How To Get Rid Of Factors That Attract Termites To Your Marietta Home

If you don't have proactive termite control installed around your home, it is critical that you perform routine termite inspections and look for active termites. An annual inspection can alert you to signs of termites in your yard, but the warning signs aren't obvious. You can have millions of termites under your feet and not know it. So, along with inspections, we recommend taking steps to reduce the factors that attract termites. Today, we're going to drill into these two topics to help you ensure that you have some protection against termite damage. Of course, the best protection is professional termite pest control in Marietta. You can navigate to our contact page at any time to schedule service. Our service team will guide you toward the right solution for your needs and budget. With that said, let's look at what you can do on your own.

Signs Of Termite Activity To Watch For Around Your Home

The termites in Marietta that are the greatest threat to property are subterranean termites. These termites live in the ground and hide inside wood, and their warning signs are often subtle. Let's start with the warning signs you'll have to dig for (quite literally), and work our way toward the warning signs that are obvious.

Workers: A worker termite is pale and measures ? of an inch long. Workers have a strong aversion to light and avoid coming out into the air because it dehydrates them. In most cases, you'll never see worker termites. But here are a few ways you can expose them:

• Examine dead branches as you pick them up. If you see tiny, pale-colored insects that look like fat ants or maggots with legs, you've found termites.
• Examine the ground when you move stacked wood and objects made of wood. You may see termite workers. But you won't see them for long. They will disappear from view quickly.
• Cut into stumps or dying trees to expose worker termites.

Worker termites are secretive. It isn't easy to uncover them, but knowing that they are incredibly small and that they look like fat ants helps you identify them when you see them. 

Damage: Most of the damage subterranean termites do is on the inside of wood. You'll have a hard time finding damage. But it isn't impossible. Here are places to look and what to look for in these places.

• Inspect the base of wooden posts on your deck. If you see trenches in the wood that feel gritty to the touch, you've found termite damage.
• Inspect fence posts. You may see damage near the ground or below the surface, depending on dampness.
• Tap on wooden support beams. If a beam sounds hollow, there could be termite tunnels inside.
• Look between your landscaping and exterior walls where vegetation touches. In this humid location, termite workers may do damage out in the open. 

Wings: When a termite nest matures, winged termites are created. These insects gather into a swarm and mate. Swarms last less than an hour, so you may only see their shed wings as a sign that a swarm occurred. Look for wings:

• On the ground
• On your back deck
• On window sills
• Around door frames
• In spider webs

Tubes: Subterranean termites create above-ground tunnels called shelter tubes. These tubes are made of soil and termite saliva. Worker termites often create these tubes in the darkness underneath exterior structures because they avoid even moonlight.

• Look on your foundation wall underneath your deck.
• Get into your crawl space and check walls and piers.
• Look underneath your exterior stairs.
• Inspect interior closets and bathrooms. 

Swarmers: These are white winged termites. Their bodies are black or orange, depending on the species. When you see a group of swarmers together, you won't have any trouble detecting them. While each swarmer is only ? of an inch long, their white wings are noticeable when these insects group together to mate. You may see them in many places.

• They might appear on indoor window panes because they are attracted to the light.
• They might appear on your exterior walls because they get onto surfaces as they mate.
• You might find a group of swarmers under mulch or when you expose ground cover over a termite nest. Swarmers are reproductives. They do their reproductive duties for the nest before they leave and gather together to mate outside the nest.

The most noticeable of all signs is the appearance of swarmers, but due to the limited timeframe in which swarms occur, it is difficult to detect this sign. Worse still, some Marietta residents find these winged insects inside and suck them up with their vacuum, not realizing that indoor swarmers are a warning sign of a severe infestation. We hope you don't do that. Keep watch for all of the signs listed above so that termites don't take you by surprise. These insects don't damage your home in a day, week, or month. They don't even damage your home in a year. It takes several years of infestation for serious damage to occur. If you catch termites early, you can arrest the damage.