Pests Don’t Go Away in the Winter

When you are noticing major damage to the wood in or outside your home, there is already a major termite infestation. By this point, a lot of work needs to be done to kill the termites and to make necessary renovations. However, there are some advanced warning signs of termites that might make this job a little less severe. Here are some common signs of termites you should not ignore.

Wood That Is Clearly Damaged

Once wood is severely damaged to where you are falling through weakened points of your floors or there are major sections of the deck outside missing, you already have a pretty bad termite problem. However, there are also some more subtle damage signs that might be at the beginning stages of a termite infestation. For example, you can try tapping on different areas of wood, such as on the wood floors, wooden beams inside your home, or wooden railing outside. If the sound is more of a dull or flat sound, it might be hollow, which means termites have made their way inside to start doing some damage.

Small Brown Tubes Are in the Soil

What termites first do before they attack the wood in your home is find a safe place to make home in your soil. This is done by using cellulose and mud to create tubes. They move around in these tubes and protect themselves from predators, such as other insects. If you investigate your soil closely and notice multiple small brown tubes, you may have found yourself some termite homes. Typically, if you remove the tube and notice it crop up again after several days, you know you have a termite problem.

There Is Dried Dirt in Wood Cracks

This is one of the lesser-known signs of having termites. If you have some cracks or holes in your foundation, particularly in the wooden areas of your home, look at those cracks to see if you have dried dirt there. If so, termites might be sealing the cracks. Termites want to seal all cracks and holes in the wood they intend to invade, because this holds in moisture by reducing the air flow. They will create cement by using dirt and sealing the cracks with it. If you find dirt in cracks, then could be done by termites.

If you notice these signs of termites, make sure you call a pest control company right away.