Signs Your Home Has Termites
Termites are among the most destructive pests. There are around 20 different types of termites and they can chew through wood inside and outside of your home. It is important that you know the signs of termites inside your home before the issue grows worse.
Power is shorting at your home
Termites love the warmth of electrical fittings that are behind walls. If your home electrical keeps shorting out termites can be the reason. You can confirm this by looking over your power points and electrical fittings. If you notice damp mud or build ups of soil, this can indicate a termite problem. Don’t attempt to fix the problem power points as this is very dangerous. Instead, it is best to contact a professional – there are termite pest control treatment services to help rid of termites.
Ceiling and floor damage
Even though termites only eat wood they are happy to feed on what is in their pathway. Even though the termites are small they can bring on huge amounts of damage to the structure of your home and other things like ceiling beams, skirting boards and laminated floors. If you can see cracks and sagging or blisters appearing on the surface it is sign there is present termites. You can also check by knocking on the timber around your home. If the wood sounds hollow it could mean it has been eaten away by the termites.
Swarms of flying bugs
If you can see swarms of flying insects around your home during the summer and spring months you could be nesting flying termites also known as alates. These swarms can indicate there are termite colonies that are present around your home. The flying termites like to reproduce in large piles of wood and tree stumps especially rotting ones. If you have any excess wood laying around your home it is a good idea to remove this to prevent termites from nesting.
Cracked plaster or paint on the walls
When there is termite damage done to the walls it can resemble water damage, but this is not a minor problem. The problem is complicated and a serious one that needs to be fixed. The termite damage can show honeycombing or bubbling effects and it shows that the termites are eating away at the timber inside the internal walls which starts to affect the structural integrity which makes the paint and plaster crack. Once you are at this stage it is too late for prevention and you need to get in contact with an expert asap to get onto this problem.
Mud tubes
The most common termites require shelter as protection once they have come up from the ground. The common mud tubes will look like miniature tubes that can be made of dirt of the droppings of termites. Though it can be hard to notice the mud tubes they are a common red flag that there is a termite infestation in progress. The mud tubes allow the termites to move across terrain that is exposed to inside your home.
If the mud workings are noticed once again it is too late to combat the critters. Avoid the build-ups of dirt and soil around your house so you can try and prevent the travel of termites around your home.
Be careful to check out the signs to ensure that you don’t have a termite problem. If you think you need, do get onto pest controllers as soon as possible to avoid the problem getting worse and further damage being caused.
