Check For Termites Before You Move In
Moving into a new home should be an exciting time in your life until you start noticing signs of pest issues in the house. Pests problems are not only annoying, but they can lead to some dangerous and costly issues. Termites alone are responsible for causing around $5 billion in damages a year in the United States. While an inspection should help take care of this, not all inspectors are trained to identify pest problems. Before you move into your new home, you need to watch out for signs that you have unwanted visitors taking up space in your new house. Here are some signs you can be on the lookout for.
Termite Tubes
These tubes created by termites are one of the easiest ways to identify if termites are present in the home. These tubes are constructed of mud and usually occur on the outside of the home. The termites build these tubes in order to protect them from the moisture they encounter above ground.
There are three types of tubes, including drop tubes, working tubes, and exploratory tubes. You can usually find the drop tubes hanging from ceilings, while the working tubes connect the ground to the food source. The exploratory tubes are more fragile and do not always lead to a food source. If you find these tubes abandoned, you cannot assume the termites are gone. They could have created other tubes.
Swarms
Termites can have wings and fly around to different food sources. During the spring and fall, these swarms are likely to be seen more often. They typically only leave their nests twice a year. They can be mistaken for common insects, so it is important to look for other signs of termites if you want to be sure they have invaded your home.
Wood Damage
Because termites feed on wood, you can always check your wood surfaces for damage to see if you have a termite problem. Termites eat on the wood from the inside out, so you may not always see it by just looking at the surface. Termites can be very destructive to wood and cause major structural problems in a home. In many cases, they will only leave behind the wood grain once they have fed on the wood. This is why it is so important to get a termite inspection before you move into a home.
Termite Wings
As termites leave their colonies during the spring and fall, they will discard their wings. You can usually find these in spider webs and other inconspicuous places. If you see their wings, you can be sure you have a termite problem in your home.
For more information, contact a business such as Palm Springs Pest Control Inc.
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