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There are two main ways that termites may come to infest your house (assuming they werent already there in the first place); from atmosphere and through the ground.

A drywood termite infestation typically takes place when an existing colony sends out flying termite swarmers. Once these swarmers find a wooden crevice in your home, they lose their wings, split out a little nest, and begin laying eggs to start a brand new termite colony.

On the other hand, subterranean termites, whose colonies are underground, can enter your house through its foundations. Because these termites forage for food, they could stumble upon a wealthy new food supply your house. Subterranean termites commonly build mud tunnels over foundation walls to get the wooden areas of the structure.

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Note: While there are different species of termites, these are the two most common species responsible for most of the harm to peoples homes.

One of the main reasons that termites can be so damaging is that by the time that many homeowners discover the infestation, acute damage has already been done. A termite infestation is similar to cancer; notice it early and chances are pretty good, catch it late and the treatment will probably likely be painful and intensive. .

Therefore, it's extremely important that you learn how to identify the signs of a termite infestation. Keep a look out to the following:

If you find a swarm of winged termites near or around your house, thats a sure sign that a termite colony is nearby. Similar to winged ants, these winged termites are very likely to swarm around a light source. They also look rather similar,And the layperson will not have the ability to tell them apart. .

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Termite swarmers dont maintain their wings long. Once they lose their wings, they're in search of places to construct new nests.

If you notice small piles of lost swarmers wings on areas like window sills, or captured in spider webs, there may be a termite colony nearby; or one going to begin.

Mud tubes are little tunnels made by termites to transport food back to their colony. Source: masseyservices.com

Subterranean termites construct mud tubes (sometimes known as shelter or foraging tubes) as links between their food source and their colony. All these are produced from dirt, debris, and timber, and they help protect the colony against predators and conserve moisture.

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If you have a subterranean termite infestation, you will find these tubes at the foundations of your home or in its substructure.

As subterranean termites eat through the wood of your house, they produce termite galleries. These will be the empty spaces left in the wood as they burrow through it. Typically, termite galleries run parallel to the grain of the wood.

Drywood termites leave behind their fecal droppings as they munch through the timber in your home. Their droppings, known as frass, are pellet-shaped, and look like thick grains of sand or sawdust. Should you find mounds of termite droppings in and around your house, you likely have a drywood termite infestation. .

Termites will eat your house from the click for more info inside out; thats what makes them so insidious. A bit of wood could look perfectly normal on the outside but be completely infested with termites on the inside. Should you suspect a check termite infestation at a certain area, tap or puncture the timber to see whether its hollow.

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Coupled with different signs of termite infestation, swollen wooden floorboards can mean that there is termite damage underneath them.

Termites enjoy dark and moist areas. Thats why they live just under the surface of the wood and bring in moisture into their termite galleries. This moisture can often cause the wood to swell. If you have termites in your wooden floors, the floors will probably start to swell. Similarly, the moisture can also cause the paint on wooden surfaces to bubble or peel; particularly if the termites have eaten all the way up into the paint coating. .

Since these signs are similar to the signs of general water leaks (since theyre both caused by moisture), make certain to rule out any water flows first. In case youve determined that water leaks are not the cause, you can inspect further by seeing whether the timber is now hollow.

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You may have noticed we left off termite mounds off this listing. Even though stereotypical, not all of termite species build mounds. In reality, no North American termite species construct mounds; the ones who do originate mostly in Australia and Africa.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, termites trigger $40 billion per year in damages worldwide and are responsible for destroying 600,000 houses in the United States annually. The total annual cost of termite control and damage repair in the United States is $2 billion. This does not include costs to the military in the Formosan termite (a subterranean species).