A home is said to be infested with termites when the insects enter a structure, burrow into wooden areas within, and begin to feed, build nests, and reproduce. Once a termite establishes a nest in the foundation of your home, a termite infestation can quickly spread to other areas in the home, making it difficult to narrow down nests for treatment. Once a home or business is infested with termites, these insects will begin to cause structural damage to the structure by eating its wooden foundation.
Where should you look for termite infestations?
Being able to look around your home and spot a termite infestation isn't simple at all—mainly because the majority of insects live in places that are inaccessible or too small for humans to see, such as baseboards, interior walls, window sills, under wooden floors, crawl spaces, and soffit areas. Occasionally, you may find signs of termite infestations in easier to reach places, such as attics, door frames, wooden furniture, door frames, and window frames. Termites aren't limited to wooden delicacies inside your home either; decks, patios, porches, tree stumps, sheds, and garages are also termite hotspots.
The exterior of your home can provide clues as to how termites have entered your home if you suspect an infestation. Because termites often seek moist areas, plumbing structures outside your home are a great place to start; look for cracks and crevices nearby, and any kind of damage.
Termites are voracious creatures that have little regard for the destruction they cause to homes and businesses or the messes they leave behind.
The first and most obvious signs of termite infestation are small, clear insect wings found scattered throughout the home's exterior and sometimes in the interior. Termites create new nests by flying to nearby locations; once they've landed at the perfect structure, they'll shed their wings and begin to reproduce.
The next sign of termite infestation may catch the eye of home or business owners that spend a lot of time outside—mud tunnels. These pencil-sized tubes are found protruding from exterior walls and provide termites with protection and moisture.
Bubbling or cracked paint, damaged wood, and sagging floors or ceilings are also signs of termite infestation, but are indicative of extensive termite damage—often enough to render the structure unfit for occupancy.
How much does termite damage cost homeowners each year?
If your home or business is under siege by termite infestation, the costs to remove them and fix structural damage to your home will increase exponentially with time; insurance companies attribute nearly $30 billion in damage to agriculture, homes, businesses, and other buildings in the U.S. alone to termite infestations.
Because termites are small insects that often live under the home or in inaccessible areas, a large percentage of home and business owners don't learn of their termite infestation until significant damage has been done.
The average homeowner pays more than $3,000 a year to exterminate a termite infestation and repair the damage caused by the pests. Research also shows that the longer home or business owners ignored the signs of a termite infestation, the higher that cost rose, sometimes even tripling.
Some homes have even been demolished or condemned because of the extent of the damage! Truly Nolen has helped thousands of Americans across the country avoid costly termite damage by protecting their homes with our Total Termite Protection (TTP) plan, the most innovative and comprehensive termite protection plan in the industry. Our TTP plan's layered approach encompasses your home with termite protection, embedding itself deep into the soil and covering points of entry normally inaccessible to humans, such as trenches, cracks, expansion joints, drip edges, and eaves.
What to do if you believe that you have a termite infestation?
Although you must have your home or business inspected at the first sign of a termite infestation, it is always wise to have an annual inspection to prevent termite damage. Because termite infestations can be difficult to locate, a yearly inspection can ensure that a termite problem can be found before the damage would get out of hand.
If you believe that you may have located any of these signs of a termite infestation, you should contact your local pest control service immediately. Because termite infestations can often be worse than they seem and can cause danger within your home, they need to be taken care of by a trained professional immediately. At Truly Nolen, we have over 80 years of experience and more 100 locations nationwide. Our experts provide some of the most effective termite control solutions in the business. Let us help protect your property from these destructive pests. Don't wait until it's too late, take action today to safeguard your home or business.
