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  • How Often Does My Home Need a Termite Inspection?

Tag: Termite Inspection

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Termite Control

How Often Does My Home Need a Termite Inspection?

How Often Does My Home Need a Termite Inspection?

Termites, often unseen pests, can cause significant structural damage to homes, which is costly to repair. The frequency of termite inspections can greatly influence the early detection and management of these pests. Regular inspections are crucial, especially considering the subtle and typically hidden nature of termite infestations. Understanding when and how often to conduct these inspections can not only save your home but also a considerable amount of money in the long run.

Key Factors Influencing Inspection Frequency

1. Geographic Location

Homes located in warmer climates are more susceptible to termite activity due to the favorable conditions for termite survival and colony growth. In regions like the southern United States, where warmth and humidity prevail, annual inspections are strongly recommended.

2. Previous Termite Infestations

Properties with a history of termite problems are at increased risk of future infestations. If your home has been treated for termites in the past, maintaining a regular inspection schedule is essential to monitor any resurgence and manage risks effectively.

3. Construction Materials and Age of Home

Older homes and structures primarily made of wood are particularly vulnerable to termite attacks. These properties, especially those over thirty years old or constructed primarily from wood, should be inspected at least once every two to three years.

4. Environmental Conditions

Areas with high moisture levels, whether from natural humidity or man-made issues such as poor drainage, attract termites. Properties in these areas might require more frequent inspections to prevent termite damage. Homes with poor ventilation and drainage should consider adjustments to mitigate these risks.

The Termite Inspection Process

During a comprehensive termite inspection, a pest control professional will examine the property for signs of termite activity and vulnerabilities. They inspect both the interior and exterior of the home, including accessible crawl spaces, basements, and attics. Professionals look for common signs of termite presence such as mud tubes on foundation walls, damaged or hollow-sounding wood, and live termites or their discarded wings near windowsills and doors. The inspector also evaluates conditions conducive to termite infestations, such as wood-soil contact, excessive moisture, and cracks in foundation walls through which termites might enter.

What Happens If Termites Are Found?

If evidence of termite activity is found, the inspector will recommend a treatment plan tailored to the specific needs of your home. This might include soil treatments, bait stations, or direct wood treatments. Following up with regular inspections after treatment is crucial to ensure that the infestation is completely eradicated and to monitor for any new activity.

Benefits of Regular Termite Inspections

Committing to regular inspections helps protect your home by:

  • Identifying Potential Termite Activity Before It Becomes Widespread: Early detection is key in minimizing the extent of damage and the associated repair costs.
  • Allowing for the Implementation of Preventative Measures to Reduce Future Risk: Professional inspectors can provide valuable advice on how to make your home less attractive to termites.
  • Preserving the Structural Integrity and Value of Your Property: Termites can significantly decrease the value of a home by undermining its structural stability. Regular inspections can prevent this.

Making Inspections a Routine Part of Home Maintenance

Just as you would check a home’s heating system or roof, termite inspections should be a regular part of home maintenance. Homeowners are encouraged to consult with a pest control professional to determine an inspection schedule that best fits the needs of their property and local conditions. Termite inspections are a critical aspect of home maintenance, providing peace of mind and saving homeowners significant repair costs in the long run.

By understanding the factors that affect the frequency of termite inspections and committing to a regular schedule, you can protect your investment and ensure that your home remains strong and secure for years to come. Reach out to Bug Baron Exterminators today to set up a termite inspection for your home.

Categories
Termite Control

How Often Should I Have a Termite Inspection?

How Often Should I Have a Termite Inspection?

Termites can really do a number on your home if they are not eradicated soon after they infest your house. To stave off a termite infestation, the absolute best way to protect your home from the expensive damage caused by termites is to have a regular termite inspection. Learning the signs of termite infestation can help identify a termite problem in progress. But most of the signs to look for are after the termites have already caused significant damage. But having a professional termite exterminator inspecting your property at regular intervals of time will help guarantee that a termite infestation never gets started.

Quick treatment can greatly reduce the destruction to the structural integrity of your house, giving you peace of mind that you and your family are safe from extensive damage done to your house by termites.

Termite inspections

When you call an experienced professional pest control technician to inspect your home for termites, the termite control service will want to look in all the available places around your home that provide a window into what is behind the walls or up in the attic.

Preparing your home for termite inspection will help the technician to thoroughly check your home in a timely manner. Clearing out items from dark places like crawl spaces, high unused cabinets, or items outside around the perimeter of the home will greatly help the technicians get a good look at your home.

To make sure no termite colony has time to establish itself in your home, you will want to have a termite inspection at least once a year.

Signs of termites

Searching for signs of termites can be difficult because they stay out of sight. But if you  see any evidence that your home has a termite infestation, you need to get your trusted pest control professional on the phone right away. Signs of termites to look for are:

  •  Tube tunnels around the exterior foundation
  • The appearance of water damage on floors
  • Termite wings around exterior windows
  • Weak paneling and boards in certain spots around your home
  • Piles of sawdust looking excrement
  • Bubbled or peeling paint

Termite damage

Because the termites eat cellulose in boards causing structural damage to the home, the destruction can easily be extensive if not caught early. Light repels termites leaving them to cause damage out of sight with little evidence on the surface of walls, wooden furniture, or wood floors. When the infestation is discovered, the destruction can be so much that the home is now structurally compromised. In addition to at least a yearly inspection, be sure to have a professional inspect your home before you sell or before you buy to protect yourself from termite damage.

Give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today to set up a yearly termite inspection in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

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Fumigation Termite Control

How Do I Know If I Have Drywood Termites?

How Do I Know If I Have Drywood Termites?

Termites, in general, are not the type of pest you will see skittering across your floor. In fact, especially when dealing with drywood termites, you may not see much evidence at all. This can unfortunately lead to major repair bills if the drywood termite infestation goes a long period of time without being addressed. The average homeowner that has to deal with termite damage repairs will pay around $3,000 to restore their home back to normal. Because drywood termites infest the wooden structure of homes, these repair costs are not simply for aesthetics, but often to support beams and other important elements that affect the structural integrity of the home.

Signs of drywood termite infestations

While drywood termites often go undetected, there are still a few signs you can keep a lookout for to make sure you do not fall victim to paying for repairs to your home caused by termites. Signs of drywood termites are:

  • Hollow sounding wood: If you tap on a wall, trim or floor and it sounds hollow, it is possible that drywood termites have eaten away the cellulose in the wood.
  • Bubbling paint: This can also be an indication that termites are inside
  • Piles of frass: Termite excrement resembles sawdust. To clear the colony of droppings, the termites will make small holes in your walls and push out the frass, creating small piles of sawdust looking droppings.
  • Shed wings: New infestation can be caught early if you find shed termite wings on your window sills outside. Termites usually swarm and move to new locations in the summer and fall.

Tent fumigation treatment

Because drywood termites can be widespread through the structure of your home, sometimes it can be difficult to treat the colony with a localized insecticide. Tent fumigation is the better option in this case because the fumigant can get into every crevice and piece of wood in your home.

When hiring a termite exterminator to fumigate your home, there are a few things you need to be aware of in order to prepare for a home tent fumigation.

  • Time out of the house: Typically, the entire process will take about three days, so preparing a place for you and your family to stay is important
  • Pets and plants: Don’t leave anything living in the home during tent fumigation. Make arrangements for all pets, including the goldfish. It is possible that some plants will survive the fumigation. But if at all possible, move your plants outside during this process
  • Law requires all food and medications be put in special bags or removed from the premises

Returning after fumigation

Before you will be allowed to return home after a tent fumigation and aeration, the air in your home will be tested for gas levels to be sure it is safe to return. Surprisingly, the gas used in fumigation can not stick to surfaces so once the gas clears out, there should be no residue left in your home.

For drywood termite treatment in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today.

Categories
Termite Control

Drywood Termite Problems in Rancho Cucamonga

Drywood Termite Problems in Rancho Cucamonga

Learning your home has termites can be quite unsettling. Termites can easily cause thousands of dollars in repair costs, especially if the termite infestation went a long time before it was discovered. In Rancho Cucamonga, drywood termites can be quite difficult to detect because they burrow deep into wooden structures, and they are almost never seen unless they send out swarmer termites in the summer and fall seasons. There are a few signs to look for but having a regular termite inspection is the best way to protect your home from drywood termites.

Drywood termite facts

Knowing a few things about drywood termites can help you better protect yourself against this incredibly damaging insect.

A few facts about drywood termites are:

  • They are a creamy white color
  • They infest wood that stays dry like the structure of an attic
  • The western drywood termite found in Southern California is the most common drywood species
  • They have relatively small colonies of around 1,000 insects
  • They will kick their excrement out of tiny holes and the sawdust-like droppings will make a pile on the floor.
  • Drywood termites can infest wooden furniture. If the furniture is brought into your home, the termites can move into your house’s structure.

Treatment

If you suspect that you may have termites of any kind, call a termite exterminator immediately. You do not want the infestation to cause more destruction to your home. A professional termite control technician will thoroughly inspect your attic, floor, wooden furniture, and any woodwork for signs of termites. If a small infestation is identified, the technician will administer a localized treatment by inserting insecticide into the colony.

Drywood termite colonies can spread out into several different spaces in the wooden structure of your home. A drywood termite exterminator may suggest fumigating your home if the infestation is widespread.

While it is a big inconvenience to have to be out of your home for two to three days so your home can be fumigated, it is comforting to know that your home is completely termite free. Once the fumigant clears from the air and a professional tests the air quality in your home, you can return.

To prevent termites from coming back into your home, you can have the wood in your attic and crawl spaces treated for termites to prevent them from infesting your home once again.

While drywood termites are difficult to detect, scheduling a yearly termite inspection with a pest control service you trust can prevent termites from causing damage to your home. If you are in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today. We will get rid of every last termite so you can rest assured that your home is termite free.

Categories
Termite Control

Termite Prevention Tips for Upland, CA Homeowners

Termite Prevention Tips for Upland, CA Homeowners

The thought of a termite infestation can cause serious stress for Upland homeowners. The damage an undiscovered termite colony can do to your home is devastating. Termite colonies average in size from about 5,000 to 2 million termites depending on the species. Every last one of those termites is hungry, and if they are in your home, your house is on the menu. Though termites stay out of sight and quietly eat the cellulose out of the wood in your house, there are ways for you to prevent this hidden threat from literally eating you out of house and home.

Protect your home from the outside

Unless you have an easy entry point for termites to fly in, termites can not simply waltz into your home. They have to find a way in and many times they try to come in through the foundation. Keeping a close eye on your foundation whether slab or on piers, is an excellent way to keep your Upland home safe.

Termites will create mud tunnels to conceal themselves as they get close to your foundation and look for small cracks or holes to enter your home.

Be sure that mulch in your flower beds or even the soil do not come up above your foundation line. In general, it is a good idea to not let anything directly touch your foundation. Termites can infest mulch and if the mulch is up against your foundation, termites have food and time to find the best place for entry into your house.

Prevent water from attracting termites inside your home

 If termites have chosen your home to be their home, they have found an efficient amount of food in the wood in your walls and a water source to sustain their colony if they are Subterranean termites.

 If you have small water leaks in your home, fixing these issues immediately will keep your home from looking like the perfect place for termites to live.

Roof damage during winter months can cause just enough water to come in to quench the thirst of a colony of termites. Be sure to check for any outside damage that may let water into the home.

Termite inspections

To make sure termites are not eating your home from the inside out, set up a regular termite inspection. You can do your best to keep your foundation clear of debris and your home water tight, but having trained eyes to look for evidence of termites and knowing what to do when they find them is the best way to protect your home.

A termite inspector is the best line of defense against termites. Having a trained, experienced Upland technician inspecting your property at least once a year will keep termites out of your home or will stop their infestation early, to prevent your home from being destroyed by termites.

In Upland, CA, give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today.

Categories
Termite Control

Top 3 Signs You Have a Termite Problem

Top 3 Signs You Have a Termite Problem

Termites can really cause some serious damage to a structure. While they are constantly eating the wooden beams and frame of a home, the queen termite cranks out thousands of eggs a day. Termites are relatively quiet and stay hidden deep within your walls, floor, or ceiling so you may not know they are there for months or even years. To minimize the damage, you want to catch any termite problem early. To be able to identify an infestation, you have to know what the top 3 signs are that tell you that you have a termite problem.

1. Look for piles of wood pellets on the floor

As termites munch away at your home, they produce large piles of excrement that resemble sawdust. These piles are called frass and you may look for them underneath windows, below wall hangings, or directly beneath light fixtures. As the termite tunnels become full of chewed up and biologically processed cellulose, the termites make little holes in your walls and ceiling to push the frass out of their home and into your’s.

2. Evidence outside

Termites have to get inside your home first before they can start wreaking havoc. They will often leave evidence of their entry outside your home. Look for mud tunnels on the foundation. Termites do not come out into the open air so they create mud tunnels that allow them to get close to your home so they can find a way inside.

You may also find shed wings from swarmer termites outside of your windows. When a swarmer termite lands, they will shed the wings as they start hunting for a way to get inside your home to begin a new colony.

3. Swarmers pouring out of the walls

In the spring, a termite colony will produce swarmer termites who will fly off in search of more homes to destroy with new termite infestations. The swarmers will spill out of a hole in the wall into the interior of your house. If you are home during the swarm, you will definitely be aware of the termites covering your floor and walls. Be sure to locate exactly where the termites are coming from so you can tell your trusted exterminator when they arrive. Likely, the swarm will be over by the time the exterminator is able to come to your home.

Call a professional termite exterminator

If you see any of these three signs of a termite infestation, call your termite exterminator as soon as possible. You do not want a termite colony living in your home a minute longer than they have to. If you are in Upland, CA, give our trusted team at Bug Baron Exterminator a call today.

Categories
Termite Control

Do Termites Cause Expensive Damage?

Do Termites Cause Expensive Damage?

The scariest part about termites is that they can eat away at your home for a long time without you even knowing they are there. This allows the damage they create to get much worse before you start treating your home for termites. Because termites affect the wooden frame of your home, the hidden damage can really be a blow to your wallet when you finally start to repair the destruction caused by termites.

Every year in the US, termites cause billions of dollars worth of damage. The average homeowner who discovers termite damage will spend about $3,000 on repairs. That can be devastating, especially in this economy with inflation already making everyday expenses difficult.

Prevention

Keeping termites away from your home is key to not having to pay a dime in termite damage repairs. A few ways you can prevent termites from choosing your house as their new home and meal are:

  • Keep wood piles away from the home
  • Remove dead, fallen trees or old stumps from your yard
  • Make sure soil around the exterior of your home is not above your foundation
  • Keep shrubs and trees near your home from touching your siding or roof
  • Quickly repair any leaks or drips inside
  • Make sure your roof is in good condition
  • Have a yearly termite inspection

Termite inspection

Termites are experts at getting inside your home. Some try to get in by flying inside while others build elaborate mud tunnels so the colony can enter your home without being exposed to sunshine. While you can definitely keep an eye out for signs of termites as well as use prevention measures to keep the termites out, the single best way to safeguard your home against termites is to have a termite exterminator to routinely check your home for termites.

Depending on how at risk your home is for developing a termite problem, you may have a termite inspection every six months to a year. Once your home gets the all clear from a termite inspector, any new termite invasion will first have to find your home, find a way inside, start the colony, and begin eating. A routine  inspection greatly reduces how much damage the colony can make before the next inspection.

What kind of treatment does my home need?

Depending on where you live and the humidity around your home, a termite exterminator will decide on the best way to protect your home from termites. A few ways to treat for termites and prevent them from coming back are:

  • Preventative barrier around your home in the the soil that kills any termite that gets into the treatment
  • Bait stations outside that entice worker termites to bring poisoned food back to the colony.
  • Preventative exposed wood treatment in the attic or any accessible crawl spaces
  • Localized treatment when the technician discovers the location of the termites
  • Fumigation when the infestation is wide spread or in difficult to reach areas of the home

For the best termite extermination services in Upland, CA, give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today.

Categories
Termite Control

How Often Should I Have a Termite Inspection?

How Often Should I Have a Termite Inspection?

Termites can cause extensive damage to your home. The most difficult part about a termite infestation is that this pest is not out in the open where you can easily see it. Termites can be eating away at your home for months before you even realize they are there. By the time you discover you have termites, you may have costly damage in need of repair. In addition, the size of the termite colony may be enormous, making it difficult to eradicate.

To keep from paying outrageous repair bills, the best line of defense against termites is prevention. You can learn the signs of termites and keep out a sharp eye to protect your home. But the single best way to prevent termites from literally eating you out of house and home is to at least have a yearly termite inspection.

If you have had termite damage before, you know you definitely do not want to go down that road again. You may want to set up a regular termite inspection every six months to ensure that any termite damage is kept to a minimum.

Thorough inspection

An initial termite inspection is when a termite control technician comes to your home and looks in key areas for possible termite activity. For a termite colony to thrive, the termites need food and water in order to support their growing colony. Your house is already full of their food in the form of wood.

As soon as the termites find a water source in the form of a leaky pipe or even a humid basement, they will be good to go.  A termite exterminator will definitely want to inspect places where water is allowed to accumulate or drip to make sure termites aren’t using it as a water source.

An experienced termite control technician will not need to tear apart your home in order to find the termites. They will look around pipes and in cool places like in basements or up in the attic for any damaged wood or wood that appears warped and blistered.

If there is any paneling that can be easily removed near pipes in the walls, the technician will want to take a look.

But termite activity can be found outdoors as well. The inspector will look around the foundation for signs of Subterranean Termites who make mud tunnels attached to the foundation.

Peace of mind

While setting up a regular termite inspection when you have not seen signs of termites may seem extreme, the comfort of knowing that your home is termite free is well worth making a simple recurring appointment with a termite inspector. The average amount of termite damage can cost as much as $3000. While in severe infestations, the cost is much higher. Don’t take that risk.

Give Bug Baron Exterminator in Upland, CA a call today for your initial termite inspection.