The best time to do a maintenance check for bugs and pests is during the months when winter is winding down and spring is about to appear. This is especially true for some pests, because arresting them in the spring is the key to controlling them. This is particularly the case for termites, and there is no better time than now to do a thorough termite check.
Termites are a homeowner’s worst nightmare. While there are several types of termites that live outdoors or in damp wood, most of the termites that homeowners have to deal with are subterraneous termites. These pests chew through wood as their main food source, and can live in walls, floors and even foundations of homes. The frightening thing about this species of termite is that one often doesn’t see the actual insect when a home is already infested. Because they are mostly blind and prefer the dark, these insects tend to stay in dark and rarely visited areas.
How do you know if you have an infestation? Without spotting an actual insect, what homeowners or a trained pest control expert usual spot are the fecal matter, otherwise known as pellets. As termites chew through the wood, they excrete the wood in their droppings, forming pellets. It is these pellets, or a sawdust type of finding, that clue a person in to a termite infestation.
So why check in the spring? Knowing a termite’s habits helps us to break up their natural lifecycle. Termites swarm in the spring, looking for a new area in which to make a nest. Because of disruptive weather patterns, termites have been spotted swarming as early as February in some areas. Now is the best time to work with your pest control experts to termite-proof your home and stop the swarm before it even begins.