Termite Control Done Right For Baltimore Properties
There are many ways to deal with the threat that termites present to your property. The worst thing to do is nothing at all. The reason some Baltimore property owners do nothing is that they don’t understand the threat. Today, we’ll give you a few basic facts you need to know about termites. We’ll discuss why it is hard to detect active termites on your property or in your home, how much damage termites can do over time, why termites infest structures, and what you can do to deter them. We’ll also explain the professional-grade termite control solutions we use and why these methods work to effectively guard against termite damage. If you’d like to learn firsthand, you can contact us and schedule a service visit. We provide advanced termite pest control in Baltimore, and we can take the burden of termite control off your shoulders. We offer several ways for you to contact us. Call, email, or drop us a line on our contact page.
You’re Not Likely To Ever Actually See A Termite
The main issue with termite control is that termites in Baltimore are incredibly sneaky. In fact, they are sneaky by nature. If you understand how termites behave, you’ll easily understand why finding signs of termite damage is often hard.
- Termite workers hate the light. They desire to live their entire lives in utter darkness. They don’t even like the moonlight. Therefore, finding evidence of termites is tricky. You have to crawl under structures or turn over objects in your yard.
- Termite workers are small. When you see a few termites, you may not even realize it. They’re often mistaken for pale ants or maggots. When you pick an object up and find tiny, pale-colored bugs on the bottom, look closely.
- Termites need moisture. As they tunnel in wood, they bring soil up from the ground and coat their wood tunnels with a mixture of soil and feces. You won’t find termites crawling on the outside of wood in a location that is dark if the humidity is low. You’re also not likely to see holes in wood that termites are eating.
You can have a million termites tunneling in your yard and not know it. When they get into your home, they can feed on wood timbers right under your nose and never reveal themselves. Due to the sneaky nature of termites, it is hard to know when DIY termite control fails. When you hire a certified professional, you get professional installation and ongoing monitoring for termite activity. Pest professionals who specialize in termite control, like the pros at ATC Pest Control, use thermal imagers and other specialized equipment and control products to make sure your termite control is working.
A Termite Infestation Can Cause Extensive Property Damage
Are termites really as bad as you’ve heard? We can’t tell you how much damage termites will do to your Baltimore property, but we can share facts that will give you the perspective you need to take the steps required to guard your investment.
- Termite workers never stop looking for food. They can eat the wood inside your home while they’re also feeding on stacked wood, dead branches, an old fence, or some other wood source on your property.
- Termite colonies grow in response to available food sources. Do you have wood debris, logs, stumps, or dying trees? All of these provide food for termites. The more wood sources you have, the greater the need to have termite control installed around the structures on your property.
- A colony can have hundreds of thousands of workers. While each worker isn’t going to cause a lot of damage, you’re not going to have one termite eating the wood of your home. Eastern subterranean termites can grow startlingly large colonies.
- More than one colony can feed on your home at the same time. Termites travel as far as a hundred yards in search of food.
- Termites never sleep. Termites can stay active all day, every day. The only thing that slows them down in Baltimore is the cold and hardening ground during the winter months. But even this can fail to stop them if they find a crack in your foundation.
There are many ways you can protect your property. One of them is insurance. But it isn’t likely that your insurance policy will cover termite damage. It is rare to find an insurer that does. They consider termite damage preventable and part of your responsibility as the one in charge of maintaining your home. How can you maintain your property and prevent termite damage? You need to start by considering the reasons termites may select your property as well as how worker termites may enter the structures on your property.
Reasons And Factors For Termite Infestations
When termite workers or swarmers enter your yard, they’ll want to find food or moisture. Food sources provide the sustenance a termite colony needs for healthy growth, and moisture keeps worker termites hydrated. Here are some helpful tips that either stop termites from finding what they want or help you detect them as they try to get to food in your yard.
Dead Branches: Natural decaying wood sources like branches, stumps, or logs are desirable food sources for termites. Removing wood is critical. It is common for residents to stack branches on the ground until they’re ready to remove them. We recommend putting branches in a plastic bin or trash receptacle to remove them as a food source.
Stacked Wood: Do you use wood for heating or for a campfire in your backyard? Any wood source that sits on the ground is a potential meal for termites. The last thing you want is to invite termites onto your property. When you put stacked wood on a mat or elevated structure, you force worker termites to make mud tubes to get to the food. When they make these tubes, you can detect them.
Wood Skirting: Do you have wood skirting around a structure? Does it touch the soil? If so, consider trimming the bottom to prevent direct access into the wood. If workers get into wood skirting, they can tunnel up through the wood and find a pathway to sneak into the interior of your home.
Wooden Posts: If termites can directly enter your back deck without creating mud tubes for you to see, they’re going to do a lot of damage long before you detect them. We recommend putting wood supports onto concrete foundations. If this is too costly, you can guard this vulnerability with professional termite control.
Replace Mulch: If you have mulch in your landscaping, consider replacing it with pebbles or some other material that termites can’t eat. Doing so can provide the same benefits mulch provides without inviting a termite problem.
A Pile Of Junk: Termites don’t just eat wood. They’ll feed on cardboard products, items made of paper, and clothing. Store junk in a trash receptacle or get the pile up off the ground so you can see mud tubes when they’re constructed.
We could give you many more examples, but these should provide enough insight to guide you toward some meaningful corrections you can make on your property to deter termites and help you with termite detection. These methods, along with routine inspections, can help you deter termites and catch termite activity early. For better termite control, termite products are needed. You can buy these and install them yourself, but there are pitfalls to consider. Some products don’t work well, and the products that do work can fail because of improper installation. On top of this, you may not realize when your termite control has failed. The best solution for sneaky termites is to hire a certified professional.
Contact Us For Termite Control Done The Right Way
There are three ways a certified termite control professional in Baltimore can help. We can step in when you detect termites and apply trusted, professional-grade termite control solutions to arrest termite activity. We can provide you with yearly inspections long before you see signs of termites in your home. Or, we can install a termite control product around your home and maintain your termite solution to ensure ongoing protection.
If you’re in Baltimore, reach out to ATC Pest Control for assistance. We specialize in termite control and our certified technicians install the most trusted products in the industry. We start by inspecting your home thoroughly from top to bottom inside and out and then we share our findings with you. Your technician will share the options and help you select the right fit for your needs. We apply treatments to stop interior infestations and maintain protection around your home with termiticide, bait, or both. Along with your termite pest control, we provide ongoing surveillance to make sure you are always protected.
Do you have questions that were not answered in this article? If so, we’re here to help you find answers. Termite damage is preventable if you take steps to stop these wood-destroying organisms. Let the ATC Pest Control team help. We have the experience and specialized knowledge to provide the level of service you can trust. Connect with us today.
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