Termites are an ongoing problem for homeowners all around the world. These tiny minions damage over 600,000 houses every year, costing around $5 Billion to get fixed. However, you can prevent a termite infestation if you note some early signs of damage and take measures to get rid of the pesky creatures without delay. Find out how to look for signs about the elusive termite existence.
Hollow walls
Hollow walls that create an empty box-type sound when you knock are the first signs of termite in a house. Advantage, the best Kansas City pest control service, has years of experience dealing with local termite infections in the basement, behind the drywall, and under the floor.
Wood roofing and wooden furniture affected by termites will usually have small holes, and lots of powder will fall below them. This powder is a mixture of termite waste and wood chips that indicate the wooden object is being feasted upon by the termites. Call for help if you start feeling something is eating up the insides of your wall or furniture.
Brown tubes on walls
Small tubes on walls formed out of mud indicate termite infestation as they built tunnels to travel safely on your wall. Try to scrape them off, dab cotton in anti-termite solutions, and dab them on the infected wall. Sometimes, the mud tubes start reappearing within a week on the same spot or in the nearby area, indicating it is time to contact pest control services.
They will look behind the wall or search the actual dwelling source of the termites and get them exterminated quickly. Delaying the repair will only cause more damage to the property leading to significant maintenance.
Discoloring walls that look like water damage
The cellulose in the timber is an excellent feast for termites, and they keep eating until the walls start to discolor or crack. Check for cracks on the internal wall, joints, and places where the pipeline stays concealed. Termites are often not detected in many walls because homeowners think it is a simple water leaking patch on the wall.
Termites breed unlimitedly on moist, dark areas and such leaky pipes inside the walls enable them to settle up, multiply and eat through the walls for months. You will hear a light chum sound when the atmosphere is silent if there are too many termites on the wall. Besides, they start coming out, and you will also see wing droppings.
Spongy and springing floor
The floor will start getting spongy as you walk instead of staying strong as millions of termites live under the floor, weakening it. Termites will occur under wood floors and tiled floors also if they sense some moisture content underneath.
The floor will spring more when you walk quickly on it and start developing blister-type openings in certain places. Pay attention if you start feeling the sagginess in the floor to prevent the termites from damaging the entire flooring. The exterminators will look in the right places and use the right chemicals to stop the termites from spreading further quickly if they get called early.
Loose tiles, stuck up doors and windows
Termite-eaten doors and windows become hard to open and will be much lighter than usual to handle. The termites eat the wood, and their saliva and moisture cause the windows and doors to expand a bit. The homeowners find it hard to open them due to this imbibition. The doors and windows seem lighter because most of the solid substance is gets munched on from the inside.
Floor tiles become loose and start sagging enormously if termites are under them. Termites enter the concrete basements through various cracks and make it under the walls like a silent creeper, making the floor break easily.