5 Tips To Save Your Home From Termite Infestations

Spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming, the temperature is rising, and the bugs are coming. In the spring, insects break from their long hibernation period looking for food, new homes and breeding grounds. One of these springtime-loving insects are termites. 

Yearly during this season, Horne’s Pest Control in Martinez, Georgia experiences an increase in the volume of calls from homeowners who need professional services to clear out termite infestations in their homes. The harsh winter climate can often lead to unwanted cracks, holes, and other issues that can let in these little invaders. 

During spring, termites begin their swarms. When termite mating partners decide to couple, they break off their wings and choose a near location to nest. This means that if you find piles of small insect wings near your windows, doors, and light fixtures, there is a good chance that a swarm of termites decided to nest in your home. To prevent this from happening, here are 5 tips you can follow to save your homes from termite infestation.

1. Get rid of extra moisture. 

Moisture is a termite’s best friend. Termites are more likely to infest if the soil near the foundation of your homes and buildings are constantly moist. To avoid this, water should be diverted away with properly functioning gutters, downspouts and splash blocks. All leaks from faucets and air conditioners that affect the moisture of the outside of your homes and buildings should be repaired and the ground next to them should be sloped to prevent water from accumulating. 

2.  Declutter your house. 

Whether you have hired professionals, like Horne’s Pest Control in Martinez, Georgia for a termite or bed bug treatment, something simple you can do before they arrive is to declutter your house. Pay special attention to useless papers, cardboards, old magazines and newspapers since these provide a great environment for pests like termites to thrive. If one of your rooms has been attacked by termites, make sure to never take anything including furniture stored in that room to other parts of your house that are not affected by the termites.

3. Place infected items in the sun.

If moisture is the termite’s best friend, heat is their enemy. If through your decluttering 

you find furniture that have been infected, keep them under the sun for three days. By keeping the infected furniture in the sun, the heat will kill the termites and remove moisture from the furniture preventing chances of re-infestation. The smart thing here would be to dust off the furniture thoroughly and use a termite spray on it before bringing it back into the house. You can do the same with the furniture items that may not be affected by termites to make sure that they stay termite-free.

4. Keep wood out of contact with the soil.

Having the wood in contact with the soil gives the termites easy access to food, moisture and shelter, and direct, hidden entry into your homes and buildings. Eliminating wood-to-soil contact may require re-grading or pulling soil or mulch back from the foundation, cutting the bottom off wood latticework, or supporting steps or posts on a concrete base. Make sure that your wooden sidings, doors, window frames, etc are at least 6 inches away from the soil. 

5. Consult and ask for help from professional experts.

While the above measures will help make the structure less attractive to termites, the best way to prevent infestation is to protect it with a termiticide. Preventively treating a home for termites is a prudent investment, especially if the structure has had no prior history of treatment. This is something that can be done by professionals like the trusty team of Horne’s Pest Control. 

Contact Us Today To Schedule Your Termite Inspection & Treatment

It is very important to remember that once you feel like your home has already been infested by termites, call professionals like Horne’s Pest Control to carry out a thorough inspection and get termite control treatment done in your home. As each situation may be different, professional services are a worthy investment considering the amount of damage a termite infestation can cause to your homes.  Horne’s Pest Control can send their team of experts to examine and treat your homes from termites. 

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