process. Each home and each infestation is a unique situation, so there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach to dealing with them.
There are several different categories of treatment products and thousands of different types of termites. Further, the layout of your home can make certain types of treatment superior choices to others.
Liquid treatments, for example, are highly effective when a complete product barrier can be formed. However, if the full exterior of the home is not accessible, there may be gaps in a liquid barrier that pests can exploit. In such instances, a bait treatment might be a superior option.
The takeaway is that there is no single best termite treatment. Different products work in different instances, and sometimes a combination of products is necessary to completely deal with a termite threat.
Due to this, it is critical that the technicians treating your home for termites first inspect the home. A thorough inspection can provide necessary data for constructing a targeted treatment plan that eradicates the pest population from your home.
So this spring, don’t let termites get out of hand in your home. Schedule an inspection early on to detect termite activity BEFORE it gets out of hand. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You will save yourself a lot of time, money, and frustration by protecting your home from termites before an extensive infestation occurs.
For homeowners in the Cherokee County area looking for termite protection, Canton Termite and Pest Control is the number one provider of pest solutions! We have decades of experience in the industry providing fast, effective, and safe treatments that get pests out of your home and keep them out!
So for a pest fix that WORKS, give us a call TODAY at 770-479-1598!
