Learning About Natural Pest Control

Don't Get Eaten Out Of House And Home: How To Tell If You've Got A Termite Problem

29 August 2017 by Norah Slieker

If you own a home, the last thing you want to find is termites. Once your home is infested with termites, it's only a matter of time before they've eaten you out of house and home; literally. Termites survive on a diet of wood; more specifically the cellulose found in wood. Once they start eating your home, they won't stop until they've been eradicated. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to identify if you don't know what you're looking for. Luckily, termites are good at leaving calling cards. As soon as you know what to look for, you can begin inspecting your home for the tale-tell signs:

Your Home is Invaded by a Swarm of White Ants

One of the things that make it so difficult to identify termites is that they look quite similar to winged ants. If you've found a swarm of white ants living in your home, they're not ants. They're actually termites, and if you've got a swarm inside your home, you're dealing with a serious infestation.

You're finding Wings Around the House

Termites don't always come out where you can see them. They usually stay hidden in the walls, or along the windowsills inside your home. However, it's easy to identify a termite problem just by looking on the windowsills, and along the baseboards, especially during molting season. During this time, termites lose their wings. If you're finding discarded wings throughout the house, especially on the windowsills and along the baseboards, it's a sure sign that you've got termites eating you out of house and home.

You've Got Frass

Frass is another sign that you have termites. If you're not sure what frass is, it's the fecal matter that's left behind by termites. Frass resembles small specks of nutmeg or pepper, and you it's usually found along the edges of windows and others areas of active termite activity. Frass builds up inside the walls of your home and is pushed up through the cracks as termites dig their tunnels.

You Hear Clicking From the Walls

You might not know this, but termites actually make a distinctive sound when they're inside your walls. If you listen carefully, you can hear a clicking coming from inside your walls. That clicking is actually the sound of the worker termites warning the rest of the colony about impending danger. If you can hear clicking from your walls, it's a good indication that you have a large termite population living in your home.

Termites pose a serious threat to your home. If you've found any of the warning signs described here, you should schedule a termite inspection immediately. Check out a website like http://www.craigandsons.com for more information and assistance. 

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