The Easiest Way To Combat A Termite Infestation In Brandon

Termites manage to inflict damage on our homes far above their minuscule stature. Every year, these tiny wood eaters inflict over 5 billion dollars in damage on homeowners. Termites are small insects; in our area, they can average up to 1 inch in size. Their milky white to brown bodies are often confused for common or carpenter ants. All termites, regardless of type, have two pairs of legs, a body that consists of three segments (head, abdomen, and thorax), and a pair of antennae.

Termites feed on cellulose, using symbiotic bacteria and self-produced enzymes to extract the nutrients they need from wet or dry wood. They are a natural part of the ecosystem because termites tunnel through wood, helping to decompose dead trees, prevent forest fires, and enrich the soil. Unfortunately, when those wood-digesting talents are combined with termites' 24/7 appetite inside your home, the damage can be pretty significant. An average homeowner that manages to spot a termite problem early ends up with more than $3,000 worth of damage, and if left long enough, a termite infestation can literally bring down the roof of your home on top of your head.

Let's look at why it's so hard to recognize evidence of termite damage and what a homeowner can realistically expect from a termite infestation. The best way to get rid of termites is with a local Brandon pest control company, Green Leaf Pest Services.

You're Likely Never To See A Termite

For a homeowner, the key to avoiding costly termite damage repair bills is spotting the signs of termite infestations in their early stages before they can cause severe damage to your home's structure. 

Watch for the following signs of termites in your home:

• Tiny holes in wood, with small piles of sawdust by them
• Blistering paint
• Hollow-sounding wood
• Shed termite swarmer wings
• Mud tubes leading to your home

While termites, unlike many other pests, are not nocturnal, tunneling through your home's structural members literally 24 hours a day, spotting them is very difficult.

The most common termites in our area, the subterranean termites, tunnel through the ground and under your home, making their way into your floors and walls without revealing themselves. Once inside, termites will not venture out in search of food as ants do; most will stay inside, silently tunneling and destroying the wood your house is built from for the rest of their lives.

Exactly How Quickly Termites Destroy Property

While a single termite is not much of a threat, eating less than 3% of its minuscule body weight daily, termite's strength is in numbers, with each colony often consisting of 100,000 to one million members. A small colony of 60,000 members will eat approximately five grams of wood each day. With each two-by-four piece of lumber weighing in close to 9 pounds, it would take a starter colony up to 2 years to make it through a piece of wood that size. 

Unfortunately, without regular termite inspections, termite colonies are rarely discovered in the first few years of existence. By the time a colony is eight years old, it can number hundreds of thousands of members, toiling day and night at destroying your home.

Do-It-Yourself Termite Control Is A Waste Of Time And Money

Once termites make their way inside the structure of your home, they have literally everything they've ever wanted; a dry, comfortable environment to grow a colony, an inexhaustible food supply in the form of the lumber your home is built from, access to water from leaking and sweating pipes and protection form their natural predators, courtesy of your home's walls. 

Termite prevention in Brandon is an approach that can pay significant dividends to a homeowner, while DIY termite treatments rarely succeed. A single termite egg left in a crack in the wall or the far corner of the nest can be a start of a new infestation that can grow by thousands of colony members each day. Add to that the fact that effective termite treatment usually involves dangerous chemicals applied in the form of fumigation, most commonly sulfuryl fluoride, used to reach the members of the colony spread in tunnels all over your home's walls, and it's clear why this is one job best left to the professionals.

The Benefits Of Year-Round Professional Termite Control

At Green Leaf Pest Services, we've been helping Brandon homeowners keep their homes termite free for years. Our experienced techs will start the termite inspection by examining your property for evidence of termite damage and looking for signs of termites in your house and the area around it. 

If you suspect your home is infested with termites or simply want to add a layer of guaranteed protection against termite damage, contact us to schedule a free inspection today.