5 SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE TERMITES
Termites can be one of the most costly pests to deal with in your home or business. If a colony grows without any type of control to combat the pests, the damage could cost tens of thousands of dollars!
That’s a lot of vacation money!
When it comes to inspecting your house for termites, we have good news and bad news.
Bad News First:
Termites can already be in your home for an extended amount of time without your house ever showing signs of termite damage.
FACT: The average home owner spends $3,000 to repair termite damage.
The Good News:
Although unchecked termite damage may cost you, Nova Pest Control can come in to assess the damage and create a customized plan unique to your situation to eliminate the pest.
Don’t think you have termites but want to play it safe?
Nova Pest Control offers yearly termite inspections to keep your home termite-free!
1. LOOSE TILES
Termites can damage tiles? Almost! Termites can cause irreparable damage to floor supports just underneath your beautiful tile flooring, which can lead to loose tiles and squeaky floors. Termites can be especially damaging to old tile floors, since the introduction of moisture from the termites may cause aging adhesive to lose it’s grip and come loose.
2. DAMAGED WOOD
Worker termites are the termites that munch away at your wood and cause most of the damage. They resemble ants in their size but are white/yellow in color. While we don’t recommend tearing off a piece of damaged wood from your house to inspect for termites, you can usually inspect dead stumps or trees in your yard to find termites. If you find termites in pieces of wood in your yard, odds are that they are also in your house.
3. PEELING PAINT
While not all peeling paint in your home is a sign of a termite infestation, it is important to take notice when you start seeing bubbling paint that resembles water damage. Termites thrive just under the surface of your walls, away from sun and air. Subterranean termites can actually control the temperature of their environment by varying their depths into the wood and humidifying the air. This moisture created by the termites is what causes the bubbling and peeling effect on your walls. As stated before, sometimes bubbling paint can be from a water leak. If you are unsure if you have a simple water leak or a termite infestation, contact one of our professionals today to get your free inspection.
4. NOISE INSIDE WALLS
Hearing termite noise inside of your walls may take a stethoscope or immaculate hearing, but it’s an easy sound to identify once you know what to look for. With your ear to the wall, listen closely for a faint clicking noise. This noise, believe it or not, comes from soldier termites banging their heads against the wall to signal danger. If you find wood that looks like it already has termite damage, you can sometimes hear a munching noise from worker termites munching away at the wood!
5. HARD TO OPEN DOORS OR WINDOWS
Doors and windows sticking aren’t always a sign of termites. Sometimes high humidity weather can cause warped doors and windows, but sometimes termites can cause the sticking. Termites produce moisture when traveling through door and window frames, which causes the wood to warp and stick when opening.