"An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure" - Benjamin Franklin

Most of the things you can do to keep termites safely out of your home are easy to do!

• Eliminate wood in contact with the ground. Think about adding a cement slab for wood to be on. Don’t stack firewood up against the house as that provides easy access to your crawlspaces as well as hiding places for termites to flourish. Keep wood piles far from your home.

• Check regularly for any moisture near your foundation. Make sure your gutters are draining water away from the foundation.(Like MANY pests, termites LOVE WATER)

• Think about running a dehumidifier in crawl spaces and basements to reduce moisture.

• Use mulch sparingly and keep mulch away from your foundation. Mulch is both a food source and water source for termites, so use stone around your foundation or start your mulch at least a foot away from your home. It's not long before they'll go from snacking on your mulch to feasting on your home. 

• Deal with tree stumps near your home. Rotting stumps can attract termites. When they're done with your stump, they will seak another meal. Bait traps can be placed around stumps until you're able to have them ground and removed by a professional. 

Termites are not white ants. They are more closely related to the cockroach family. That alone might inspire you to call Victoria’s Pest Control. The thing about termites is that often they are unseen and when they are ‘seen’ thousands of dollars in damage has already occurred. Worker termites are the ones that do the damage, their whole lives are spent in dark tunnels, where they literally blindly chew and feed on wood.

While selling or buying a home in New Jersey does not require a home inspection, the mortgage company usually requests one. Regardless of the type of home in question, a termite inspection is a good idea to have. If there is wood, there is a possibility of termites.

Signs of termites:

  • Finding mud leads leading from the ground to your home. Termite tubes are paths that these bugs make in order to travel from their food source to the colony. They will appear as dirt-like lines on the walls or foundation of your home. Destroying the termite tubes does not get rid of the real problem which is termite infestation.
  • These can be attached to downspouts and pipes. Look for these as signs around your home’s foundation
  • If your house is built on a concrete slab, then termites may get into your home through a crack or gap under the concrete, which will leave little sign that they are in the home.
  • When termites sense danger, the soldier termites will knock their heads against the wood to warn other termites away from danger. If you hear a slight knocking noise it could be an indicator of termite infestation.
  • Termites eat from the middle of the wood out, and generally leave the exposed or painted surface untouched. Over time the wood takes on a papery quality. Knocking on the wood produces a hollow sound.
  • Frass, is termite droppings, pellets that are another indication of termite presence.

Any house that has wood floors and walls is vulnerable to termite damage. Termites may find their way into your home via wood that is near your home, like your deck, mulch, stacked firewood, and even tree limbs. Some species of termites, like subterranean termites, are attracted to moisture. Termites often can be found living below the frost line and above the water line at the foundation of your home.

Termites are Seasonal- Infestations are usually discovered in the spring, between March and May due to the finding of discarded wings of the adult termites.

There are three roles for termites:

  • Workers do the chewing damage, these are creamy colored, 3-4 mm long, blind and typically only seen when a mud foraging tube is broken,or infested wood is broken open.
  • Swarmers are the reproductive cast of the termite colony. They are approximately 4 mm long and dark brown or black in color. The ones that do not lose their wings will swarm to find a mate and begin their own colony.
  • Soldiers job is to protect the colony. In case of danger they bang on thewood which sounds like knocking.
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Hire the professional pest control company, Victoria’s Pest Control to assess your home, to eradicate the problem and further, prevent a re-occurrence. Going it alone may mean more damage as most of the colony is out of sight.

Termites do serve a purpose in the wild. Termites feed on wood and turn this food back into the soil as nutrients. This is an honorable purpose. However, they make no distinction between your home and a tree in the woods. This is where pest control experts can resolve issues and turn your home back into a safe haven.

Preventing Termites:

Most of the things you can do to keep termites safely out of your home are easy to do!

  • Eliminate wood in contact with the ground. Think about adding a cement slab for wood to be on. Don’t stack firewood up against the house as that provides easy access to your crawlspaces as well as hiding places for termites to flourish.
prevent-termites
  • Check regularly for any moisture near your foundation. Make sure your gutters are draining water away from the foundation.
  • Think about running a dehumidifier in crawl spaces and basements to reduce moisture.
  • Use mulch sparingly and keep mulch away from your foundation. Remember termites seek moisture and mulch is a moisture retainer. As it isn’t much of a food source, termites will keep seeking. Use crushed stones instead.

Doing these things will limit the ability for termites to gain access to your home.