How To Identify And Get Rid Of Termites In Your Jacksonville Home

The worst termites in Jacksonville are subterranean termites. They feed on wood and damage property, over time. You can stop them from making a meal out of your home by learning some basic facts about them. Today, we're going to cover how to spot warning signs of a termite infestation, how much damage termites cause, how they get inside, and why they want to make a dinner out of the wood in your home. We'll end by discussing the best way to get rid of termites and keep them away from your property for good. As always, you can reach out to us for direct answers to your questions. We're happy to help!

Easy-To-Spot Signs Of A Termite Infestation

Have you heard that termites are sneaky insects? This is true—most of the time. There are a few ways you may easily spot a termite infestation if you are familiar with termite identification and common warning signs. Some of these warning signs can appear at any time. Some you'll have to find.

• Swarmers In Your House: There is no easier way to tell that you have a termite infestation than finding several dozen winged insects in your home. But this is a terrible way to find out you have a termite problem. Seeing termites indoors is not only a warning sign of a severe infestation, but it is also a sign that you've had termites in your home for years. Termite swarmers are winged termites, and their wings are the best way to identify them. They have a stretched teardrop shape when stacked on top of each other. If slightly open, they'll create a heart shape. A termite swarmer is about ? of an inch long.
• Mud Tubes: Another easy way to detect termites is the appearance of mud tubes. But don't get too excited. Subterranean termites prefer dark spaces and they often create these tubes in areas that are hidden from sight. You may have to get dirty and crawl into places you don't want to go if you hope to find these tubes. A single tube looks like a wiggly, muddy line. One line may branch into several lines as it goes from the ground upward.
• Damage: Termites may damage the wood of your home in a spot where the damage is visible. You'll have to look for this damage in areas where the light of the sun and moon are blocked. Termite workers avoid light as much as possible. The damage caused by termites looks like water damage. You'll need to pick at it and see if you can detect tunnels inside. These tunnels will stack on top of each other and they will feel gritty to the touch. The reason for the grit is that termites bring soil into their tunnels.
• Sounds: Most termite damage is not visible. They feed on the inside of wood. But you may detect the termites even if you don't see the damage. Tap on wood with a tool. If the wood sounds hollow, you may have a termite infestation. Another way you may use sounds to detect termites is to listen for them. When termite tunnels are invaded by ants or some other threat, solider termites bang their tiny heads on tunnel walls. If you have good ears, you may hear this as a rustling or clicking noise.
• Workers: It is rare to see worker termites because they have such an aversion to light. But you may see them if you pick up a dead branch or move a piece of lumber in your yard. Look for ? of an inch long insects with a pale white coloration. Some people describe worker termites as fat white ants. Others describe them as maggots with six legs. Both are good descriptions. 

Watch for these early warning signs of termites to catch termites early. Doing so can allow you to arrest damage before termites cost you a pretty penny. How bad are they? Let's take a look.

A Termite Infestation Can Cause Extensive Property Damage

It is hard to imagine just how much damage termites can do to a property in Jacksonville. They're incredibly tiny. But these facts should help you put things into perspective.

• Termite colonies can have thousands or hundreds of thousands of workers.
• More than one colony of termites can attack a home at the same time because termites travel a great distance in search of food.
• Termite workers are simple organisms that do not require sleep so they can actively damage a structure continually.
• Termites in Jacksonville are active all year long because temperatures never drop low enough to slow them down.
• Termite workers from one colony can feed on multiple sources of food at once. While they're eating a dead branch in your yard, they can also feed on your back porch and the subflooring in your kitchen.

Termites never stop and neither should your efforts to protect your property, but how can you stop an insect that lives underground or inside the wood it's feeding on? Let's break down the facts and link the data to how you can work to prevent termite activity in your yard and within your home.

How And Why Termites Invade Homes

Long before you see signs of termites inside your house, you can prevent termite damage. These insects must have a reason to come into your yard and find a route to enter your home. If you roll your sleeves up, you can alter conditions and give termites fewer reasons to explore your yard and grow their numbers and fewer routes to enter your home.

• Termites have a preference for natural wood that is in a state of decay. Dead tree branches, dying trees, stumps, and untreated lumber are highly desirable. Store branches in a container to keep them off the ground, nurse trees back to health, and remove wood sources in your yard.
• Termites eat cardboard, paper, clothing, and other items that contain cellulose. Store pizza boxes, junk, and other debris in containers so these materials don't sit on the ground.
• Termites are attracted to moist soil and damp conditions. Keep your gutter system healthy to reduce ground saturation next to your home. Repair plumbing issues such as damaged spigots or hoses.
• When given an opportunity, termites can directly access your home when they find wood in the ground. Address wood-to-soil contact on your home and structures in your yard. Some examples are wood skirting touching the ground, wood posts entering the ground, a wooden fence, or a wooden dog house. Replace wood skirting with a termite-resistant material. Put back deck posts on concrete piers. Replace wooden fences with vinyl. Put a rubber mat underneath your dog's house. When you make it harder for termites to directly access these food sources, you have a better chance of seeing when they create mud tubes.

These and other all-natural prevention methods, combined with diligent detection of termites and warning signs on your property can help to prevent damage. Are these methods better than getting professional pest control in Jacksonville? No. But some protection is certainly better than not having any protection at all.

The Best Way To Get Rid Of Termites And Keep Them Away

There is no replacing what your local termite company can do to protect your equity from the harmful impact of termite damage. When you select the right company, you'll have ongoing, always active termite detection and colony elimination. What do we mean by the right company? Some professionals use what has always provided protection from termites. They inject termiticide into the soil around structures. It is a method that requires drilling and trenching, and there is no active termite monitoring. When termites attempt to attack your home, you won't know it. 

Companies, like Wildlife and Pest Control Experts, that use termite bait, provide termite colony elimination in a similar way to modern termiticides. When termites are exposed to the product, they share the active ingredient with the other termites in their colony, which leads to colony elimination. No drilling or trenching is required. Best of all, when termites attempt to attack your property, you'll know it. Why is this important? Termite control in Jacksonville is an investment in the protection of your property. If you aren't able to see when termites attack your property, you may not see the value in keeping up with your termite protection. If you let your shield down, termites can move right in. For this reason, we strongly believe termite bait stations are a superior way to protect Jacksonville property against termite damage.

Would you like to learn more about how we apply termite bait stations as a termite solution around your home? Consider contacting us to get an inspection and WDO (wood-destroying organism) report created. We'll look at the unique conditions on your property and provide you with the data you need to make a sound decision about your termite control.

Reach out to us by phone or jump to our contact page to connect with us. We look forward to helping you find the perfect solution to termite control and all of your general pest concerns.