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When you hire a contractor to repair something at your house, you want it done right. Why do we want things to be done right? Well, it's because we don't want to make additional repairs or spend money on an unnecessary mistake. The last thing you need is to sign off on a job only to realize several months later that the contractor took shortcuts. It is better to have a slow, methodical contractor than one who attacks aspects of the project randomly and tries to finish as quickly as possible by taking shortcuts.
A haphazard approach to termite control is not something you need. Termites are dangerous to your pocketbook and your house, and you need pest control in Roseville from a company that knows how to stop termites, Neighborly Pest Management. Founded in 1978, our family-owned and operated company is your best defense against unwanted pests like termites. A local company does not serve thousands of homes throughout the area for almost 45 years without doing things right the first time. Please keep reading to understand termites, the dangers of an infestation, and what you can do about it.
How Termite Infestations Start
Before we learn how a termite infestation begins, let's get acquainted with this insidious species so we can understand why they infest homes. Termites are insects with six jointed legs, two straight antennae, and a three-part body consisting of a head, thorax, and abdomen. In many ways, they look like ants, but without the thin waist and clubbed antennae. Some insects have wings (wasps, bees, etc.), others do not, and some species have wingless and winged groups. Termites and ants are insects with winged and wingless groups. Our termite infestation story begins with the winged group.
Flying termites around your property are reproductive termites; they are future queens and kings looking for a nesting location to start satellite colonies. Two groups of termites are in our area: subterranean termites and drywood termites. If a pair of flying subterranean termites survives the elements, manages to evade predators, and finds a suitable location, they land, discard their wings, and dig a hole in the dirt. In their little chamber, they breed, and the queen produces her first group of six to 10 eggs. The new couple nurtures the eggs and soon blind, sterile, wingless worker termites. Once the worker termites mature, they provide food for the queen, king, and offspring.
A future king and queen detect a nesting location by odor. Rotting or decaying wood produces a smell that winged termite swarmers in your Roseville property sense as they glide along air currents. When worker termites are born and mature, they travel from the nesting area in the soil to the nearby wood source and use their razor-sharp teeth to shave off and ingest wood. Upon returning to the nest, they regurgitate the wood to provide nutrition to the colony.
The growing colony begins to add new members. Over the first year, the queen will lay a few hundred eggs that produce mainly workers and another group known as soldiers. Like workers, soldier termites are wingless, sterile, and blind, but unlike workers, they have large, yellowish heads, armored heads equipped with powerful jaws that enable them to kill ants and other predators. After about two to four years, the queen and king produce winged, reproductive termites, known as alates or swarmers; this group begins an infestation at a new location.
The other group of termites, drywood termites, follow a similar reproductive pattern but do not nest in the soil or have a three-tier caste system. This termite group takes four or more years to produce reproductive, flying termites. Unlike subterranean termites that require a high level of moisture, drywood termites get the water they need from the wood and air. These termite species create nests by boring tunnels inside dry wood, and unlike subterranean termites that construct mud tubes on foundations, drywood termites do not leave visible signs. It may be years before a homeowner experiences the devastating effects of a drywood termite infestation or sees a drywood termite.
Neighborly Pest Management is the best termite control company near you to stop a termite infestation. When a technician inspects your Roseville house, we will determine the termite species damaging your property. Once we've identified the problematic pest, we utilize the latest technology and proven scientific techniques to remove it from the property.
The Extent Of Property Damage Termites Can Create
Both types of termites in Roseville are dangerous because they cause property damage; however, the species does affect the speed and extent due to the colony size. A small subterranean termite colony has 60,000 members, but a large one may have over two million termites constantly eating the wood in your Roseville house. A nest of 60,000 members consumes about five grams of wood daily or just over 2 feet of a 2x4 piece of lumber annually. Although a mature drywood termite nest has only about 2,500 workers, it can still cause significant damage, but it may take longer to see the effects.
Insurance adjusters estimate that all termite species in the United States cause about $5 billion in property damage annually. The location, speed, and extent of harm varies according to the species but includes the following:
- Swollen ceilings and floors
- Sagging ceilings and floors
- Collapsing structures and furniture
- Warping window and door frames
- Blistering wallpaper or drywall
- Pinholes in drywall
Sometimes termite damage appears similar to water damage, but honeycomb-appearing wood and termite tunnels in the drywall of your home are signs of a termite infestation.
Because subterranean termites infest wood contacting the soil in crawl spaces, underneath wood porches and decks, sagging or swollen floors are likely caused by them eating through structural support beams and floor joists. Drooping or puffy ceilings are likely from drywood termites consuming wood struts, rafters, or trusses. Drywood termites are more likely to be inside wood furniture and picture frames. In addition to location, another way to determine the species harming your Roseville house is by observation of damaged wood. Drywood termites eat with and across the grain, but subterranean termites eat with the grain.
Save thousands of dollars in preventable repair bills and use the best termite control company for your Roseville home, Neighborly Pest Management. We can stop both termite types from causing future harm to your property.
How To Identify And Remove Factors That Attract Termites
Now that we know where subterranean and drywood termites live and the damage they cause, let's identify attractants. We will start with the attractants for subterranean termites:
- Rotting tree stumps and fence posts
- Decaying landscaping timber
- Wood piles in damp areas
- Lumber scraps and fallen tree branches in poorly draining parts of the lawn
Before removing these items, start by addressing the moisture issue. Provide proper drainage to ditches and low-lying areas on the property. Remove dense vegetation and prune trees and shrubs to maximize sunlight and airflow. To prevent excessive moisture in the crawl space, ensure downspouts drain away from the foundation, check vents for cross ventilation, or add a dehumidifier. Grade the ground near the foundation so it drains away from it. Fix leaking pipes in the crawl space or basement.
Once you resolve moisture issues, replace posts with pressure-treated timber. Where fence and deck posts meet the ground, place metal sleeves or a post protector on the lumber and follow installation instructions. Elevate wood piles to allow airflow and move at least 20 feet from the house. Remove dead trees and grind out the stumps.
Drywood termites do not need moisture-ridden wood but can infest non-decaying wood. Install wire mesh over the attic and crawl space vent openings, seal opening over 1/16-inch in the attic, soffits, roofline, and foundation. Paint wood exposed to the elements.
Neighborly Pest Management is the termite specialist near you that can help you identify additional attractants on your property.
The Key To Total Termite Control For Roseville Properties
Neighborly Pest Management is the termite service near your home to call to stop an infestation. When you contact our friendly staff, we will listen to your concern and dispatch a highly-trained technician to review your property for attractants, entry points, and termite hot spots. We will target the termite species infesting your house.
If subterranean termites are the issue, we perform soil and foundation treatments to inject a termiticide. This product attaches to worker termites as they traverse the soil. They then inadvertently take the material back to the nest, spreading it to others in the colony. This product prevents maturing termites from shedding their skeletons and causes them to die. We also use other products to drive the termites away from their nests and house. Since drywood termites do not live in the soil, eliminating them involves tenting the house and fumigation.
Neighborly Pest Management provides termite protection in Roseville no matter what termite species infests your house. If you suspect termites, don't delay because the longer you wait, the larger the nests grow and the more damage they can cause to your house. Contact us today to learn more about our termite removal process and warranties, and request a free quote.
