Why Year-Round Termite Control Is Essential In Texas

Do you know that termites cost United States home and business owners over $5 billion annually? It is true. One reason for this statistic is the fact that termites are such sneaky creatures. These wood-destroying insects can come silently up from the soil into the wood of your home, completely undetected, and go to work eating away at your structure for months, years, and even decades before being discovered. For this reason, it is imperative that Texas home and business owners take action against these little home (and business) wreckers.

Conditions That Allow Termites To Thrive

Termites are able to multiply and grow their colonies in any condition that is not too cold. And the best possible conditions for termites to thrive include two things: heat and humidity. Sound familiar? Here in North Texas, termites are right at home eating away at wooden structures, multiplying and growing their colonies, and sending out reproductive swarmers to start even more colonies, that is, unless something comes along to stop them. That is where we come in. Read on to understand why year-round termite control is so important here in North Texas.

Why Termite Damage Often Goes Unnoticed

Termites look a little bit like ants. If you have old stumps on your property, and you break off a piece and see what look like a mass of whitish ants, you may just think they are just that, ants. But chances are you are looking at a mass of termite workers. And if termites are on your property, they may be inside the walls of your home as well.

Termites are very secretive. Most pests will either hitchhike into your home (like bed bugs) or squeeze through gaps and cracks in your foundation or walls (like ants and cockroaches) but termites stay hidden. They come up from underground to the wood of your home. And if there is nowhere where wood touches the soil, termites will build mud tubes to travel through. These tubes are usually in hidden places such as behind outside stairs or in crawl spaces.

Termites are very quiet. These pests are not called "silent destroyers" for nothing. They are almost completely silent. However, if you press your ear up against a wall where they are infesting, or use a stethoscope, you may be able to hear a clicking noise. This is the sound of soldier termites banging their heads against the walls to warn other termites in their colony of a potential threat.

Winged termite swarmers don't stick around long. When a colony matures, it will send out winged reproductives, or swarmers, to establish new colonies. These swarms only last for around half an hour and are only seen once or twice a year.

Termite swarmers may be mistaken for flying ants since they look similar.