Termites: Quiet Home-Wreckers

Spring, the time of year when termite infestations are most often discovered, is still some time away. However, despite the fact that it is getting colder, and it doesn’t seem likely that there is an insect alive, there is just as much likelihood right now as in the spring that there is a termite infestation near or in your home.

The truth is that termites are exceptional at staying hidden until the mating season. All they need to be happy is a subterranean nest, well-insulated from the cold, and a steady supply of wood. In the winter, that can mean the piles of wood you use for fires, or it can mean the structural wood of your home—termites aren’t picky. Once they have established a colony, they can cause costly damage to foundations, walls, floors, and furniture within the home.

Termite Facts

• Termites come in several varieties; however, the most commonly-encountered termites in home infestations in the Northeast are subterranean termites.
• The Eastern Subterranean Termite is the single most dominant species of termite in the Eastern United States. Due to the region being heavily industrialized, it is also one of the most economically important termites in the country. Most of the termite infestations Connor’s deals with involve this variety of termite.
• The winged termites seen in the spring around infested homes serve more than just to give you a surefire sign that your house is infested or make your heart skip a beat. The purpose of these termites is to find a mate and start another colony. Termites in this stage do not eat, and so when trapped indoors die off quickly.

How to Find a Termite Infestation
Winged termites swarming into your home is certainly one way to find out about a termite infestation. However, it is highly distressing to see such termites in your home suddenly, and such an appearance usually occurs only after extensive damage has been done to your home. A trained pest control professional can help you find and fight a termite infestation before such damage occurs, but there are a couple of things to watch out for:

• Tap the wood in a few different locations in your house. Termite-damaged wood will have a hollow sound when tapped.
• heck the foundations around your home. Termites like to build things while they’re destroying buildings: Mud tunnels, which offer the termites a way to get from the colony to their food source and back without being exposed to weather or predators, can be seen on the foundations of most termite-infested homes.

When a termite infestation is found, there are two ways to treat the infestation: liquid barrier systems and bait systems. At Connor’s, we use the Termidor liquid barrier system and the Sentricon bait systems for termite control. We selected these products for their efficiency and environmental friendliness. Termidor is designed to be applied carefully in small quantities around the home in order to minimize the product’s environmental footprint, and the product itself strictly adheres to EPA guidelines. Likewise, the Sentricon solution uses the least amount of active ingredients possible while still being effective, making it the only termite solution to win the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award.

Termites are sometimes able to bypass even the best-laid perimeter treatments due to tiny holes in the protection created by shifting soil, and baits can sometimes take some time for termites to find. This is why Connor’s frequently uses both tactics at once in order to create a multi-layered home defense against termites.

Also popular are service plans. These plans use the liquid pesticide and bait treatment as a preventative measure to ensure that termite colonies are not able to get established to attack a home. These service plans include regular treatments and inspections.

Termite infestations are difficult to treat because they happen so quietly. Usually, by the time a homeowner knows they have a termite infestation, a substantial amount of damage has already been done to their home. This is why service plans are so popular, as they best protect a home from damage caused by termite infestations.

Connor’s Recommendation on Termites
Connor’s recommends an inspection and preventative treatment for termites. With the devastating impact termites have on homes, we advise keeping these insects out before they ever get in, unless you feel like rolling the dice on your home’s structure. And if you have termites, waste no time in removing them. These pests are not to be ignored. Call us today and kick the termites out.