Termites can cause thousands of dollars in property damage in a short amount of time, causing them to be one of a homeowner’s worst nightmares. These small insects eat wood and can cause substantial damage to the structure of a building. Termite damage typically is not detected immediately, but there are 3 major signs you have termites in your home. We’ll review these signs in this blog post.
Checking your home periodically for signs of termites could help you discover an infestation before the damage becomes severe. Of course, the best way to know for sure that you do or do not have a termite infestation is to contact the team at Arizona’s Best Choice Pest & Termite Services. We offer free in-home inspections and estimates in the Valley and Casa Grande.
Here are the signs of termites:
#1. Clicking noises
If there are termites hidden deep within your walls, chances are you won’t be able to see them. But, you may be able to hear them. The fact that they create hollow tunnels and caverns in walls while leaving a thin layer of wood at the surface allows them to go undetected for months.
As termites eat wood, their mandibles make soft clicking noises. When this sound is multiplied by the several thousand insects that belong to a single colony, it because audible when you listen carefully. If you hear a clicking sound when your house is quiet, your home may have a termite problem.
#2. Termite tubes
Another major indicator of termites is the presence of brown clay shelter tubes. Termites build these structures along foundation walls and use them to find food, protect themselves from predators, and travel through a building.
These tubes are small and narrow when a colony first builds them, but the tubes are widened over time. The wider the shelter tubes, the more damage has been done to your home. Having your home inspected annually by Arizona’s Best Choice Pest and Termite Service is a great way to discover termite tubes before the insects cause much damage.
However, you can also do a quick check at home. Walk around your home and look at the foundation for any mud tubes. Then, go into the attic and use a flashlight to look at the wood beams. Termites will often make mud tubes to travel between beams.
#3. Hollow wood or sagging floors
One of the most obvious termite warning signs is the presence of hollow wood. The insects leave huge, hollow caverns in wood, causing severe structural damage. You can check for this by periodically tapping the walls of your house. If you’re tapping studs and the sound being returned is hollow, it could be an early alert to termite damage.
Do you have a basement or a second floor? This same hollowing out of support beams could lead to sagging floors on either your ground floor or second floor. The presence of a sagging floor is a major, dangerous indicator of a termite infestation.
If you’re seeing signs you have termites, call us!
Based on these tips, if you suspect that you have a termite problem, contact us at Arizona’s Best Choice Pest & Termite Services. We’re proud to offer termite treatment options throughout the Phoenix metro and Casa Grande, and we offer free pest inspections and estimates.
[1].jpg)
.jpg)