Many problems in life are severe but hard to identify. Take a car, for instance. If you don’t keep tabs on your gas meter, you will eventually run out and stall in the middle of the street. In turn, if you don’t know where to look to spot termites, you could end up with a several thousand dollar property repair bill. To save you a ton of money down the road and help you identify these destructive pests before they destroy your Longview property, keep your eyes out for the following signs.
Termite Swarmers
One of the most obvious signs that a termite colony is nearby is swarmers around a property. These small, white, winged, ant-like insects are products of a fully mature termite nest looking to expand. Finding swarmers around your home or business’ exterior, perched on window sills, or crawling over walls is an excellent way to know an infestation may be around the corner. On the other hand, if you find swarmers indoors, your property is already infested, as the only place these pests could have come from is through holes chewed through your walls, ceilings, and structural wood.
Mud Tubes
Subterranean termites, the most common species in our area, sometimes use constructed mud tubes to invade a home or business. These pencil-sized covered pathways will keep a termite’s body moist as it climbs the exterior of a building. If a building’s exterior foundation has cracks or gaps that lead up to structural wood, or there is no non-wood barrier between outer soil and the wood of your property, termites will not need mud tubes to get inside.
Moisture Damage
Subterranean termites need constant moisture to survive; when tunneling their way through a property’s wood, these pests transport water with them. This journey softens up the wood so that it is easier to harvest and causes some somewhat concerning moisture-related damages. Some of the more noticeable signs include tight-fitting doors and windows/sagging drywall, bubbling paint/wallpaper, overly squeaky floorboards, and visible wet spots on floors and ceilings.
Severe Structural Problems
The longer termites are allowed to destroy property, the more serious the damage they cause becomes. As long as you pay attention to your home or business condition and address problems as signs pop up, you should never get to the point where you find these severe structural problems:
- Dipping or sagging ceilings
- Buckling floorboards
- Severely weakened support beams
- Visible galleyways running through structural wood
- Structural failure
What To Do If You Think Your Property Has Termites
Termites are not easy pests to prevent and even harder to eliminate. Because signs are often scarce and follow extensive damage, spotting these pests before they cause trouble is nearly impossible. The only way to effectively track termites is to use expensive equipment and regular checkups from a contracted pest control professional.
To have your property defended against these destructive pests, do not hesitate to get the experts at Pest-Pro Services, Inc involved. Our team of trained pest control technicians has the advanced treatments and industrial-grade equipment needed to track, prevent, and eliminate termites. We would be happy to put their experience to use around your Longview property. Give us a call today at (903) 664-8784 to discuss your options and to find a comprehensive termite control option that best suits you and your Longview property’s individual needs. We will make sure the job gets done right.