You may not know this, but, according to Mental Floss, termite damage is one of those problems that your homeowners insurance does not cover. That’s really bad news, because homeowners in the United States spend billions annually on preventing and the treatment of termites.

 

What are Termites?

 

Termites are wood burrowing insets. There are 2,000 species of this bug in the United States. The most common types in Nevada live in the soil and come out to munch on the underpinnings of your home. They are silent – and potentially deadly to your home. That’s because you really don’t see them until after they’ve weakened your foundation or caused other damage that is both a hassle and costly to repair.

 

Termites eat dead trees, plants, and other wood-based or cellulose products. Termites can also eat drywall and paper. Dry wood termites are common in Nevada, and you’ll often find them in an attic. These tiny bugs are voracious, and have a pincher mouth that can chew up wooden structures. Subterranean termites live in the soli where they burrow elaborate tunnels that direct them upwards to the feast within your home’s walls.

 

That’s why we highly recommend a termite inspection every two to three years. The Preventive Pest Control teams are trained in looking for the damage that you usually do not detect. Typically, we’ll go into a crawl space, where damage may be visible. We want to catch these infestations as early as possible to prevent damage to the internal structure of your home.

 

Termite Treatment in Vegas

 

If we come out to inspect your home and find these destructive little creatures, treatment is mandatory. We first recommend that you eliminate the source of any leaking water. For example:

  • Repair any faucets or HVAC leaks.
  • Make sure spring rains are diverted away from yur foundation.
  • Clean all gutters and downspouts from debris.
  • Open and clean vents.
  • Seal any possible entrance points around utility or hose lines coming into your home.

 

Next, make sure you remove any possible termite food sources, such as:

  • Grind down and haul away stumps.
  • Discard any brush, debris, or woodpiles.
  • Add screens to outside vents.
  • Make sure the wood on your home doesn’t come in contact with the soil.

 

Termite treatment depends upon the type of creature you’re seeing, the amount of damage they’ve caused, and how your home is constructed. Our treatment could include:

  • Lawn and garden treatments to target all or part of your yard for the areas outside and around your home.
  • Bait systems and monitoring requires a longer-term commitment but has a big impact on future infestations.
  • Tenting or fumigation are good for when the termites have invaded internal wooden structures and you need to kill them off quickly.
  • Spraying pesticides or other chemicals is the perfect option for most homeowners, offering a cost-effective treatment for termite eradication.
  • Heat or cold treatments are more rare, and they’re typically used when there is a localized infestation.
  • Barriers or shields are also less frequently used, because they are very expensive. These can be copper or metal shields to block entry into your home.

 

Don’t delay – contact Preventive Pest if you haven’t had a termite inspection in the last two years. We can help!