Drywood termites can destroy a home over a course of a few years. As they have existed for millions of years they typically attack wood and trees and can last a lifetime within dry areas. To know for sure you have them you may want to look outside your home for termite wings, fecal pellets and even bite markings.
If there are any exposed areas of your home with cracks, breakage, rotting wood or pipe leakage then you are most likely going to end up with some sort of infestation with the termite family. Analyze your home to make sure that you don’t have any evidence of termites and plug up the holes and cracks that you see. The best solution to knowing for sure whether or not you have drywood termites is to contact a professional that will handle drywood termite treatment.
As a homeowner, you may consider looking for evidence of termites before calling a professional exterminator. If you determine that there was at least a little evidence of termites then clean up the area and wait a few days to check again. This will help you figure out if they are active currently. Upon realizing that the drywood termites are active in your home, decide on whether you want to spend the time doing it yourself or save a lot of time by hiring a professional. If you choose to do it yourself then there are a few ways to try to kill these pests.
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Heat Treatment
This prevents any usage of chemicals while still being able to get rid of them from your home. This local treatment will help destroy the cellular membraned and enzymes of the termites. Heat is pumped into the infected area for at least 30 minutes up to 12 hours depending on the severity of the situation and the heat can reach as hot as 120 degrees. Eradication of the drywood termites will take place where heat is confined. This isn’t a guarantee that all of the termites will be removed or killed. Remove any heat sensitive items that you have around to avoid damage.
Spot Treatment
With the use of aerosol and other liquid forms of sprays, the termites can be killed off or removed from the areas that are infected by these pests. Some liquid forms to consider arecyfluthrin, nitrogen, and tetrahydrate.
Fumigants
Use Methylbromide and Sulfuryl Fluoride to help fumigate the infected areas of your home. This treatment will also take time to remove all of the termites, but it will do the job. It takes up to two days to finish this tenting process but it’s more thorough than any other procedure. You will need to evacuate the home for two days along with pets.
Beware
When beginning your drywood termite treatment they could start flying over to an adjacent area of wood that could be more difficult to remove them from. Spot treatments and heating will leave room for other areas of your home to get infested whereas fumigation offers the most promising results.
Once you know for sure that you have gotten rid of all of the drywood termites then it’s time to start replacing and repairing the areas that were destroyed. This will help ensure that they will not return. Calling upon a specialist will allow you to recognize when there is a continuous problem or no longer a problem. An expert will use fumigant gas pumped throughout the home that will get rid of every living termite along with its eggs that may be laying around.This will occur within a short period of time while trying to fumigate yourself will lead you to long hours and possible frustration of not removing all of the termites, causing additional problems.
When looking for a home it needs to be inspected and approved by a professional before purchasing it. You don’t want a home that is infested with drywood termites. Keep in mind some of the things to look for when simply looking at a home.
- Termite wings
- Termite fecal matter
- Scratches and chewed wood
- Broken areas of walls inside
- Cracks in the exterior
- An obvious infestation with mounds of termites
To help prevent drywood termites from returning or appearing keep your home up to par by having an inspection by a professional each year. Remove any rotting wood that may be laying around and replace any broken or rotten wood around windows and door frames. Analyze your posts regularly and make sure you don’t see any shavings of wood piled up on your patio or porch. Decks can be a typical area for drywood termites to accumulate especially if you don’t treat it every couple of years. For homes that have already experienced an infestation then this is a definite tradition to continue as it has been open season for termites to infest and it can become a vicious cycle if you don’t get the proper treatment from the beginning and maintain an annual inspection.
Thanks for sharing about drywood termite treatment. I hadn’t even realized there were different types of termites until reading this. I actually think we have subterranean termites around where I live (in North Carolina).
Glad you figured this out Kate. It’s important to know what kind of termites live in your area because they will typically attempt to enter your home via different methods and, therefore, require different control measures. Of course, if you hire a pest company you will not have to worry about this too much, but it is still useful knowledge. At least, something to keep in mind. For example, if subterranean termites are common in your parts, keep an eye out for termite mud tubes which they use to protect themselves when they have to traverse an area between the earth and their target destination. It is common to see these going up your house or commercial building foundation.