Taking care of your home can be a full-time job. There are always chores and things that need to be done on a regular basis. It’s important to keep up with the lawn, gardening and basic maintenance that needs to be done around the house. Part of this maintenance is to make sure that pests are not attacking your home. There are many different insects that will come and go from your home and cause inconveniences and issues. One of the more damaging pests out there are termites. Termites can have a very adverse effect on your home. They will consume wood. Termites can damage structural timbers, wall two by fours, and drywall. The one part that is often overlooked is the fencing around your house. This article will look at fencing and how you can protect your home and fence from termite issues in your yard.
THE SCIENCE OF TERMITES
Termites are eusocial creatures. This means that they dwell in colonies. They act in a manner that some would describe as a hive mind. Each individual in the colony has a particular job and complete it to the benefit of the entire colony. Individuals will sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony. The queen is the egg producing individual in the hive. This queen is the only one in the colony that lays eggs at any given time. Below her are our worker termites who work and do the menial day to day jobs that are required by the colony. They will forge for food, take out the trash, feed other individuals in the colony and anything else that is needed. Contact your Tulsa Exterminator today for more details.
The soldier termites are the defenders of the hive. Using their large heads and jaws, they will work to protect the colony. Lastly the reproductives, also known as aleates, are individuals tasked with reproducing the colony. They are male and female in gender, and are the only termites to have wings. Reproductive termites will fly from the colony one time per year. Once a colony has reached a large enough population, these wings reproductives will swarm in an attempt to find other reproductives from other colonies. They will meet, mate, lose their wings and then start a new colony. Colonies will produce swarmers and attempt to reproduce themselves usually in the late spring and early summer.
FENCING
Fencing comes into play because it’s made of wood. Many yards have wooden fences all the way around them. These fences are susceptible to termite attack. Termites are a subterranean species that need damp air to survive. Without this air, they will dry out and die. The air underground is much more damp. In order for the worker ants to be able to forage for food above the surface, they will need to build mud tubes up the side of buildings and trees to find the food they need. Worker termites will build many tubes up the sides of fence posts. Regardless of whether these fence posts are metal or wood, they will use them in order to find food. Because of this, wood fences are susceptible to termite damage.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES
There are a few different ways to protect your fence from termite damage. The best way is for fences to be made out of a termite resistant or termite proof substance. Metal posts are a great option, because they will deter termites from attempting to find food there. They are not fool proof because termites will travel up them to find food higher up the pole. But metal posts will be traveled up only if worker termites can find no other easier options. Your Broken Arrow exterminator can help.
Wooden posts are not necessarily a lost cause. Pressure treated lumber is protected against termite damage. Pressure treated lumber is treated under pressure with a pesticide that keeps termites and other wood boring insects from able to chew into or through the wood. This treatment can last a good long time, but it’s not forever. Pressure treatments can vary in the length of time. How effective they are is determined by the environment that they are in. Excessively wet environments or extremely high or low temperatures can shorten the lifespan of these pressure treatments. But it is not uncommon to expect to get anywhere from 5 to 15 years of termite protection from your fence.
MORE PROTECTIVE MEASURES
Besides using wood that is treated or a metal fence post, the bottom of the fence post can be treated for termites much the way your home would be treated for termites. You can use trenching to stop termites from attacking your fence. In most cases this is only used when a termite has attacked your fence. These treatments are not super expensive, but can be effective in not only eliminating termites where they’re attacking your fence, but also eliminating the originating colony. This can be especially important when we realize our fences are always near your home, and a termite attack on your home can be a lot more expensive.
TERMITES AND YOUR HOME
The truth is is replacing a fence post is not a very expensive endeavor. But structural damage to your home is a much different matter. When you see termite damage on fencing, it is important to take care of that problem because it’s only a matter of time before that colony finds your home and begins to do damage to it. In many cases it’s a good idea to install a termite bait station system around the home if the fence has been attacked by termites. This not only will protect the house from a termite attack, it will also provide a warranty against attacks down the road. And if termites do find a termite station, they will take the bait back to the colony and destroy the colony itself. This is a great way to deal with termite issues on your fence or your home. A good Tulsa pest control company can help you with this.
ELIMINATING TERMITES FOR GOOD
If you’re having issues with termites today then it’s probably time to call a professional Broken Arrow pest control company. TermMax Pest Control is the best in the business when it comes to termites and wood destroying insects. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso Claremore, Coweta, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Prattville, Jenks, Turley, Bixby and much more. We are here to help!