How Do I Prevent Termites From Attacking My Home?
Termites feed on the moisture within wood and various other materials. Worker termites spend all day chewing up your home and then returning to their nest to supply the warrior and reproductive castes of termites with the food they need but cannot get themselves. Once you have an infestation, these hard workers will spend 24 hours a day removing large chunks of your home. Unlike people, termites don’t sleep.
So, if you’ve had a recent infestation exterminated, you’re probably wondering how you can prevent a future one. Below, we’ll discuss how homes set themselves up for a termite infestation and what you can do to prevent one.
Access Denied
One of the most effective ways of keeping termites out of your home is simply sealing their main areas of entry. The Amco Ranger techs provide our clients with preventative inspections that remove current infestations and prevent future ones.
What can you do?
- Seal cracks – Termites gain access to your home through tiny cracks in the foundation or areas where your gas and water lines have gaps. When these are sealed, there’s one less way for termites to enter your home. In some cases, all you will need to do is apply a fresh coat of paint around likely areas.
- Reduce wood-to-ground contact – Areas where you have wood in contact with the ground must be reduced to the extent possible or completely sealed. Subterranean termites will gain access to homes here. If removal is not an option, treating the area with anti-termite pesticide is a good option.
- Replace weather stripping and loose mortar around the basement– Make certain that the termites aren’t getting in through the windows or the areas where the windows meet your basement walls.
- Schedule periodic sprays and inspections – Pest control experts are trained to think like termites (it’s not very hard). We know how termites get into homes and we know why your home is attractive to termites. Scheduling annual or periodic inspections and sprays after a major termite infestation will prevent a future one.
No Food For You
Keeping termites out is one thing. Making your home unattractive to termites can be just as effective. Termites feed on the cellulose in plant material. Any extra wood you have lying around is a potential food source. If you have wood siding, it should be at least six inches off the ground. You can also find cellulose-free mulch which won’t be nearly as attractive to termites.
If there is a lot of dead wood in your backyard, you’ll want to remove it. Drywood termites will consider it food. Additionally, you want to protect any firewood or other lumber you have out back.
In other words, you want to make your home a less-than-ideal target for a potential termite infestation.
No Moisture Sources
Moisture is to termites what poop is to flies. You’ll want to fix things like:
- Leaky faucets or plumbing problems – You’ll want to check under your sink and make sure plumbing problems aren’t making your home more attractive to termites.
- Moisture in crawlspaces and basements – You want to make sure that your washing machine is properly ventilated and that your basement isn’t overly prone to moisture. Cracks in your foundation can cause water to pool and this results in a major termite attraction.
Other areas that will need to be addressed are:
- Air conditioner condensation lines,
- Gutters, and
- Areas under sinks.
Preventing Termite Exposure Before Your Home Is Built
If you’re thinking about building a home, the best time to think about termite control is before the home is built. Anti-termite strategies begin before the home is built and continue during the construction. Basaltic Termite Barriers are made of particles that are packed so tightly together that termites can’t penetrate the barrier. Termite mesh can be used around joints in concrete which have holes too small for termites to pass through. Lastly, there are termite-resistance options for wood that can be used during the construction process such as pressure-treated wood and heartwood.
Amco Ranger Pest Control Experts Can Help With Termite Protection
Termite prevention is complex because there are different kinds of termites and they generally access homes in different ways. Sometimes, inspecting your home is enough to keep termites out for good. Other times, you will need periodic treatments in order to eradicate nearby termite populations. In either event, Amco Ranger offers a top-quality cost-effective option to prevent your most valuable asset from preventable damage.
We service St. Charles and St. Louis in Missouri Talk to us today for a free inspection.
