No one wants to find out the place they call home has been infested and destroyed by a colony of termites. The unfortunate truth is that most homeowners don’t realize they have a problem until the house has hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. By that point it is just too late to salvage the wood, and a lot must be replaced.

Signs to Watch For

Keep an eye out for the following signs that you may have termites in your home:

• Unexplained cracks on internal walls, ceiling beams, or rafters
• Bubbled or sagging areas in the floor
• Mud tubes on the exterior of the home
• Floor boards/base boards feeling weak or sounding hollow
• Broken roof tiles
• Doors and windows sticking

In addition to these signs, you may smell something similar to mold or mildew in the house or see frass (termite droppings) in the attic and crawl spaces.

What do they look like?

Many homeowners see swarmers, a type of winged termite responsible for reproduction, and mistake it for a flying ant. It’s true that termites are often deceiving in this way. At first glance it looks like a tiny white ant. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice a few differences in the two. For an ant, the antennae are bent, and the body shape gets thin at the abdomen. On termites, both are straight. In addition, termites have four wings of all equal length while ants have 4 of two separate lengths. The swarmer termites are probably the only ones you’ll see, as most termites are cryptic and won’t come out in the open. So, if you ever see something resembling these, it is critical that you call a pest control agent to investigate. Even if it turns out to be nothing, it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to these guys.

Get a Professional Opinion

We encourage homeowners to go ahead and get their house checked at least once a year. The good news for you is that termite damage is 100 % preventable so, as long as you get routine inspections, it should be caught in time! Call today for your free termite inspection.