Termite Infestation Defense: Early Warning Signs and Solutions For Mooresville Homeowners

The termites in Mooresville have a way of sneaking up on property owners. Do you know why? It has to do with their small size and behavior patterns. A worker termite is only about 1/8 of an inch. If you're lucky enough to see one, you may not even realize it.

Worker termites are often mistaken for ants. When you also consider the fact that termites avoid coming out into the open because the dry air dehydrates them, things start to make sense. You're trying to protect your Mooresville home from tiny insects prone to hiding out. But avoiding termite damage is simple. You just need to know what to look for, where to look, and what methods to use.

Join us today as we give you a simple guide to termite defense. If you'd like to speak with one of our termite control professionals about termite control in Mooresville, we can also help you with that. We're only a phone call or text message away. Reach out to us anytime.

Termite Warning Signs Every Homeowner Ought To Know

When termites come into your yard, they'll do so in one of two ways. They'll tunnel through the ground or fly through the air. The tunnelers are the worker termites. They can travel as much as a hundred yards in search of food. If they find food on your property, it might result in a satellite nest. The fliers are swarmer termites. They come by air in search of a place to start a new nest. They land, mate, shed their wings, and tunnel into the soil. The whole process takes less than an hour.

The first warning sign you're looking for in your yard is the presence of workers or swarmers. A worker is a pale insect that feeds on wood and other sources of cellulose. You may get lucky and find a few under a dead branch sitting on the soil. Look underneath any wooden object that touches the ground, and you may discover worker termites. But consider removing the wood after you check because putting food out for termites isn't a good idea. Swarmers are black insects with white wings that stack on top of each other. These wings are round at the tips. You can find them in shaded areas as they often hide from the sun.

When termite workers feed on a structure, they often create mud structures called shelter or mud tubes. These mud tubes hold moisture inside so the workers can stay hydrated. You'll find them attached to your foundation or other hard surfaces. They'll look like wiggly lines made of mud running up from the ground and branching as they climb.

If termites are eating your home, you may see signs of termite damage, but most of the damage termites do is on the inside of structural wood. They rarely do visible damage unless it is in a shaded spot that is high in humidity, such as a crawl space or a damp area underneath a deck.

These are the most common warning signs of a termite problem. But why do termites infest your home? What conditions allow them to get in and start feeding? As you consider termite defense, it is good to know how termite workers operate.

Why Termites Infest Wooden Structures

There are two facts you should know about termite workers. First, they don't target all structures equally. There are factors that can make one home more appetizing than another. Second, the factors that lead to a termite infestation aren't simple and do not have a simple explanation because there are different species of termites. What we'll provide here is a general overview.

Moisture Problems

When gutters are clogged or broken, landscape vegetation is dense, or grass is overgrown, these conditions can attract termites. Workers need hydration and gravitate to properties that provide moisture and humidity. A moisture problem also creates the conditions leading to wood rot.

Wood Rot

Termites don't consider all wood equally when it comes to eating it. They target decaying wood first because it is easier to consume. Consider it ice cream for termites. They often start eating structures in areas with wood rot and move on to dry timbers. Wood that is rotting is also likely damp, which increases its allure.

Shaded Areas

Termites can detect ground clutter. A wood, branch, stone, or brick pile will catch the attention of worker termites. They can also detect a shed, house, or other structure above ground. When they sense that something is up there, they investigate the surface. In a shaded location, they may build a mud tube to go higher and search for food. That is how they get to support wood.

Cracks

Termites navigate spaces between rocks in the dirt and cracks in large rocks. When workers find a cracked foundation slab, they may work their way up inside the crack, not knowing where it leads. If the crack leads to wood, the termites will begin to feed.

When you have annual termite inspections by a professional pest control expert, your technician will look for moisture problems, wood rot, shaded spaces, cracks, and other conducive conditions to zero in on the location of worker termites. Your technician may also use equipment to track moisture in walls or the infrared heat signature of termites inside wood. Professionals have the training to find subtle signs of termite activity using their knowledge of termite behavior to guide them.

Handy Tips To Prevent Termites Around Your Property

What can you do about termites? There are many steps you can take to make your property less of a target. We'll build off the facts we've shared thus far and give you some of our best suggestions.

• When you pick up dead branches in your yard, store them in a container or on a surface that is off the ground.
• Remove logs, stumps, and other decaying wood from your property.
• Nurse unhealthy trees back to life or hire a professional to do this.
• Replace wooden landscaping items, such as wood buckets or borders.
• Replace wooden fencing with vinyl fencing.
• Store all junk piles in trash bins to keep termites from finding cardboard, paper, or clothing.
• Clean out your gutters and patch up any damaged points along your gutter trough line.
• Remove weeds, cut grass, and remove overgrowth.
• Remove decaying wood from your home.
• Create a dry space underneath your home if your home has a crawl space.
• Apply mortar to patch cracks in your foundation.
• Use expanding foam to fill in wood cavities or gaps.
• Perform routine inspections to catch trouble early on.

These tips will reduce termite activity and make it less likely that worker termites will enter your home and feed on the wood. But these tips don't provide complete control. You'll need a termite control solution to ensure your property has the protection it needs. Let's look at how professional termite control can give you proactive termite damage prevention and who to call when you want to get rid of termites in Mooresville.

Contact Us For Termite Control Done The Right Way

Pest control companies vary in their methods to deal with termite infestations. Whether you've found termites in your home or hope you'll never find termites in your home, Lake Norman Home Services has the solution.

The experts on staff here at Lake Norman Home Services trust the award-winning Sentricon® System with Always Active™ to address termite problems. Sentricon® has a long track record of success. Here's how it works:

• Sentricon® bait stations are placed in the ground around a structure.
• When termite workers come looking for a bite to eat, they find the Sentricon® bait.
• The bait in the Sentricon® System does not wear out with age but becomes more and more appetizing.
• Termite workers take the bait back to the nest and feed it to the larvae.
• The larvae are unable to develop and die off.
• Exposure to the bait results in colony elimination.

Sentricon® works day and night, 365 a year, to stop termite colonies as they come to feed on your property. Best of all, your technician will show you when termites take the bait. You won't have to wonder if your termite control was money well spent. You'll know it.

Are you in Mooresville? Reach out to your Lake Norman Home Services service team to learn more about how Sentricon® can work for you. We also provide other termite control services, such as annual inspections and the generation of a wood-destroying insect report. This report is a must-have when you're selling or buying a home.

Lake Norman Home Services is the right choice for termite protection. Our certified pest control team has earned many awards and positive reviews, delivering smart, science-based solutions with attention to detail. You can easily reach us by phone, text, or email.

We look forward to helping you find the right choice for your Mooresville pest control needs. You don't have to let termites sneak up on you. Get proactive protection today.