After fumigation or treatment, how can we prevent termites from coming back?
You spend your hard-earned dollar to treat termite infestation, there is a probability that these creatures can come back and attack your house again. So, after the successful termite eradication, you should know how to prevent termites from coming back.
Keep their food away from your property
If you want to keep termites away, you should take away their food source. This means removing stacks of firewood on the ground, take all the pieces of wood, carboards and other cellulose debris under your subarea and cleaning up your basement among others. Aside from the outdoors, you should do the same diligence inside your home. Remove any old stack of paper from your basement or garage and dispose of it.
Cutaway tree branches and bushes 1 to 2 ft away from your exterior walls
Unkempt trees and shrubs can be the hideout of termites and can promote moisture that can penetrate through the wall cracks. Trees provide shelter to termites like dry wood termites that don’t burrow into the ground.
Not only termites but other pests like rodents, ants and other pests can use the branches as the bridge to your home. This is true, especially if the branches are touching any part of your home.
Avoid water to sit in the wrong place and avoid the moisture problem
Termite is attracted to moisture. With this, you should watch out for areas where water tends to sit for long without proper drainage. It includes a blocked gutter, standing water on drainage canal, water damage on your ceiling and walls, sprinkler water that is saturating your exterior walls and plumbing leaks.
Even leaks on your HVAC system and pipes are enough to sustain the proliferation of termites, much so if the water seeps into a wooden beam.
To ensure that termites won’t go back on your home, perform an inspection inside and outside your house. Check where all the moisture source and moisture problem around your house and repair it as soon as possible to avoid termite infestation.
Have an annual termite inspection and maintenance
In the long run, you will be saving a lot of money having a termite maintenance contract in place.
Having a fully trained inspector to identify a potential infestation even before it becomes a massive problem is a very good thing.
It’s like a termite insurance coverage which Includes inspections, which may occur at different frequencies. Also, if the exterminator discovers an infestation during the inspection, they will apply the necessary treatments. Depending on the agreement, it may or may not cost the homeowner an extra fee.
As much as regular inspections will cost a certain fee, it’s much better than paying for a treatment that costs thousands of dollars. Take note that aside from the treatment, an undiscovered infestation will also cost more on repairs.
repair it as soon as possible to avoid termite infestation.
Minimize the mulch
Mulch on your garden is 100% a termite magnet, especially if not managed well.
If possible, place the mulch as far away as possible from any part of your house. As you know, mulch is filled with two things that termites find inviting: food and moisture. Try to minimize your mulch so it wouldn’t become a massive termite breeding ground.
If you have mulch, we recommend is that you avoid overwatering it. If you want to put mulch use redwood or cypress chips instead. Unlike other wood, termites seem to detest these two types due to its scent and natural content. However, cypress and redwood aren’t 100% termite-proof.
Make your place well ventilated
Maintaining good air circulation or airflow can help prevent termite from coming back to your house. Good ventilation helps moisture dry up and not build up to This way, the excess moisture will dry out.
Letting the natural air and sunlight will help maintain ventilation inside the house. If your using HVAC be sure to direct the air away from wooden beams or foundation to avoid the moisture accumulation inside the wood structure.
Be cautious in bringing infested old furniture
Second-hand wooden pieces of furniture are typical vehicles of termites.
Once the infested furniture is in your home, the termites will now start to invade the house. Soon enough, you’re going to face an infestation.
When acquiring second-hand furniture, aerate the furniture under direct sunlight as long as it wouldn’t sustain damages. Also, you can treat it with a termite spray to ensure that no mites or bugs are hiding inside.
Once done, the furniture should be safe to bring inside after a day or two
Don’t neglect your roof
The most common mistake homeowners commit when preventing termites is forgetting about their roof. Subterranean termites indeed harbor on the ground, but some species can crawl into your roof and use the moisture from your blocked gutter.
Also, holes in your roof can become the entry point of various pests: termites, bugs, ants, and so on. Worse, these critters will harbor in the attic which many homeowners tend to neglect. Be sure to maintain your roof and gutters. Clean dried leaves and twigs that are blocking the gutters. Although this is exposed to sunlight, termites can still proliferate here under ideal conditions.
Routinely check the attic, basement, and subarea.
Termites tend to harbor dark, moist, and undisturbed places. Most of the time, these three areas in your home are where the termites are. If you keep on stashing piles of newspaper, old boxes and wooden furniture. You might just be feeding the termites in your home.
We recommend routinely check and clean up the clutter on your attic, basement, and subarea. Also, it’s best to use it as a common room so it won’t be left out for the pests to discover. By doing this, you can spot the presence of termites even before it causes expensive damages.
