Is Your Imperial Valley Property Ready For Termite Season?

The people of Imperial Valley have always valued caring for their home and property, which is why our community is one of the most enjoyable environments to live in. However, these hardworking families may be at risk of something unseen ruining their homes from the inside out. The only way to fully mitigate the risk of termites causing irreparable damage to your home’s foundation is to understand essential facts about termites.

Termite Season & The Year-Round Problem

When people refer to termite season, they’re usually speaking about the warmer, wetter summer months. From June through July, your home is especially at risk to incur a new termite colony. During this time, winged termites known as swarmers are most active in warm weather after a rainstorm. These swarmers are the only source of reproduction for termite colonies, so termite season is prime time for the creation of new colonies on your property. However, that doesn’t mean your home isn’t being eaten by termites during the rest of the year. If there is a termite colony on your property, you might not even know it.

During the summer months, you should keep your eyes out for swarms, which are large, cloud-like groups of swarmer termites who mate out in the open air of your property. During the cooler, dryer months of the year, you need to be aware of other termite activity on your property like soft clicking noises from the walls, rotting wood, and small wings that swarmers will shed during these months. Another indication of termite activity is frass, a mixture of termite droppings and wooden pellets that results from the small holes they kick out of wood in order to remove droppings from their work sites.

Understanding The Seriousness Of The Problem

If you don’t recognize the signs of a termite swarm or termite activity inside your home, you might not realize the damage until it’s too late. Most termite activity goes undetected until there is already so much damage to the home that drastic measures must be taken. Unfortunately, termites manage to cause severe problems in over 600,000 homes every year in the United States, resulting in over $5 billion worth of repair costs. On average, every homeowner who doesn’t notice early termite activity will end up spending around $3,000 to repair the home’s wooden structures and foundation.

And this damage doesn’t take long to set in, either. In ideal conditions, most species of termites only need 6 to 8 months to begin causing repair-requiring damage. If given 2 years unchecked, termites can easily cause catastrophic damage to a home. That’s why understanding the early signs of termite activity is so important.

Keeping Termites Out Of Your Home

While a termite colony in your home is always a cause for professional intervention, there are a few preventative measures you can take to reduce the risk of getting to that point. First, reduce moisture around the foundation of your home. Termites thrive when there is wet wood to start working on, so make sure all those damp, dark places in the basement and under the house aren’t so damp. That means you’ll need to monitor for leaking faucets and pipes as well as ensure that outdoor AC units aren’t leaking water into the ground.

If there is soil contacting any wooden foundational structures of your home, create some sort of buffer, at least a foot long, between the wood and the soil. This keeps the termites from crawling through the soil easily into your wooden structures. You should also utilize gutters, downspouts, and splash blocks in order to direct rain runoff away from your house.

If these measures aren’t successful and you do notice any signs of termite activity, from frass on the ground to discarded wings around the property, contact the professionals at Imperial County Pest Control for a consultation. The hardworking termite control technicians at Imperial County Pest Control will schedule an appointment with you at your earliest convenience. Don’t wait until there’s thousands of dollars worth of damage to make the call; get started with regular home pest control and commercial exterminator services in El Centro!