What Are the Leading Signs of Termites?

Did you know that termites cause more than $5 billion each year in house damage in the United States of America? Termites are silent and often undetectable destroyers of homes, and it is important that you know the proper signs of termites in your home if you want to stop them in their tracks.

Termite damage is often significant because it goes unnoticed, and before you know it you’re the victim of a full-blown termite infestation. If you want to keep your home in great condition for years to come then there are certain signs of a termite infestation that you need to know about.

The good news is that you’re in the perfect place to learn about termite damage and the signs that termites have found their way into your home. Keep reading this article to learn about the most common signs of termites.

Damaged Wood

If you’re looking for the most common and telltale sign that there are termites in your home then you need to keep a close eye on the different areas that have wood within your home. Wood damage is usually the first sign that you’ll get that you have a termite infestation inside of your home.

Termites work by eating wood from the inside out, and there is a clear pattern that they leave inside of the wood from the way that they go about eating it. You’ll find that the wood that termites have damaged becomes more hollow and that it isn’t nearly as strong.

Most homes have wooden supports that keep the structure of your home intact. Termites can weaken those supports which will lead to expensive repairs that hurt your household budget and could put your family in a dangerous situation. If you think you’ve got termites then you need to be willing to pay the exterminator cost.

Termite Tubes

Another one of the telltale signs that your home has a termite infestation is the termite tubes. If your home has subterranean termites then these critters will use mud tubes to get across open areas. These tubes are important for protecting the termites from weather conditions and predators.

They’re also important for providing a path from the termite nest to the food source. As soon as you see these termite tubes you’ll have all of the evidence that you need to confirm that you need termite extermination in your home. If you find mud tubes then you should also keep an eye out for mud mounds.

The termites that build the mud tubes also have a habit of building large mounds that are made of the same type of mud. If you live in a tropical or subtropical climate then you need to keep an extra close eye out for these termite mounds and tubes in your home.

Swarmers

You might know the answer to “What are termites”, but do you know about swarmers? Swarmers are the main scouts of the termite colony. They’re winged adult termites that have the ability to cover ground and look for a new location for a termite colony. Many people make the mistake of thinking that swarmers are ants with wings, but that mistake will prove costly.

If you find a group of swarmers or winged termites near your home then it is a smart move to get in touch with a termite extermination service in your area as soon as possible. The termites in the local colony are looking for a new home and it is possible that they’ve picked out yours as their next target.

Droppings

It should come as no secret that termites eat a lot of food. A big clue that you have a termite infestation in your home is when you start finding termite droppings in and around your house. Termite feces are also called frass, and they’re what the termite digests and leaves behind after eating its way through the wood in your home.

You’ll be able to tell if the droppings are frass or not by the color of them. Frass is often the same color as wood, and you’ll find them in areas where the wood in your home is already infested. Another appearance that frass takes on is that of salt and pepper.

One thing to keep in mind is that areas with high amounts of termite frass are quite close to the entry point for the infestation. If you find a pile of frass then you should look directly above it to see if you can find any small holes in the wood that the termites are getting through.

Clicking Sounds

Another one of the big signs of termites in your home is persistent clicking sounds. If you listen closely when it is quiet, you should have no problem hearing the termites chomping down on the wood in your home. The problem is that there aren’t many times when the world gets quiet enough for you to hear these termites having their feast.

If you think that you might have termites in your walls then you should hold your ears up to the wall to see if you can hear these clicking noises that they’ll make when eating. Keep in mind that this might tip off the soldier termites, whose job it is to alert the colony to signs of danger.

Termites are quite sensitive and aware, and they’ll pick up on things like vibrations and noises that you create when you move about your home. If the soldier termites hear you coming then they’ll let the other termites know and they’ll go into hiding.

Keep Your Eyes Out for Signs of Termites in Your Home

There are plenty of signs of termites that you’ll find when you start looking for a termite inspection, though the most obvious will be damaged wood throughout your home. Termites are sensitive and intelligent, so do your best to prevent alerting the soldier termites. If you find mud tubes or mounds then make sure you contact a termite extermination service as soon as you can.

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