Your home is one of the most expensive investments you’re gonna make in your entire lifetime. Protecting it from pests such as termites is very important. These insects will come in and consume the wood that makes up the structural portions of our homes and remove that structural integrity. Because of this, it’s important that we protect our homes from these invading insects. Calling a good Broken Arrow Exterminator is key to getting that done. So let’s take a look at termites and examine exactly how they work.
If you think you might have termites, the first few steps are to identify exactly what’s going on. In Oklahoma we have the eastern subterranean termite. This termite, as its name implies, has to stay in contact with moisture in order to survive. When exposed to dry air, it can dry out and die. So, in order to travel above ground, it will build mud tubes up the sides of walls, trees, and other surfaces to forage for food. If you’re seeing these mud tubes coming up from the ground on the side of your house, you know there may be an issue. Getting rid of the mud tubes themselves is not going to stop it because these insects are very tenacious and will just continue to build more tubes and consume your home.
If they find a way to come through a crack or a seam in the foundation, they can often come up inside your home. Usually, they’ll come up into a wall void and start building mud tubes up the inside of the wall, feeding on cellulose-containing materials, including the paper facing on drywall. After a while, they may start to damage the drywall and even break through in spots, where they can cover openings with mud. If you’re seeing mud spots on your wall or finding areas that are soft, this can be a telltale sign that you’ve got termites inside the wall.
Getting rid of them is a job that really needs to be done by a good Broken Arrow exterminator. The way that we accomplish this is by one of two methods. We will either use a liquid treatment or a bait station system.
The liquid treatment is where we dig a trench around your house, where appropriate, and apply a liquid termiticide to the soil. This creates a treated zone around the foundation. Depending on the product, termites that contact the treated soil can be killed, and some nonrepellent termiticides may also be transferred among termites. The goal is to stop termite activity and protect the structure.
The bait stations work differently. We put bait stations around your house. As these insects find the stations and feed on the bait, they can carry the active ingredient back to the colony, helping eliminate it over time.
If you think you’re having an issue with termites or any other pests, it’s time to call a good Broken Arrow exterminator. TermMax Pest Control can help you deal with these issues quickly and affordably. Call us today.
