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There are two main techniques termites may come to infest your home (assuming they werent already there in the first place); from atmosphere and through the ground.

Even a drywood termite infestation normally takes place when an existing colony sends out flying termite swarmers. Once these swarmers find a wooden crevice in your house, they shed their wings, carve out a tiny nest, and begin laying eggs to initiate a brand new termite colony.

On the other hand, subterranean termites, whose colonies are underground, can enter your home via its foundations. Because these termites forage for food, they could stumble upon a wealthy new food supply your home. Subterranean termites commonly build mud tunnels over foundation walls to get the wooden parts of the structure.

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Note: While you will find other species of termites, these are the two most common species responsible for most of the harm to individuals homes.

One of the main reasons that termites can be so damaging is the time that many homeowners find the infestation, severe damage has already been done. A termite infestation is like cancer; notice it early and chances are pretty good, catch it late and the treatment will be painful and intensive. .

Because of this, it's extremely important that you learn how to spot the signs of a termite infestation. Keep a look out for the following:

If you see a swarm of winged termites near or around your home, thats a sure sign that a termite colony is nearby. Much like winged ants, these winged termites are likely to swarm around a light source. They also seem rather similar,And the layperson will not be able to tell them apart. .

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Termite swarmers dont keep their wings long. Once they lose their wings, they are in search of places to construct new nests.

If you notice little piles of lost swarmers wings on areas like window sills, or caught in spider webs, then there may be a termite colony nearby; or even one going to begin.

Mud tubes are small tunnels made by termites to transport food back to their own colony. Source: masseyservices.com

Subterranean termites build mud tubes (sometimes known as guardian or foraging tubes) as links between their food source and their colony. These are made of soil, debris, and wood, and they help protect the colony against predators and conserve moisture.

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In case you've got a subterranean termite infestation, you will find these tubes at the foundations of your house or in its own substructure.

As subterranean termites eat through look these up the wood of your house, they create termite galleries. These are the empty spaces left in the timber as they float through it. Normally, termite galleries run parallel to the grain of this timber.

Drywood termites leave behind their fecal droppings as they munch through the wood in your house. Their droppings, known as frass, are pellet-shaped, and seem like heavy grains of sand or sawdust. If you find mounds of termite droppings in and around your house, you probably have a drywood termite infestation. .

Termites will eat your house from the inside out; thats what makes them so insidious. A bit of wood could seem perfectly normal on the outside but be absolutely infested with termites on the inside. If you suspect that a termite infestation at a certain area, tap or puncture the timber to find out if its hollow.

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Coupled with different signs of termite infestation, swollen wooden floorboards can mean there is termite damage underneath them.

Termites like dark and moist locations. Thats the reason why they live just under the surface of the wood and bring in moisture into their termite galleries. This moisture can often cause the wood to swell. If you have termites in your wooden floors, the floors will probably begin to swell. Likewise the moisture can also cause the paint on wooden surfaces to peel or bubble; particularly if the termites have eaten all of the way up into the paint coating. .

Since these signs are very similar to the signs of general water flows (since theyre both due to moisture), make sure to rule out any water leaks first. In case youve determined that water escapes are not the cause, you can inspect further by seeing whether the wood is now hollow.

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You might have noticed we left off termite mounds off this listing. Even though stereotypical, not all of termite species build mounds. In fact, no North American termite species construct mounds; the ones that do originate primarily in Australia and Africa.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, termites trigger $40 billion per year in damages worldwide and are responsible for destroying 600,000 homes in the United States annually. The overall annual cost of pest control and damage repair in the United States is $2 billion. This does not include costs to the army in the Formosan termite (a subterranean species).