Highlights of the Post:
Identifying Termite Infestations
Treatments for Termite Infestations
Termite infestations can weaken the structural stability of your home. Not to mention, they are equally harmful to you and your family’s health. It is extremely necessary for homeowners to know everything about termites including their breeding process, their growth, and most necessarily – how to stop termite infestation before it weakens the foundations.
The easiest way to identify infestations at home is to keep a lookout for common signs such as hollow woods, creaking doors, and trails on walls and ceilings. Once you educate yourself, it’ll be a lot easier to identify termites and you’ll be able to address the problem much faster. In this blog we will be discussing some of the most common ways to identify termite infestations in your home.
So, without further ado, let’s start hunting!
Most Common Signs for Termite Infestation
Identifying the infestation in its early stages is extremely crucial. The most common signs for identifying termite infestation in your home are mentioned below:
- Scattered Termite Wings
- Scampering White Ants
- Windows Opening with Difficulty
- Tunnels in Wood Furniture or Fixtures
- Termite Droppings
- Hollow Furniture
Scattered Termite Wings
The presence of shed wings will tell you that there are termites within the boundaries of your home. They tend to leave behind wings when the male and female termites come out of their nests in order to find their mates. Once they find a mate, they tend to shed their wings.
As soon as you spot termite wings anywhere in the house; remember it’s time to take action.
Scampering White Ants
All of us at some point have seen white ants scampering near wooden doors, furniture or fixtures. However, what most people don’t know is that it is not just regular ants, it is a major sign indicating that your home is infested with termites.
While they resemble regular ants, there are a few defining features that set them apart – one such evident difference is their colour. Termites are light coloured [almost translucent]. Ants, on the other hand, have darker colour.
The presence of white ants with rapid movements are a clear indication of your home being exposed to termites.
Windows Opening with Difficulty
The monsoon season brings with it a great deal of moisture which leads to doors and windows being difficult to open or shut. The dampness and moisture in doors and windows turn into the deadliest breeding ground for termites. So, if you’re facing difficulty closing or shutting doors; it’s probably because they are infested with termites.
Tunnels in Wood
Mud tunnels are a huge sign of termite infestation. You would often witness mud tunnels along wooden doors, or in various places. This happens because there are termites on walls, wood, furniture and other places.
These mud tunnels often start from the ground and go up walls, or wooden fixtures and furniture.
Pro Tip: One of the fastest termite treatments in such cases is using organic homemade pesticides.
Termite Droppings
Another easy-to-spot sign of termite infestation is to look out for droppings. If you witness dark, crumb-like or powdery substance near your wooden furniture or fixtures, you can easily conclude that your house is infested with termites.
Since, dry-wood termites have a habit of leaving their faeces around, it makes them easier to be spotted.
Hollow Furniture
Termites thrive on eating wooden furniture and fixtures. Hence, you can easily identify by knocking on furniture and listening for hollow sounds. If there is a hollow sounding furniture, this would indicate that your home has been infested with termites.
Tips for Treating Termite Infestations
Now that you know how to spot them, we are sure you are wondering how to get rid of termites. We have a few home remedies that you can try on your own before reaching out to a professional.
That being said, here are a few things that you can try to prevent and treat termite:
- Vinegar
- Orange Oil
- Sunlight
Vinegar
Vinegar is a wonderful remedy to treat termite infestation. Mix vinegar with half a cup of lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle. You will have an effective termite killer. Spray where you suspect the termites have been residing.
Orange Oil
Orange oil contains d-limonene, which causes the exoskeletons of the termites to dissolve and eventually die. Orange oil can easily be bought from home department stores.
All you need to do is spray the oil in areas that you think are infested.
Sunlight
If there is one thing that termites cannot stand, it is sunlight. If you suspect a piece of furniture to be infested, all you need to do is leave it out in the sunlight, and you will be able to get rid of the pests.
These remedies can be extremely helpful in treating termites, if you detect their presence in the early stages. However, if you think that the infestation has grown a bit too much, we would recommend calling a pest control agent.
If you found this blog useful, you might also be interested in learning about disinfecting, sanitizing and cleaning your homes. If you’re planning on properly cleaning your apartment, you might want to take a look at all the habits you might want to avoid when doing so!
In this blog, we highlighted the best ways that you can identify if your home has been infested by termites or not. If you want more updates on lifestyle, home décor, construction, or tourism, keep a check on JagahOnline Blogs. In case if you have any queries, or feedback, you can voice them out by emailing us at blogs@jagahonline.com