Every year, termites cost homeowners millions of dollars in damage and repairs. Making matters worse, this damage is not typically covered by standard homeowner’s insurance policies. That leaves you and thousands of others footing the bill out-of-pocket for damage caused by termites.
When it comes to termite damage, prevention is the best plan of attack. But that isn’t always possible. Once your home has had a termite infestation for a few months, the cost of repairs can end up in the range of five figures, if not more.
By the Time You Notice the Damage, It’s Already Too Late
Typical signs of termite damage include the sudden appears of water damage, buckling ceilings and supports, hollow wood, mud tunnels in your home’s foundation, and, of course, termites themselves. Since termites tend to attack from below your home and enter through cracks in your foundation, it can be exceedingly difficult to notice if there is a problem until it’s too late.
By the time most homeowners realize there’s a problem, the termites have already done significant damage. The time to rid your home of the termite infestation is immediate. You may require a prolonged plan of attack as killing one colony may only leave room for another. If termites recognize that your home provides easy access to shelter and sustenance, eradicating the colony is only the first step. The next step is to prevent the problem from ever occurring again.
Structural Versus Aesthetic Damage
If a termite infestation is allowed to go on for long enough, termites can do considerable structural damage to your floors, ceilings, walls, and supports. This reduces the structural integrity of your home and may put you or your family in danger.
Hopefully, you’ve caught the problem before any significant structural damage occurred. Nonetheless, you may need to repair walls, carpets, floors, furniture, and more.
Can Termite Damage be Fixed?
It’s rare that termites do enough damage to render a house completely uninhabitable, but it could happen if the infestation is allowed to go on for several years. Termites have a couple of advantages over humans. Firstly, they don’t need to sleep. Secondly, their society is very organized.
There are three termite castes led by a queen. The termite queen can live up to 30 years which is longer than any other known insect. Termite society is divided into three castes. You have reproductive termites that establish new colonies, warrior termites who defend the colony against threats, and worker termites who never sleep.
Termite work is relatively simple. The worker termites extract and absorb nutrients from wood and other substances. They then return to the colony and regurgitate it for the other termites to enjoy. While this seems gross to us, it is the epitome of termite joy. Even still, it takes a long time for a colony to destroy an entire house to the extent that it must be condemned.
The most destructive termite species found in the U.S. is the Formosan termite. They are typically found in southern states and coastal regions. If there is no intervention, a Formosan termite colony can render a home uninhabitable in roughly two years.
Generally, the termite activity is discovered before the home is no longer safe to reside in. For those who have had termite problems before or live in areas where termite activity is common, conducting routine inspections by licensed pest control specialists is the best way to prevent costly damage to your property.
Repairing Termite Damage
Termite damage can only be repaired by replacing the wood that was food for the termites. Alternatively, a secondary support beam can be placed near the damaged wood to regain structural integrity.
Of course, your first order of business will be to handle the active infestation. You’ll need a professional pest control specialist to eradicate the infestation prior to having the damage repaired. After you’ve eradicated the infestation and repaired the damage, you can then begin taking preventative measures to limit termite access to your home. In some cases, sealing your foundation will be sufficient. In other cases, you may want to conduct monthly sprays or replace empty baits to destroy future colonies before they form.
Talk to a Pest Control Expert Today
If you find evidence of termites on your property, you want to act as quickly as possible. The longer you wait, the more it will cost you to repair the damage the termites have done. The local pest control specialists at Pointe Pest Control have all the experience you need to eradicate an active termite infestation. Call us today for a free home inspection.
