 Termites are some of the most insidious pests a homeowner may face in their lifetime.
Almost undetectable in the early stages, termite infestations can lead to some serious structural damage to your home in the long-run – as these pesky critters eat away at your wooden walls from the inside, and jeopardize the integrity and safety of your property by burrowing holes. Termites have been seen to thrive particularly in North Brisbane in Australia, especially during the region’s hot and rainy summers – when wooden fixtures like door posts or window frames get damp and become susceptible to the attack of these nefarious pests. Most of the time, you may not become aware of an infestation until visible destruction has already been done and it’s too late. The key to stopping termites dead in their tracks and keeping their destruction to a minimum is early detection. Having a keen eye for signs of presence from these malevolent colonies may help you stop termites from making any irreparable damage to your homes very early on. If you notice any of these tell-tale signs of infestation, immediately contact your local pest control company. These experts will conduct a thorough sweep of your home, to look for any hidden termite colonies, and help you remedy your serious termite problem. Be on the lookout for these warning signs that your home may be under attack. 1. Visible Water Damage or Peeling Paint Coupled with termites’ predisposition to damp and cold places, visible water damage can be a telling indication of moisture build-up and/or the underlying presence of a feeding colony of pests. This is a very visible early sign of termite infestation. When you notice the bubbling or peeling of paint in some areas of your walls, be on the lookout for seemingly hollow or soft surfaces as termites may have already decimated the wood behind this layer, causing it to swell, stain, and discolor. 2. Pesky Mud Tubes Mud Tubes are small and brittle vein-like tunnels that termites build to connect their underground nests and colonies to their food sources – in this case, potentially your home. Made of soil and wood debris, these enclosed environments are fairly easy to spot – mostly between 1/4 to 1 inch in diameter. These intrusive mud tubes can often be seen crawling over flooring or snaking up concrete walls and foundations to reach wooden surfaces, enabling termites easy access to the property they can break down and devour. These invasive tunnels can be extremely troublesome, because if you destroy them yourself, a colony can easily rebuild it in a matter of a day. 3. Fine Frass or Termite Droppings Frass or termite droppings come in the form of fine pellets often found in mounds beside compromised wooden fixtures which may have visible exit holes. The presence of these frass particles is a sure sign that your home has been compromised by termites. Termites leave behind these sawdust-like mounds of fecal matter in their wake, as they consume your wooden walls below the surface. Be on the lookout for these powdery banks of frass because they’re an obvious sign that you have a serious termite problem on your hand. 4. Clicking Sounds You heard that right! Termites may be some of the smallest critters but their swarms do emit quiet clicking sounds, produced when larger soldier termites repeatedly bang their heads against wood just below the surface. Worker termites so produce low chattering sounds as they munch away at your hardwood floor or wall paneling. These minute noises may be hard to notice at first, but hold your ear close to any questionable surfaces and you just might hear their low mumbling sounds. 5. Tiny Discarded Wings The sighting of Flying termites, or swarmers, is a serious sign of early infestation. Flying termites are pests that have left their colony in search of a mate to establish a new nest –which may spell disaster for your home. As termite swarms are seen to congregate during times when there is much less human activity – hence the difficulty in spotting them – a more telling warning are small piles of discarded wings. When a termite sheds its wings it’s an indication that they’ve set up camp and decided to nest near or inside your home. 6. Hollowed Out Wood Lastly, probably the most obvious sign of termite infestation is seeing hollowed out portions of wood. May it be your wall panels or your wooden cupboard or your baseboards, discovering wooden surfaces that have been gutted should immediately alert you to contact your local termite control and extermination expert. It’s fairly easy for termite damage to go unnoticed for quite a long time, but what is vital to combat the irreparable structural damage of these malevolent colonies is early detection. Regularly inspect your property and keep an eye out for this tell-tale signs. Once you do see a couple of these warning signs, notify your local experts immediately.
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