If you own residential or commercial property in a warm to hot country, them I am certain that you have heard of the risk of termite damage. However, do you know which signs of termite damage to look out for? Do you know how rapidly you can go from not having a problem to having a major infestation? And do you know how long it will take a major infestation of some termites, especially the Formosan termites, to make your building unsafe?

If you do not know the answer to these questions, then you have two choices, either to learn quickly or hire in an expert. In regions of termite activity, it is suggested that every property is screened at least once a year. There are about fifty species of termites in the USA, so it is not an easy job to identify which species you have.

Having said that, subterranean termites are the most awful and the Formosan subterranean termites are the most awful of that bad bunch. They can live in colonies of between several hundred and several million and if a million Formosans choose to dine on your house, then you will have to respond very quickly indeed.

Naturally, you do not want to lose your own building to a termite infestation, but neither do your neighbours, so you have a moral duty to eradicate any termite colonies on your property. So, why should you suspect that you have a termite issue?

Since termites eat wood, amongst other things, the best thing to do is look for timber damage around your house. The basement is a good spot to start. Do not be concerned about what type of timber, inspect it all, since there are termites that like dry wood, termites that like damp wood and termites that will eat anything.

If you think that a length of timber has or is being eaten, use a screwdriver gently to attempt to break it open. if you see white insects that look like ants, you have termites. Sometimes, winged termites swarm too., but so do ants.

Termites are white because they rarely see the sun, they do not like light, so they build so-called galleries to walk through. These galleries can be through a length of timber or they might use chewed wood to build galleries leading to where they want to go. For, example pencil-like galleries may hang off the underside of your floorboards to the ground or be attached to concrete walls.

These tube-like galleries can be abandoned or active. Snap a few and see. If they are brittle they have been abandoned, but that does not mean that the termites have departed.

Sometimes, the tubes are constructed of earth and this is a very bad sign, because it means you have subterranean termites, most likely under your house. If you knock these galleries off the walls, they will leave marks called etchings, which will be a sign of termite activity until the house is demolished, for anyone who knows what they are looking at.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is at present concerned with Termidor termite treatment – a termite killer. If you are interested in this or if you are wondering: What Does A Termite Look Like?. Please go to our web site now for further details.

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