How Can I Get Rid of Termites In My House?
Did you know one of the greatest known destructors of building formations is only 5 mm long? The miniature size of termites is where a lot of their danger comes from, as they’re often not found until their destructive power has caused undeniable damage. To this day, termites still cause more damage to buildings than fire, flood and storms combined. It’s no wonder home and business owners are so keen to learn how to get rid of termites.
Given the danger they pose, treatments should really only be applied by professionals who can ensure a thorough job is done and termite threats are removed. In this article, we’ll explore the different types of termites, how to spot signs of their activity, how to get rid of termites and preventative measures to mitigate the chances of them stepping foot in your home. We’ll be covering:
First, identify the type of termites
Just like any other pest, there are varied types of termites, there are two main types of termites; subterranean and drywood, and knowing how to get rid of termites requires you to know which one you’re dealing with. They each live and thrive in different environments and will take a different approach to gradually eroding your property’s structure.
Subterranean termites
Sub: below, terrain: the surface of a piece of land. As the name suggests, subterranean termites live underground, usually in the soil, and they build mud tubes when they’re travelling above the surface to access food sources. Subterranean termites feed on both living and dead wood and cause extensive damage to wooden structures, which is why they’re highly destructive to homes and properties.
Drywood termites
Drywood termites live in wood as they only need the moisture from timber to eat and thrive. They don’t have to build mud tubes to access the dead wood of wooden property structures because they camp out in it. They’re also highly destructive to wood, including frames, roofs and wall structures, but they’re less common in Australia than subterranean termites.
Determining whether you have subterranean or drywood termites, begins with understanding their activity, like mud tubes, as well as knowing what termites look like. It also helps to know what termite destruction looks like to stay aware of their presence, which we’ll explore below.
Next, inspect your home for termite activity
To help you confirm which types of termites are infesting your property as well as perform an audit on the damage they’ve caused, you should inspect your home, looking for signs, activity, termite sounds and destruction caused by termites. Search the inside, exterior, roof and floor wooden features as well as for vantage points to view the inside structure where wood may be used. While inspecting, keep these signs of activity in mind:
Mud tubes
As mentioned, subterranean termites build mud tubes to connect their home in the ground to wooden food sources, so mud tubes are a dead giveaway of not just termite activity but subterranean termites. Mud tubes are made of soil and saliva that bond to form a sandcastle-like structure and have a distinguished appearance that makes them easy to spot, like in the image below. They’re often found around windows, doors, under foundations and in crawl spaces.
Termite droppings
Also known as termite pellets, droppings look like piles of sawdust and can be found near tubes, but not exclusively. If you find termite droppings, it’s a strong indicator that termites are expanding their termite nests within your home because as they build more structures, they push out the droppings of their nest to create more space.
Damaged wood
Termites are in your house to eat the wood, which means damaged and chewed-through wood is a tell-tale sign of termite infestation. These won’t look like typically chipped wood, but damaged wood with more or irregular patterns. Damaged and eaten wood from termites will often be found in the timber structure of your roof, walls or frame or in the furnishings.
How to get rid of termites: a professional’s treatment plan
If you have confirmed that you do have termite infestation, there’s no time to mess about. These little things can cause massive damage by destroying the wooden structures that hold up your home, bit by bit. Not only can it become an expensive job to replace the wood and foundations of your home, but it’s highly unsafe to live in a home with potential structural damage.
Engage with our professional termite specialists at TSC, once you see signs of termite activity or damage. They will come in and do a thorough termite inspection to determine the extent of the infestation and will then recommend the best termite treatment plan and monitor for future termite infestation. Here are the most common techniques of how to exterminate termites used by our team of expert termite technicians:
Using a chemical termite barrier treatment
The best method to treat and eradicate termites in homes where the foundations are built into the ground, like slab homes, is a chemical termite barrier treatment. Chemical treatments are placed around the perimeter of the foundation and don’t repel termites, but once the chemical is ingested, it kills them. This means they quickly infect other termites when they return to the nest and eradicate the colony. Your specialist will usually inject it into the soil at 10 litres per metre for an effective treatment.
Using a baiting system
Baiting systems are another frequently used method of how to get rid of termites, but they’re a little more advanced than the DIY versions. These termite baiting systems are best used when the foundations are elevated from the ground, as it’s not possible to barrier the founding poles from termites in the soil. Your specialist will install a baiting station around your home and in the foundation, which will slowly poison the termites so they return to the colony and poison all of the termites.
Termite fumigation
Fumigation is often where the mind goes for the general public when they think about pest control. It’s a form of treatment that releases gaseous pesticides into a certain area, like your roof or foundation to kill the pests in that area. Termite fumigation is an effective form of treatment to eradicate termites from your home.
Termite termiticide
Termite termiticide is the process of injecting a pesticide into the soil around your home. Remembering back to how subterranean termites live in the soil and ground around your home, this chemical soil treatment directly targets these destructive pests and kills them in their home and nests.
Prevention of future termite infestation
For readers asking themselves, “How can I get rid of termites myself?” it really isn’t a DIY job. However, you can implement some preventative measures to keep termites at bay and avoid them becoming a problem in the first place. Prevention goes a long way, for sometimes only a little effort, to keep your home termite-free.
Here are some key ways on how to prevent future termite infestations and to put your mind to rest in knowing how to get rid of termites:
- Remove old and decaying wood from your property completely
- Keep your home, especially the outside and exterior, clean and free from clutter
- Seal up cracks and holes in your home of both the exterior and interior features
- Book regular (annual works great) inspections to catch the pests early
Early identification and prompt treatment are key to mitigating termite damage
Termites are a notorious pest, whether they are in your home or flying. Sadly, this is for good reason. Once termites enter and set up their nest in or near your home, they can begin destroying your wood fast, an early warning sign indeed. As many of our homes use wood as key parts of the structure that maintain the integrity of our properties, the presence of termites is a serious cause for concern.
The trick to mitigating their impact is preventive measures as well as early identification and prompt treatment. Engage Termite Specialist Control and set up annual inspections to help you identify and mitigate termite activity as early as possible. If you do notice any termite damage and activity, while wishing to know ‘how can I get rid of termites in your house’, then we highly recommend booking a treatment option with us as soon as you can.
Worried about pests infesting your property and wish to know how to get rid of termites? Contact us or give us a call at 1300 695 949 to discuss how to exterminate termites in your home today, with our trusted termite control services.
