Keep Your Eyes Watchful: Proper Steps to Protect Your Home from Termites

Termites are also known as “silent destroyer” because they may be surreptitiously thriving in your home or yard without you even noticing it. They feed on cellulose-based plant materials and your home, regardless of its construction type, can be a good source of cellulose food for termite infestation.

The alarming fact is that a single termite colony can have tens – even hundreds – of thousands of individual termites within it. Particular species, like the Formosan termite can have 500,000 individual insects in a single colony. This is why it is considered as the most aggressive.

Your home is one of your largest investments. Thus, you need to protect it from the damaging termites. The following are measures that you can do to prevent or get rid of these silent destroyers.

Make your home less appealing to termites.  Seal cracks and holes in siding and always use screens in windows. You should also keep the firewood, lumber, mulch piles, and other woody stacks. Maintain a dry home as termites are attracted to moist habitats. Eliminate all stagnant water with the help of suction pump or by broom and keep both the outside and inside of your house dry and secured.

Trace signs of an infestation. One of the most perilous things about termites is their ability to hide. You might know that there is an infestation right in your home when it’s too late. It is difficult to see direct evidence of termite infestation, but that doesn't mean you should remain ignorant of it. Some signs of termite infestation include sagging floors, holes in woodwork and hollow parts of your foundation.

Use boric acid. Boric acid is an effective termite treatment in Florida. The nervous system of termites is shut down by boric acid causing it to dehydrate. You can use the combination of cardboard or any cellulose material with boric acid and apply it on the pest-ridden area.

Call a professional team for pest control. Universal Pest Control is one of the best termite control companies that offer the most effective termite control product available in the industry. It has technicians that are trained to not only deliver the maximum quality termite treatments, but to leave your property in a clean and shipshape fashion. This is part of the high quality service that Universal Pest Control gives its customers. 

Five Reasons to Hire a Professional Pest Control Team

If your problems with pests seem to not go away, hiring a professional pest control company that can finally help you get away from the stress is the best thing to do. While it is possible to control pests such as rodents, spiders or termites on your own, it pays to obtain professional help especially when the situation calls for it. A pest control company has trained technicians who understand where to treat and how to handle termite infestation and more. The following are five reasons that will convince you to hire a specialized pest control company in Florida. 

1. The pest control team has specialized plan. 

Your home is your castle and you’re supposed to enjoy your peace and bliss here. A professional pest control team can win your home back with plans that are specific to your problem. They take several important things into consideration, like the size of your home, the level of infestation and long-term preventions.

2. A pest control team helps you save cash. 

While it is true that hiring a pest control company will cause you to pay a regular fee up front, it can cost thousands of dollars in home repairs if termites or carpenter ant colonies go disregarded. So basically, you will end up saving more. 

3. The pest control team can eliminate your pest problems in a safe and natural way.

Pest control technicians know how to use their products very well.  Today, many local pest control companies are going green and are using products that are safe for humans and for the environment. Exposure to hazardous chemicals can be very risky to your family so you have to be very careful. It is better to leave it to the experts. 

4. A pest control company can help you save time. 

Pest control companies observe and report every time they spray and know when to retreat before the product stops working. The team knows how to use the right products in a timely manner.

5. A pest control company delivers satisfaction. 

You can buy sprays and try to get rid of disease-carrying pests all by yourself and still end up feeling dissatisfied. And have you been informed that killing a killer bee will attract the hive and swarm you? With the help of professionals, you can save yourself and your family from the risk associated in getting rid of the pesky pests all by yourself. 

Randomly Relinquishing the “Queen”!

We do not welcome termites to come into our house. One reason is that they possess a bad habit (wood-eating) and the second reason is there are too many of them (in colonies) when they come.  Feeding them is an outright big problem!  Humans do not entertain guests who do not behave properly inside our house, so to speak.  In this case, we speak of termites as unwanted ‘royal guests’ that need pest control.

The termites are ‘royal’ in a sense that they have’ a reigning queen. The mature termite queen (with a life span of 25 to 45 years) can produce 20,000 to 30,000 eggs a day.  Can you imagine their population in just a span of one year?  As the queen increases her size and cannot move freely, attendant workers provide assistance. The queen aside from being a ‘reproductive’ is also responsible for colony integration while the termite ‘king’ (unlike male ants that die after mating) can mate with the termite queen for life. If the queen dies, the winged also a reproductive caste, can replace the queen. Undertaking the labors of foraging, food storage, brood and nest maintenance are worker termites, the main caste in the colony for the digestion of cellulose in food found in infested wood while the Soldier caste, the elite class, is principally a defense against predation by ants. As a result of their wood-eating habits, the termites can severely damage unprotected buildings and other wooden structures inside the house, such as the cabinet, tables, wooden chairs and the like. Since “wood” is their main menu, they also go for other ‘side-dishes’ as  carpets, cloth, paper and other cellulosic materials.  Just imagine the ‘wastes’ incurred in welcoming termites into our very own properties as follows:

§  Money -  the large amount of money spent in building the house

§  Time    - the precious long period of time spent in erecting the house

§  Effort   -   the number of people engaged in the building work

§  Property  -  the damaged house, inside and out, and the yard

We should never underestimate the “teeth” of these ‘royal guests’ as they can ruin the whole house in no time once neglected by the homeowner. Likewise, we should never underestimate too, the pest control companies which offer effective methods in dealing with them because as experts in the trade, they are in the best position to eradicate unwanted guests in our whole property.  They survey the whole area first then stage a ‘coup’ to ‘overthrow’ the queen termite from her throne before the appropriate termite treatment is applied to all corners of the infested area.  Thus, knowing the termite treatment cost from them will enable you to provide the much needed protection for your property.  Act quickly to save the wooden structures in your house.   Houses should be treated with dignity because our abode provides our family the shelter we need so we have all the reasons to love, care, and protect it.

Cautiously Protecting Your Hard-Earned Sanctuary!

As the head of the family, (whether you are a couple; a single parent or still single but with plans of having your own family soon) your main concern is your ‘family’ including yourself.  You work hard day and night to provide for the basic needs of your household like the following:

ü  Food

ü  Clothing

ü  Shelter

ü  Education

ü  Gadgets

ü  Leisure

                                   

From the above list, most people prefer to invest on shelter.  Some reason out why: “Because this is the place where we will build our dreams and spend quality time with our family until we age.”  Actually, we don’t call it shelter or house; we call it “Home”.  It takes years of hard work just to build a dream house.  If someone is given the choice, instead of renting an apartment or acquiring a condo, he will choose to build his very own house that he can proudly say “it’s mine” (in the whole essence of the word).  Sacrifices are made in order to save large amount of money for the realization of the project. Plans on every design, from the roof to the floor; and even to the slightest details in and out of the house are considered carefully. But the need for protection is overlooked. How? Some are not cautious in protecting their hard-earned sanctuary! But, one may ask, is there a real need to secure and protect the house from dangerous household little pests’ such as:

Ø  Termites

Ø  Palmetto Bugs (different kinds of cockroaches)

Ø  Mice or Rats

Ø  Ants

All of these pests are very harmful.  Cockroaches, mice, rats and ants cause health-threatening diseases. But Termites is on top of the list!  In fact, $5 billion per year have been spent to the damages caused according to some records in America.  The hard-earned money used to build the family’s sanctuary will be in vain, if the homeowner do nothing to prevent it from being a ‘delicious target’ of pests.

During the planning stage of the house-building, considering how to protect and fortify it is also of utmost importance.  Inquiring about residential pest control services could be of great help.  These pest control companies can make a survey of your lot to find out if it is at high risk of termite attacks and other pests as well.  They can help in fortifying and securing your perimeter from the ground up to the ceiling.  This is the best pattern of securing your home from future attackers. Termites as smart travelers  can travel up to 350 feet away from the colony just to look for food and can comprehensively cover an area up to a half acre in size.  Thus, unconsciously risking the foundation and security of one’s hard-earned dream house is so unimaginable! Why not outsmart them? Seek information on the various treatments that can control future attacks of these harmful, destructive pests by planning ahead. By all means, cautiously protect your family and your hard-earned sanctuary!

Sleeping at Night Safe and Sound!

Home is a place where a loving couple builds their family and dreams.  After their lovely wedding, it’s now time to plan for their future.  Here is a list of plans:

1. Are we going to have offspring as soon as possible or later?
2.  How many offspring do we want to have?
3.  What would be the best way to raise them up?
4. What kind of education will we give our offspring?

But the most important question is:

5.   In what kind of house or surrounding will we raise them up?

Of course, loving parents would want to raise their children in a clean, safe house so it can also be called a loving home. They make sure that their house is the safest place to live in for themselves and their children. But through time, the safest place we thought could be the most dangerous place as well!  Why? It’s because houses usually have unseen “enemies” – Termites, ‘intruders’ not included in parents’ love, care and protection but ‘cohabit’ with them. But parents can do something about it.

Termites are no ordinary human enemies. They weaken the house as they ‘attack’ its very foundation through soil, wood, and other wooden fixtures inside our rooms. Once they have entered a house, their diet becomes unlimited! Everything looks ‘delicious’ as they gnaw wood, cellulosic materials like paper, clothes, carpets, shoes, particles from soft plastics, plasters, rubbers, sealants and silicone rubbers. Hence, termites can greatly damage man-made structures tremendously more than the damages done by hurricanes, fires and flood! So, to sleep soundly at night unharmed, we must find a solution to eradicate, and control these ‘enemies.’

A pest control service is of great value in taking action to eliminate these pests.   Pest control companies have effective ways and wide experiences in terminating household pests. Discuss the various types of termite treatments offered. Selecting the best and long-lasting treatment suited for your house will mean great advantage to your family.  As there are treatments that last up to several months only, great care in choosing is suggested. Feel free to discuss the termite treatment cost with the company’s representative.  The cost usually depends on the floor area of the house, the treatment required and the amount of work that needs to be done.  The reasonable cost can save your highly-treasured house, thus bringing the whole family some peace of mind while sleeping soundly at night!

While still on the warranty period, make further inspection from time to time on whether termites are building-up once again on your vicinity.  If new “intruders’ seem to appear once again, notify the company immediately.  Necessary action will be performed upon request.  The obligation to defend your house rests in your hands.  Make some researches about the facts on termites.  Make your home safe from the ‘eyes’ of those termites that look at your house as a sumptuous meal!  Protect your house! Protect your family! Eradicate those harmful pests!