4 Signs You have Termites in your home
Termites! It’s a scary word down here in the south. If you’ve never had to deal with these little monsters, you know someone who has, and you know they mean business! Termites cause billions of dollars in damage every year! Prime Pest Solutions has a great termite protection program that will protect your home! Not sure whether or not your home is infested?
Here are a 4 signs that you may have termite in your home.
Mud Tubes
Termite mud tubes or shelter tubes, are tunnels that lead from the termites’ home to their food source. The tubes are made of soil, feces, and saliva. There are many examples of the types of mud tubes that you may see. One is working tubes. These are the tubes that run from the nest to the identified food source. Think of this as the termites’ road system to travel back and forth from home to work. The next type of mud tube is an exploratory tube. These are used when looking for a food source, but they will not actually connect to a wood structure. The third kind of tube is a drop tube. They extend from the wooden structure back to the soil.
Termites and Termite droppings
Termite droppings, otherwise known as frass, may be an indication that your home has termites. After eating the wood, the termites will leave these droppings behind.
Wood Damage
Did you know that termites don’t eat the grain of the wood? That’s why you may see an interesting pattern of destruction in your damaged wood. This may not always be easy to see, as the majority of the damage may be inside the walls of your home. Here is a picture of some obvious outside damage.
Discarded Wings
Shortly after emerging, the swarmers will lose their wings and look for soil to make a new home. Many will die before finding a mate and a suitable nest site. You may find wings around windows and doors as swarmers are attracted to light.
Flying ants and termites can look very similar at first glance. Here’s an easy way to tell them apart… What’s the difference between ants and termites?
Still not sure whether or not your home has termites? Give us a call and we would be happy to come out and give you home a free inspection.