How To Tell If Your Home Has Termites

If your home was suddenly infested with mice, you would find out pretty quickly. You would start hearing scratching in your walls, seeing droppings in the backs of drawers, footprints in dusty surfaces. Mice leave lots of clues. The same can be said for many pests, from spiders in the basement to squirrels in the attic. But some pests are known for their ability to remain unseen and unheard. Termites are a prime example. They have been known to eat away at a structure for years before being detected. This is why they are often referred to as "silent destroyers." And sometimes the damage is so extensive, there is no hope of repair.

What are some types of damage termites can do to a structure?

Termites will silently eat away at your basement, attic, bedrooms, or any other part of your home or business where there happens to be wood present. And they can do this, as mentioned above, sometimes for years without showing signs of the damage being done. Your home or business is the perfect environment for termites, providing food, moisture, shelter, and the ideal temperatures that these insects need to survive and thrive.

In nature, termites will happily eat away at fallen trees, stumps, and the like, but, in your structure, they will eat other things as well. They need cellulose, which is the most plentiful organic compound found in nature and the main building block of plants. It is also found in many materials that humans use every day. Termites will feed on plants, plant byproducts, cotton fibers, paper products and, of course, wood products. So if you are infested with termites, all these materials are potentially at risk of being eaten.