Termites are gross little creatures. But beyond that, they can also do a ton of damage to your home. Because of the love that termites have for eating and burrowing in wood, they are responsible for damaging many properties. In fact, these ants cause around $5 billion in damage annually in the USA alone.
If you fear you have a termite problem, you must deal with it ASAP. This will help to prevent major damage from occurring. But once the treatments are done, how can you be sure that you are done with termites? They can be tough to spot and it is hard to identify the damage termites leave until it is often too late. However, there are some things you can do. Read on to learn more about how to be sure that your battle with termites is over.
Termites?
Here are three prevention strategies to help you avoid a termite infestation.
1 – Seal Up Any Cracks or Leaks
One of the best ways to prevent any more termites from entering your home is to seal up any leaks or cracks. These can occur at any point of your foundation or external wall, but especially near doors and windows. These small cracks or leaks can make a perfect entry point and/or home for termites, so be sure to patch them up and keep an eye on them.
However, because most homes have a lot of wooden parts of their walls or structure, you may need an additional barrier. You could have a physical termite barrier, but these often need to be added during the construction of a home. Another option is to use a chemical barrier around your home. Treating wood with Borate or a liquid chemical substance can keep these pests away from your walls or foundation.
2 – Bring in the Professionals
While sealing up the cracks and leaks in your walls is great, that doesn’t help with the termites that may already be in your home. You can go around searching every inch of your home for droppings or other signs of termites, but that can be a lot of work and you still might miss things. Instead, if you truly want to rid your house of your termite problem, call in you rlocal exterminatin professionals.
A professional pest control company can not only help stop more termites from entering your home, but they will also use their tools and techniques to ensure your house doesn’t have any left. These professionals can also give you some control and prevention tips, while even helping you learn more about the pest themselves. Many also have websites dedicated to helping customers, so be sure to read a helpful article and educate yourself on how to have a pest-free home.
3 – Keep Wood Away From Your Home
If you truly want to ensure termites are gone and don’t come back to your home, be sure to keep wood away from your home. Termites absolutely love wood, due to its cellulose, which is what their diet is primarily made up of. Unfortunately, termites can’t tell the difference between the wood of a tree or shrub, from the wood within your home.
As a result, try to keep all outdoor wood away from your home to increase the chances that termites won’t come knocking. Avoid stacking firewood against your home, and rid your yard of any old or rotting tree stumps. If you have a wooden deck, be sure that it is at least 6 inches or more off of the ground.
Separating soil from wood if you have a garden is something to keep in mind. Be sure to eliminate wood to ground contact when you can, as well. Anything you can do to keep termites as far away from your home, the better.
The Bottom Line on Getting Rid of Termites
We hope that the information we shared in this blog post helps you rid your house of these unwanted pests. So to reduce your odds of a new termite infestation, remember to:
- Seal up your home
- Call in the experts
- Keep wood away from your home
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
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