Six Key Signs Of Termite Activity Around Your Lewisville Home

One of the biggest threats to Lewisville homes is a tiny insect called the subterranean termite. This itty bitty insect, along with a hundred thousand of its friends, can do a lot of damage to your home, over time, if you let them. That is why it is important that you recognize the signs of subterranean termite activity. Here are the top six signs to look for.

1. Swarmers

Termite swarmers can be one of the most noticeable signs of a termite infestation. When these tiny, winged reproductives emerge inside your home, they're hard to miss. But you might be tempted to suck them up with a vacuum and call it a day. Why? Because there are many winged insects that can get into your home. If you don't know what a termite swarmer looks like, you won't know it's a termite.

Quick Termite Swarmer Identification

What you will notice most about a swarmer is its wings. The wings of a termite swarmer are twice as long as the insect itself and they extend well beyond the end of its abdomen. These wings are white, rounded at the tips, and stacked on top of each other. While a swarmer is only about ⅜ of an inch in length, the wings make this insect stand out.

What You Should Know Most About Swarmers

If you see termite swarmers inside your Lewisville home, it is a warning sign that you have a heavy infestation. This is because swarmers don't emerge inside unless the nest is close to the home, or inside the home. It also means that termites have been feeding on your home for years. A termite colony doesn't produce swarmers until it has matured. This can take three or more years.

2. Wings

When termite swarmers mate, they shed their wings. This process of swarming and mating happens quickly (in less than 30 minutes). These shed wings may be your only sign that a swarm happened. You can find these wings in many areas on the ground or on floors and window sills. You may also look in spider webs to find wings. Spider webs are like nature's sticky traps.

3. Shelter Tubes

When worker termites come up from the ground to feed on the wood of your home, they create shelter tubes if you don't have any direct wood-to-soil contact. These tubes are made with soil and saliva. They may be as thin as a pen or as thick as several feet if there are many tubes on top of each other.

• Shelter tubes may be found in dark places underneath your home, moist locations around your home, or on hard surfaces within your home.
• Shelter tubes can be created in the voids of walls, inside cement piers, and in other concealed locations.
• Shelter tubes tend to look like lightning bolts, rivers, branches, and other organic patterns. When they are grouped together, they can form a large trunk-like mass.