Andover Pest Control

In Andover there is only one kind of termite threatening homes. It is a subterranean termite monopoly—but you don’t have to let them monopolize your home. Termites can cause a tremendous amount of damage. Also, it is unlikely that your home-owner’s insurance will cover termite damage. If you don’t notice or pay attention to the signs of a termite infestation, the more you’ll have to pay out of pocket.

Colonies take years to grow to a decent size, in fact the queen can live up to twenty-five years. Subterranean termites live underground and then travel up into your home to retrieve the delicious wood in your walls. They eat the structural wood, but only devours the softer sections and leaves the harder summer wood alone. If not stopped, termites can leave the wood hollow and fragile.

Termites are extremely good at hiding. They will settle in places where the typical home inspector will not notice. One sign of these termites are mud tubes—they use these to keep protect themselves from both predators and the sun. They use these paths to travel from the main colony. These are found in crawl spaces or outside walls. Discolored wood or hallow sounding wood are other possible signs of termites. Termites will leave wood frail and easily broken. (Hopefully you will be able to catch the termites before they create that kind of damage.)

The most obvious sign of a termite infestation is the “swarmers.” These male and female termites are sent out from the colony to established new colonies elsewhere. But the colony must be several years old and fairly large before it will produce winged termites. Typically, they swarm and start new colonies between March and May. If you see hundreds, even thousands, of swarmers, you know that there is a serious termite problem nearby.

The sooner you find a termite infestation, the more damage you could prevent. But remember, once you do find where the termites are residing, you cannot disturb them. If you do, the colony will simply relocate. Call an exterminator to take care of the problem. He will be able to use the best methods to eradicate them from your home.