It's estimated that termites cause over $5 billion in property damage every year in the United States. Your Aiken home may be at risk, especially if the wood structure of your home is in contact with the ground. Another risk factor is having water-damaged wood. Yet another is using wood mulch in your flower beds up to your house's foundation. The worst part is that you may not know you have termites until the damage is so extensive that it threatens your home's safety. That's why you need to work with a professional Aiken pest control company like Aiken Pest Control to remove termites from your home.
How To Identify Termite Damage
A termite problem in Aiken may go on for years before you notice any signs of damage to your home. Some signs that you have a termite problem include the following:
- Sagging drywall
- Peeling paint
- Pinpoint holes in your drywall
- Buckling laminate or wood floors
- Wood that sounds hollow if you tap on it
- Loosening tiles
- Windows and doors that stick or won't stay open
- Squeaky floorboards
- Maze-like patterns on walls, floors, or furniture
- Mud tubes on the foundation of your house
- Flying termite swarms or discarded wings
If you notice any of these signs, you must call Aiken Pest Control immediately to stop more damage from occurring in your home.
The Termite Fumigation Process
Tenting a house for termites in Aiken is only done if you have drywood termites. The fumigant gets into all the wood of your home and kills the termites wherever they are. However, tenting is not done for the more common subterranean termites.
For subterranean termite treatment in Aiken, we use the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System with Always Active™ technology. With this system, we install bait stations in the ground around your home. Subterranean termites will find the bait and carry it back to their colonies, where it will spread like an epidemic. It will eventually kill everyone in the colony, including the queen.
Simple Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Home From Termites
There are several steps you can take to protect your Aiken home from a termite infestation in the first place, including:
- Keep the wooden structure of your home from touching the ground. This may mean you have to dig down around your house to expose the foundation. Keep wooden structures such as door frames at least six inches away from the dirt where subterranean termites live.
- Eliminate any potential sources for water accumulating around your foundation. Use downspouts with extenders or splash blocks to divert water away from your home. Fix leaky faucets, pipes, and air conditioner units. Subterranean termites are attracted to moisture and often gain entry to homes through water-damaged wood.
- Get rid of any humidity in your crawl space and basement. Using venting and dehumidifiers to reduce the moisture level in your home will make it less attractive to subterranean termites, which need ambient moisture to survive.
- Consider installing a vapor barrier in your crawl space. Covering 75% or more of the soil will help reduce moisture levels further.
- Avoid storing firewood, cardboard boxes, newspapers, lumber, or other wood or paper products in your crawl space or against your house. Termites will view those stacks as an open invitation to eat their way through into your home.
Taking steps to minimize the chances of termites in your home is an important step in protecting your property. It's also a good idea to schedule regular visits from termite specialists for your Aiken property, like Aiken Pest Control. We have the tools and know-how to catch infestations early and get rid of termites before they cause extensive damage with our professional termite control services in Aiken.
The Key To Total Termite Control For Aiken Properties
If you need to know how to get rid of termites, all you have to do is contact Aiken Pest Control for a free quote. We've been in business since 1967, and we have customers who have been with us for 40 years. We're also proud to say we're a QualityPro-approved company – less than 2% of pest control companies can say that.