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Termite Control

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.

Categories
Termite Control

Termite Control Experts in Rancho Cucamonga

The good news about termites is that you can prevent them from coming into your home by setting up a routine termite inspection and treatment. While there are several treatments that can eradicate a termite infestation, getting a termite control expert’s eyes on your property at least once a year can save you from even a year’s worth of termite damage. Knowing what to look for and what happens during a termite inspection will help you know what to expect and how to get rid of termites from your Rancho Cucamonga home.

Know the difference between ants and termites

If you see an insect in your home, you may first assume that it is an ant.  Ants and termites look very similar if you don’t know some of their subtle differences. While most termites stay hidden in your walls and cannot endure sunlight, swarmer termites leave the colony to start a new one. If you see a termite crawling around on your floor, it may be a swarmer termite. Termites look similarly to ants but have some key distinctions.

  • Their antennae: Termites have straight antennae while ants are bent.
  • Their wings. Both insects have two sets of wings. Both sets of termite wings are the same length while ants have a longer set on top.
  • Their waists. A termite abdomen and thorax are about as wide as their heads, with little variation in width. An ant has a wasp-like waist that comes in sharply in a pinched look.

Signs of termites

Even though termites are mostly silent creatures that steadily eat away at your home, there are some things to look for to know if you have a termite infestation.  A few signs to look for are:

  • Small piles of frass, excrement that resembles saw dust
  • Warped wood
  • The appearance of water damage
  • Tiny holes around your windows
  • Baseboards and trim that appear paper thin
  • Mud tunnels on the exterior of your home
  • Shed wings on your exterior window sills

If you see any of these signs in your Rancho Cucamonga home, do not hesitate to call your trusted termite exterminator immediately.

Cost of damage

American homeowners spend thousands of dollars on home repairs each year due to termite damage.  Termites never completely stop eating so eliminating them at the first sign is crucial to saving your house from even more repairs.

Subterranean termites, the type responsible for the majority of damage in the U.S., only eat the cellulose in the wood instead of eating it straight through like a Drywood Termite. The walls, floor, and ceiling can stay intact when only the soft part of the wood is eaten away, even though the structural integrity of the structure is compromised. This can actually be quite dangerous because you may unknowingly put your weight on the floor or even the roof, only for it to give way.

Termite treatment

Whether you need barrier protections around your home, localized treatment when a colony is discovered, or several bait stations around your yard, an experienced termite control expert will find the perfect termite treatment for your situation.

For the best termite control in Rancho Cucamonga, give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today.