Yikes, termites! If you think you have a termite infestation in your home, you should definitely check on this and make sure. If this is confirmed, you will need to hire a termite exterminator right away. This is easy: you can just call up your local termite control and you’ll be good to go. It’s not always easy to exterminate these little pests completely, but you should make a head start by checking for signs and locating their nests.
#1: Listen to the walls
Now we don’t want you becoming a crazy person and sitting with your ears pressed to the walls all the time! However, you should know that termites make very distinctive and quite loud sounds when they’re eating away at wood, especially the inner paneling of walls. There are two kinds of sounds. The first is what soldier termites do to warn the colony that a threat is nearby. They do this by literally banging their heads against whichever surface they’re on. This is why this is called ‘headbanging.’ The other and far more irritating sound is the constant drone of these pests as they munch away on your dry wood and ruin your property.
#2: Look for droppings
Termites leave quite discernible droppings around the area where they have placed their nests. Termite droppings look like black marks and there is often a smattering of dark brown or black dust around the area. If you find these droppings clustered around a certain area, you should know that you’re near the termites’ nesting place.
#3: Try to close your doors
When termites eat away at the wood, they produce a lot of moisture. This means that window frames and doorways can often expand as a result. If you start having trouble closing doors or windows around the house, you should suspect a termite invasion. This could also be due to the damp and humid weather, but if you’re in the middle of winter, for example, you definitely have pesky termites eating away at your doors.
#4: Check for wings
Termites can often leave discarded pairs of wings lying around. No, this isn’t something out of a fairy story. Termites can actually fly! Scary as this is, they fly to find prospective mates for the upcoming season. Once they do find their mates, however, they shed their wings since they don’t need these anymore. Therefore, if you have a termite infestation, you will find a lot of discarded wings lying around in certain areas in the house. You can even sometimes trace the trail of wings back to the termites’ hiding or resting places! Check floors, cupboards and other wooden places thoroughly for this evidence.
What to do if you have a termite problem
There is only one thing to do: call the exterminator right away! Your local pest control can take care of the problem right away. You might need to leave the house for a couple of days or hours depending on the size of the infestation. However, once you come back, you can be assured you won’t have the issue anymore.
