Owning and maintaining a home can get expensive. It seems there’s always something to repair and always someone to pay. If you don’t see any evidence of termite activity, then, is it really necessary to pay for termite control? The answer is, unequivocally, yes. Why? Let’s take a look at the benefits of termite control and why you really need it.

The first thing that’s important to understand about termites is that, while they do billions of dollars in damage to homes each year, they often go undiscovered for a long period of time. They’re insidious pests who can silently feast on your home for years without you ever knowing they’re there. They eat wood, of course, but they also eat other things. What they’re really munching on is cellulose, and it can be found in paper, books, insulation, building materials, and even your swimming pool’s filtration system. Termites anywhere on your property can be bad news. But what are the benefits of professional termite control?

First, the experts know what they’re looking for and how to identify the problem. You might not even realize you have termites until you see little wings around your doors and windows. The bad news is that the presence of wings means the termites are probably already well-established in your home. This is because those wings are discarded by swarmers, also called alates. These are reproductive termites who fly from well-established colonies in order to create new homes for themselves, so if they’re on your property, it’s likely that a well-established colony is, too. What’s more, California has five different species of termites. It can be hard for a homeowner to identify these pests, especially because they look a lot like flying ants. Termite experts know how to spot them, can identify the type of termite, understand their habits, and know how to stop them.
Next, termite control professionals can find the source of your termite problem, when it might be difficult for you to do. Sometimes termites remain hidden behind walls and under floorboards for years, silently causing extensive damage to a house. It takes a professional’s trained eye to even notice telltale signs that there’s an infestation. Subterranean termites live underground and use mud tubes to travel into a house, and you might see these on your exterior walls, on your foundation, and in your crawl space. However, homeowners sometimes make the mistake of thinking that if they spot a tunnel that’s broken and empty, the termites are gone. It’s far more likely that they’ve simply moved to a new spot in your home to continue eating it. You might notice wood that’s been hollowed out along the grain, with dirt or dried mud in the tunnels. This is an indication of termite damage because wood with moisture damage or damage from different insects doesn’t have this distinctive appearance. There may also be tiny holes in your drywall or plaster, or you may notice rippled or sunken places behind wall coverings, where termites have been tunneling underneath. However, the surface of the wood often remains intact, which is how termites are able to do so much damage undetected.
When you have proactive termite control, there will be less damage to your home. Once you’ve discovered termites in your house, you’ll need to have them eradicated. Termite professionals can rid your home of termites and prevent future infestations, but this is often a costly process. What’s more, repairing the damage done to your home can also be extremely expensive. Depending on how long the termites have been there, the damage may be catastrophic. When you contract with professionals to proactively protect your home against an infestation, however, the termites never have a chance to gain a foothold. Making the investment in termite control to keep them away will save you from having to spend an excessive amount of money trying to play catchup after they’ve established a colony.
The professionals have several different types of termite management at their disposal. There are do-it-yourself products on the market, but they’re nowhere near as effective as the tools and treatments the professionals can access. Professional termite control companies use a few types of control methods, including:
- Indirect: These products are very effective for hard-to-reach termite nests because they work through a “transfer kill” method. In other words, termites who come into contact with one of these products don’t die immediately, but bring it back to their colony and spread it around so that it kills all the termites.
- Direct: Sometimes, whole-house fumigation is the right way to rid a home of termites. There are other, localized treatments, however, that also kill termites immediately. These products are typically injected into the wood where termites hide, and after they make contact with the termites, they dissipate so that they’re not lingering in the house.
- Environmentally low-impact: Today’s termite experts have several great options if you’re concerned about the environment. Two examples of this are borates, which use boron to prevent infestation, and botanicals, often made of orange oil, which kills termites on contact.
Staying on top of termite control can protect your health and the health of your family. You know that termites have a major impact on your house, but did you know they can affect your health? They do this in a few different ways. First, termites crawl, bite and chew on wood in dark, dank places where mold can grow. If there’s any mold present, they help spread it through your home, where it can cause a wide range of illnesses. Further, because termites damage the structural integrity of your home, they create a serious safety hazard. If the foundation, beams, and support structure of your home sustain damage, they can become weak and unstable. Termites also chew through electrical wire, which can lead to electrical accidents and even house fires.

So, what’s the best course of action when it comes to termite control? It all begins with an inspection. Once the termite control experts have thoroughly inspected your house, you’ll be given a game plan for how to protect your investment. If you already have termites, the pros will know how to treat your home and prevent future infestations. If you don’t, they’ll check for any weaknesses that could allow termites to breach your property, then put proactive measures in place to keep your home termite-free. Once you’ve had that initial inspection, you should schedule additional inspections annually, to make sure you’re keeping termites at bay.

At MightyMite Termite Services, we’ve earned a reputation as experts in California termite control. We perform termite inspections to ensure that your home is free of termites and work hard to help you keep it that way, using treatments that are naturally derived and have a low impact on the environment. We diagnose and treat infestations with the most effective methods and unmatched warranties, solving your termite problems the first time, with an industry-best “no call-back rate.” That, combined with our experience, technology, and highly trained professional staff, makes us the leading extermination company in the Bay Area. We understand that your home is your most important investment, so we work hard to provide excellent service, utilizing best practices to solve our customers’ termite problems in Northern California. For more information, call us today at 408.335.7053, email Info@mightymitetermite.com, or contact us through our website.