Are You Facing a Termite Infestation at Home? Assess the Severity of the Invasion and Take Proper Action to Get Rid of Termites Immediately

Best Ways to Get Rid of Termite at Home

Homeowners face a wide range of pest invasions. One of the most dangerous of these is a termite infestation. Once termites enter into a home, they’ll start to chew through walls and doorways. Their chewing will go on until they have caused substantial damage to your furniture and other wooden items. Whenever there is a termite infestation in your home, you should take note of it immediately and take preventive measures to get rid of these pests and keep them out in future.

Are you aware of the most effective ways that you can use to get rid of termites at home? Read on to find out what attracts termites to your house and how you can ensure a termite-free home.

What Attracts Termites?

When you are planning to get rid of the termite, the very first thing you should know is why they are attracted to your home.

Prevention is always better than treatment. So, you should take the preventive steps first to keep termites out. Termites can enter your home due to various reasons. The biggest reason for a termite invasion is wood. Any homeowner who has furniture items and other structures made up of wood is at the risk of attracting termites. The termite feeds on the organic fibrous material present in the wood. A termite can chew on and eat both dry and moist wood.

Moist soil is another thing which attracts termites. Pests always look for a place where they can take shelter in and thrive. Moist soil provides termites the environment which helps termite thrive. In moist soil, termites can easily keep themselves hydrated. Moreover, termites also use moist soil to build mud tubes. Subterranean termites are known to build mud tubes, also referred to as shelter or foraging tubes. Termites use these tubes to carry food supplies to their colony. Apart from this, termites also like places which are dark and warm. Like other pests, termites too like to live in a place where they can remain hidden from our eyes. So, they search for warm and dark places in a house such as gutters and pipes.

How to Get Rid of Termites

If you have spotted the presence of termites in your home, you should take immediate action. Delaying termite treatment can worsen the situation even more and the extent of damage will be much larger. Given below are some of the best tips you should use to get rid of termites in your house.

Eliminate All Sources of Moisture:

The biggest reason termites will enter and thrive in your house is the presence of moisture. Examine all areas of your home and identify the places which have moisture. If your house is located in a humid environment, you’ll often face the moisture problem. In that case, you should purchase a dehumidifier to get rid of the extra moisture.

During the summer season, you should use air conditioning to keep the temperature low in the house. Do you have a leaky roof? If your roof has leaks or cracks, moisture can easily get entrapped inside and this will attract termites. Make sure the water droplets from the air conditioning does wet any wall or wooden structure. From the roof to the basement, you should inspect all areas for leaks and fix the issues quickly. In short, you need to keep your house free from extra moisture so as to keep termites away. Take the help of a professional, if required.

Declutter Your Home:

You’ll not be able to remove termite permanently, if you don’t rearrange the clutter spaces in your house. You should make sure that all the areas in your house are in order and free from any stuff that you don’t need. Get rid of those old papers, magazines and cardboards.

Termites are always looking for stuff where they can hide. When decluttering, it is a good idea to make a list of all the useless material that you should remove from the house. Take a closer look at your home as a first time visitor. Take the help of your family members to make decluttering easy. If you already have a termite infestation in a room, make sure you don’t move items or things from the room to another room which is not affected by termites. If you are not careful, you can transfer termite infestation to other rooms via old newspapers, magazines and cardboard boxes as well as items of furniture which are under attack.

Seal All Entry Points:

Check all the doors and windows and find the cracks and gaps from where termites can enter. Seal up all these entry points to keep termites out. If needed, take the help of a carpenter. Once all the gaps and holes have been sealed, termites won’t have the opportunity to enter your house from the outdoors. Sealing up will also kill the existing termites.

Tend the Garden:

What type of mulch do you use? While mulch is essential for retaining moisture in the soil and keeping the soil cool, you should try to use a mulch which is made from gravel or rubber. If you plan to remove termites, using mulch made of wood is not a good idea. Also, see where you store the mulch. Don’t keep the mulch leaning or touching the wall of your house.

Inspect All Wooden Structure in the House:

Even when you are not aware, termites may be present in the wooden structure of your house. You need to take a closer look at all the wooden furniture, doors and windows. All termites search for is wood, and they will chew on wood wherever they can find it. These pests make tunnels through wooden structures and keep chewing inside. You’ll notice the damage only when it gets to a point where it is clearly visible.

If you have spotted the presence of termites in your home, seek the help of a pest control expert for a thorough inspection so that you can find out the severity of the problem and take up the correct measures.

Store Wood Properly:

Certainly, you’ll need firewood to burn in the fireplace. But where do you store it? When facing a termite infestation, you should pay attention to where you keep the firewood. Keep all the stacks of wood outside the house. Don’t store it abutted against the side of your house, as this can lead to problems and attract termites to your house.

Place Affected Items in Direct Sunlight:

Termites will die when exposed to direct sunlight for several days consecutively. If you have a piece of wooden furniture or wooden item, which has been infested with termites, take it out and place it in sunlight. Leave the affected wooden item in the sun for at least 2-3 days. In this way, all the moisture from the furniture will evaporate and the termites will be killed. After that, apply termite spray on the furniture.

It is a best practice to use termite spray on other pieces of wooden furniture in your home as well so they remain termite-free.

Use Borate Wood Preservatives:

Borate is a chemical which contains the property of repelling termites. Before a piece of wooden item is primed and painted, it should be treated with borate. The chemical gets into the wood and keeps termites away for as long as the chemical is there. If you are looking for termite prevention tips, using borate preservatives is a great idea.

Applying Insecticides: Effective Termite Treatment

It is not just termite spray that you can use to kill termites. There are many other types of insecticides and chemicals that can remove a termite infestation. However, the application of toxic chemicals and insecticides should be done with the help of a pest control expert, who have experience dealing with a wide variety of termite infestations in houses and apartments.

Whether it is the use of poisoned termite baits, foam agents, dust agents or other types of insecticides, it is crucial to follow the correct method. For example, placement of baits for killing termites will be successful when it is applied in areas where there is termite activity. Before the bait can be placed, an inspection needs to be done of the entire property to determine the seriousness of the problem. After the bait has been placed, it has to be monitored carefully. If the placed baits have been eaten, then more baits need to be placed in the targeted areas.

If the termite situation requires the use of liquid pesticides, it should be applied using the right method. There can be areas where the liquid pesticide will not reach. In that case, foam agents will be used.

Professional Termite Control and Removal

It is good to know how to identify, control and remove termites at home. If the infestation is small, you can handle it on your own. However, if the termite invasion is of a large scale and the issue is a serious one, you should definitely reach out to an exterminator and pest control service for immediate help. Professionals have experience in removing termites and preventing further damage to wooden furniture and other wooden items as well as keeping out termites in future.

If you are looking for a reputable and experienced pest control company in Menifee, CA, head straight to Activated Pest Solutions Inc.

We have mastered the technique of getting rid of subterranean and drywood termites through fast and effective family-safe solutions. Give our office a phone call now for a thorough inspection of your home. After the inspection, we’ll come up with the most ideal treatment for termite removal.