Every building owner should learn how to prevent termites with deterents, repellents, and preventative strategies. Termites are invasive species of insect that can cause considerable property damage. They can chew through flooring, wood, and wallpaper undetected. They are also capable of causing significant structural harm to the property’s exterior.
Of all the insect colonies that can set up camp near your abode, this is one of only a select few that eats continuously. For this and other reasons, learning how to prevent termites is one of the best things that you can do to protect what is for most people, their most expensive investment.
How to prevent termites from entering your home
Eliminate or Cover Standing Bodies of Water
Like many other invasive insects, termites need adequate moisture to survive. Standing bodies of stagnant water create the ideal drinking and breeding grounds for these termites—especially subterranean termites.
Covering or draining pools and ponds, particularly during the spring months will limit the number of termites that congregate on or around the property. Also, fix any water leaks in your home as soon as possible and replace any water-damaged timber in your home because termites love damp partially decomposing wood.
Close Off Entry Points
Termites are not just a problem on the property exterior. They will go wherever there is sufficient food and water for their survival. There are many structural materials on the inside of the home that are just as desirable as the ones outside.
Sealing off gaps around water and gas lines will eliminate the most common entry points for these insects. It is also a good idea to repair all leaks in faucets, pipes, and outside AC units. Window air conditioning units should be properly installed and sealed to ensure that these do not permit termite access as well.
View termite prevention as a three-fold process
An effective prevention plan will be a multi-pronged effort. Homeowners can have regular, preventative treatments performed by termite control professionals. These are especially important in regions in which termite populations flourish.
Consumers should also use strategies in the property interior and throughout all landscaped areas for making their homes less appealing. Finally, it is important to take diligent action to identify and address any existing termite colonies on or around the actual building structure. A prevention plan that lacks any of these steps is not an effective one.
Reduce areas with wood-to-ground-contact
Among the most common entry points for subterranean termites are areas in which structural wood comes in direct contact with the ground. It is therefore important to eliminate or minimize wood-to-ground contacts around the property.
Bait systems and termiticides can be used in these areas to prevent infestation. These efforts also pertain to secondary wood structures on the property such as wood tool sheds. Termite infestations that affect secondary wood structures can begin to migrate to the actual home as the population expands.
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Install Bug Screens And Paint Your Home
Seal off all vents at the attic and foundation by installing bug screens. You should also resolve any moisture issues in crawlspaces, attics, and basement areas at this time. Adding a fresh coat of paint to your property is another way to help prevent termite infestations. This will effectively seal off any small cracks and holes in wood surfaces.
Repeling Termites Outside
Remove deadfall and spare wood around property
A simple, often overlooked step that prevents termite infestations is to remove all deadfall and spare wood laying around your property.
When branches tree branches fall down after storms, haul them away.
If you you have old construction lumber sitting around that you don’t need anymore, store it in your garage (after first inspecting it to ensure it doesn’t have any signs of termites) or sell or scrap it.
Old untreated wood fence posts or panels can attract termites too, so keep them painted, stained, treated. Or replace them.
How to prevent termites when building a new house
Eliminate wood landscaping features
Avoid landscaping features like wood mulch. These are attractive and abundant food sources that will lure termites closer to your property. Although wood mulch is becoming an increasingly common addition to yards given the limited amount of maintenance and resource that it requires, the related risk of developing a termite infestation more than offsets the benefits of this design strategy.
Consider artificial lawns or native plants instead. There are also a number of low-cost mulch alternatives on the market that are cellulose-free. Dead trees and firewood should also be removed as these materials can harbor drywood termites as well.
Inspect All Lumber Used In Home And Garden & Landscaping Projects
Before beginning a new home or garden project, carefully inspect the wood that you’re using for signs of termite activity. This is especially important when using railroad ties and used lumber on your property.
It is also important to properly store these materials throughout the course of your project in order to ensure that they remain termite-free and do not serve as an attractive food source.
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Identify and Treat Existing Colonies
Although termites can create extensive damage in a relatively short period of time, the termite colony would need to be quite large to create damage in a short time period. Many infestations go unnoticed by homeowners for years until the problem colony grows so large that the problem has spiraled out of control.
If termite infestations are common in your area, having your property expected once or twice each year will allow you to limit damages and overall repair costs. In addition to termiticides, termite control professionals can also use a variety of other pest management tools to cull existing populations. Some of the more common pest management strategies for termites include:
A large part of learning how to prevent termites is being able to recognize termite activity. Whenever these bugs are found on our near the home, contacting local pest control services is essential.
These bugs breed rapidly and eat constantly. Having seasoned pest control specialists address small colonies in a timely fashion will prevent minor and treatable infestations from spiraling out of control.
i’ve been catching queen termites with natural spider webs. how can i reproduce more spider webs to catch more termites??
Tom,
What are you catching the queen termites with spider webs for? As a termite control technique? I have honestly not heard of this before. If you could share more about it, that would be great!