How to Eliminate Termites
How to Protect Your Home From
Termites
Introduction:
Termites can be one of the most
difficult and costly pests to control, especially
if you don't have an understanding of what you're
dealing with. In addition to being difficult to get
rid of, a large infestation of termites can be
among the most damaging and costly pest control
situations you might ever have to deal with. The
reason for this is that these small pests will
often remain hidden inside your home walls and
floors for years without detection. During that
time they are going to be eating through the wood,
causing thousands of dollars of damage, and you
won't even know it until it's too late.
Even though this sounds
terrible, do not be alarmed. There are steps that
you can take to safeguard, and if needed, fight
back against termites. Do it yourself termite
control can be easy to do as long as you are
prepared.
There are a few common things
you can do to help prevent termites from entering
your home. Keeping your firewood away from your
home, or replacing your mulch with stone will help
tremendously. You can also apply Termidor or
Boracare to exposed wood. Avoid using to much mulch
in close proximity to your home. These measures
will reduce the likelihood of a termite
infestation.
Know what to look for when
inspecting your home for termites. When termites
are working their way into your home they will
frequently build mud tubes. Termites use these
small earthen tunnels for shelter during their trek
from their home to yours.
A best way to prevent termites
is with termiticides. These products will protect
your home from initial or further termite damage.
Termiticides are pesticides that target termites.
They can be applied in a number of ways including,
soil treatments, injection, or sprayed on as a
liquid or foam. When deciding on the best product
or method to use, you should consider that topical
sprays only protect what they cover and therefore
don't usually get to termites that are already
within the wood.
There are many products on the
market you can use to prevent or get rid of
termites. Depending on the type of termite you are
dealing with, you will need to use baits or termite
sprays. Baits are one of the simplest forms of do
it yourself termite control. These are often times
prepackaged systems that simply have to be placed
around the perimeter of your home and the rest is
up to the termites. Foraging termites will find the
bait and carry the slow-acting poison to its colony
infecting others.
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