How do you tell if your home has termites?

Answer 1

Identifying damage

Dry wood with and against the grain of the wood with small fecal pellets - the damage will be smooth and clean. Subterranean will have no visible pellets, the damage will be filled with mud/dirt & will only go with the grain of the wood.

I once found that I had termites because there was a "tube" on the interior wall involved. Even though I had the wall taken out, luckily the termite colony had died. The outside wall had a faucet.

Identifying termites

Termite wings will be twice as long as the body, ants right around the same length as the body. Termite antennae will be pointed outwards, ants will be at a 90 degree angle. Dry wood termites are brown/maroon or gold in color. Subterranean termites will be jet black. Subterranean wings will have a whitish appearance, Drywood wings will have an iridescent appearance.It is a really good idea to go through a few termites pictures to get yourself familiar with how termites look like. Going through a few pictures always works better than reading text for me. You may use Google image search to find some pictures. I have included a website focused on termites pictures (!) in the related sites list as well.

Getting an InspectionMost pest control firms will do an inspection for free. However, make sure you call a reputable firm and get a couple of estimates before having work done. Most lenders require a clear termite report before making a loan.

The termites can do can be very severe. Keep your eye open for termite swarmers in or around your house. Using spectrum terminate bait stations as a early termite detection kit may also help to protect your home from termites. Their pop-up indicators will let you know if termites are foraging in the ground close to your home. These should only be used as termite monitors and not a stand alone treatment to rid your house of termites.

Answer 2

Although there are many different kinds of termites, there are a few structural termites that can cause large amounts of damage. Here in Hawaii we have Formosan ground termites as well as West Indian Drywood termites.

Ground termites need the moisture from the ground to survive and can usually be identified in a home by either mud tunnels coming up from the ground, or damage with mud in the destroyed wood.

Dry wood termites produce small, sand like droppings that they kick out of a hole in the wood the are infesting. There are some pictures of ground termite tubes and dry wood damage on this site.

http://www.kilaueapest.com/termites

Answer 3

1. Swarming

This is usually the first clue that tips homeowners off to having a termite infestation. Swarming is probably the most visible sign that you may have a termite problem. Swarms are most often found in spring time, because this is when termites fly from their colonies in order to establish a new colony. If there is a termite problem in your home, you will often find dead termites lying on sashes and below windows where they have tried to escape your home.

2. Shelter Tubes

Subterranean termites need moisture to live, and they live in small, protected spaces. They build tunnels of mud and earth across exposed areas that are as thick as a pencil. You can see if these tubes are still active by breaking one off and see if the termites rebuild it.

3. Bugs

Pull back the mulch around suspicious areas of the house, or even any wood near the house to look for termites.

4. Hollowed wood

Probe any suspect wood with a screwdriver to see if it has been hollowed out. Severely damaged wood may sound hollow when it's tapped.

5. Dirt in wood

Some homeowners may get confused between water damage and termite damage, since they can often be related. The best way to differentiate the two is that termites bring bits of dirt up into the wood.

Answer 4

It takes only a few termites to completely wreak havoc on a home. If a termite problem is left untreated, there can be several thousand dollars worth of damage that a homeowner will be forced to pay for. There are a few signs that any homeowner should be aware of to avoid this problem. The first signs of termite infestation are sometimes hard to see. This is because termites will usually begin to eat away at the foundation or outside of a home first. Perform regular checks under and around the outside of your home. Look for apparent holes and wood that appears to be breaking down for no reason. This could mean that you have a termite problem.

Answer 5

Look in areas such as under sills, floor joists, skirtings (kick boards ) and especially around areas of the house where it touches the floor

Answer 6

Carpenter ants have pinched waists and two sets of different sized wings.

Swarming termites (alates) have no segments on their bodies and two sets of equal sized wings.

Answer 7

People with termites should call a terminator company. Houses that have termites need to be treated by a bug company, a company that will get rid of the bugs and termites.

Answer 8

They come a nocking