What to Expect From Termite Treatment

Termite Treatment

Your home is your most important investment and anything that threatens it needs to be handled swiftly and well. Termites can cause extensive damage before you even realize it, which is how they manage to cause more than $5 billion in property damage across the United States every year. It’s obvious, then, that if you have a termite infestation, it must be dealt with immediately. Still, if you’ve been told that your home must be treated for a termite invasion, you may be trepidatious. How long will your home be out of commission? Will the chemicals be dangerous for your family? What can you expect from a complete termite control treatment? Find out below.

Regular Termite Inspections

It’s important to have regular termite inspections because catching infestations early is the finest way to prevent them from becoming a big problem. The longer termites are allowed to stay in your home, the more damage they’ll do, which can be an expensive nightmare for a homeowner. Unfortunately, the very beginning stages of a termite infestation are tiny, subtle, and typically missed if you’re not looking for them. That’s why you need a professional familiar with the warning signs to come and take a look at your house before the damage is out of control.

What Should You Expect During a Professional Termite Inspection?

The termite inspector will do a thorough termite inspection and analysis not only of your home but also of its surroundings. He or she will be looking for points of entry, as well as termite damage to your home, and the inspection will probably take about two hours to complete. During that time, the inspector will:

Thoroughly Inspect the Home’s Exterior

The inspector will walk around the exterior of your home, looking at your yard, fence line, gardens and sheds to determine whether there are any outside risk factors that may be putting pressure on your house. He or she will be looking for signs of termite infestation outside, in your garden’s timbers and tree stumps for example, and will also be looking for termite nests and mud tubes. The inspector will also take a quick look at neighboring houses, to make sure no termite activity is originating beyond your property lines.

Thoroughly Inspect the Perimeter of Your Home

In addition to inspecting the yard, the inspector will take a look at your home’s perimeter, looking especially closely at the footings and the edge of the slab, and inspecting the subfloor for termite-attracting moisture and leaks. Some other things that can bring termites into your home are debris and lose timbers that are in contact with the soil, so the inspector will take a close look at anything like that, as well.

Thoroughly Inspect the Home’s Interior

Redirecting focus to the inside of your home, the inspector will use a dongle, a thin rod with a ball at the end, to tap the walls of the house. This is done to determine from the sound whether or not the walls are hollow, and an experienced inspector will be able to hear a rustling sound of termite matter that crumbles when the walls are tapped, as well as the sound of termites panicking at the sound of tapping. When the termites are in a panic, they knock their bodies against the timber, and that’s what causes the sound.

Check for Moisture and Damage to the Wood or Structure

In addition to using a dongle, the inspector will also utilize a moisture gauge to check the moisture levels in the wood of your home. In addition to the walls, he or she will check the wooden brackets around the door, because a moisture level that is higher than normal could indicate the presence of termites. Termites may also bore tunnels into the grain of the house timber, so that will be checked as well.

Once the Inspection Concludes, There Will Be a Report

Within a few days of your termite inspection service, you’ll receive a comprehensive written report. This report will detail all of the inspector’s findings and feature a diagram of your home, as well as a rough estimate of suggested services and repairs to be done.

Termite Inspectors Sometimes Use High-Tech Devices

The dongle is not the only tool of the termite professional. Sometimes, technology comes into play, and your termite inspector might use a thermal imaging camera to identify the species of termite and extent of damage, and may also use a moisture meter to determine whether a certain area has a high level of moisture.

Your Termite Inspector Will Come Up With an Effective Plan for Termite Control

Working with you to determine how best to meet your needs and fit your budget, your inspector will develop a plan, sometimes using a combination of approaches to eradicate the termites. There are two common types of treatment which might be prescribed:

Soil Treatment Acts as a Barrier to Subterranean Termites

After a trench is dug around the foundation, the soil is treated with a termiticide, and then the trench is refilled. This kills termites as they return to the soil to nest, and prevent future termite infestations. Sometimes, holes are drilled into the concrete at the perimeter foundation line, and then the product is pressure injected into the soil. Common products used for soil treatment include Termidor SC, Termidor HE, and Altriset.

Wood May Be Treated to Kill Existing Termite Colonies and Prevent Future Colonies

These treatments include surface sprays, injected sprays and foams, and Borate treated wood. Wood treatments may also be applied to the surface of wood during the construction phase of home building and in foam or injection form after the home is built. Premise Foam, Termidor Dry, and Tim-Bor are often used to treat wood.

It’s Important to Put Protection in Place for the Long Term

Working with a reputable termite control company to prevent future infestations is important because it’s almost always less expensive to prevent termites than to eradicate them and repair the damage they’ve done. You don’t want to be caught off-guard by additional termites after you’ve already gone through termite treatment and repaired your home. You can do your part to help keep termites out of your home by reducing soil-to-wood contact around your house. Create a 4-inch barrier between mulch and your yard, and keep in mind that only the concrete foundation should touch the soil. Keep plants a few feet away from the house, make sure storm drains empty away from the foundation, and check your soil drainage so that your soil doesn’t stay too moist. Fix any leaks promptly, because excess moisture attracts termites. Additionally, consider turning off outdoor lights during swarming season, as temperatures rise after the winter thaw.

Get Your Termite Inspection by MightyMite Termite Services

At MightyMite Termite Services, we perform termite inspections to ensure that your home is free of termites. We also work hard to help you keep your home safe from termites, 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 industry best practices to solve our customers’ termite problems in Northern California. For more information, call us today at 408-377-3761, email Info@mightymitetermite.com, or contact us through our website.