It doesn’t take termites long to tear the structure of a house to shreds. If you think you might have termites, you’ll want to know what an infestation looks like so that you can check your house once or twice a year, and know when to bring in a termite professional.
Inspect your house from top to bottom.
During the spring and summer months, you’ll see dry-wood termites when they come out of their hiding places.
To find signs of wood damage on your ground floor, check the points of contact between the wall and the foundation, and near the bottom of exterior doors. Use a flashlight to show damage in crevices. If you can’t see any, take a large screwdriver and bump the wood with the heel. Follow up with an awl to find wood that termites have hollowed out.
Another sign of termite infestation is their droppings – black, tan, or rust-colored.
Check your foundation walls for mud tubes. Some termites live in the ground, near water, but they still eat wood, so they will construct mud tunnels from the dirt to the wood in your house.
If you see any of these signs, or have any other reason to worry about termites, call in the professionals. They will go over ways to get rid of the pests and keep them from coming back, including treating your current framing and remedying damage with lumber that either resists termites naturally or has been treated to repel them.
