As a homeowner, you want to maintain and care for your property. However, termites are a problem that cannot always be seen. They eat wooden components and can damage the structure of your home. Let’s look at ways to help prevent termites around your house.
How to Help Prevent Termites
Prevention is the most important aspect when combating termites. It’s far easier to keep them away than eliminating a colony. Consider these factors.
- A single termite colony can grow to over 1 million in size.
- A termite queen lives up to 50 years of age.
- A queen lays thousands of eggs every day.
You don’t want these pests to infest your home. The following is a list of things that might attract termites to live in and around your home.
Decayed Vegetation
As you work to prevent termites in your home, clear your yard of any decaying debris. This includes:
- twigs and leaves
- rotting firewood
- downed branches
- dead and dying plants
- roots and stumps from dead trees
Assess the Wood Around Your Home
The substance that termites actually eat is cellulose. Wood is a great source of cellulose. Any piece of wood in your yard is a potential source of food for termites. To prevent termites in the home, remove wood outside your house that might attract these pests. For example, don’t allow waste lumber or scrap wood to decay in your yard. Be sure to seal the wood of your deck at least annually.
Prevent Termites with Careful Use of Mulch
Mulch provides a great combination of moisture and wood: two substances that attract hungry termites. You don’t have to forego mulch in your garden. Simply make sure it’s not located close to the foundation of your home. This will help keep termites away from the house even if they are attracted to your mulch.
Store Wood Off the Ground
Keep wood around the home from touching the ground. You might build a platform to store firewood. Use concrete supports when building a patio or deck to keep the wood from making contact with the ground and being accessible to termites.
Fix Leaks to Prevent Termites in the Home
Providing termites with a water source near your home is a recipe for disaster. Fix leaks as soon as you see them and take steps to prevent leaks around the home. Replace the leaking garden hose and repair any dripping outdoor faucet. Don’t let standing water accumulate in or near your home.
Seal Cracks
Fix any cracks to prevent termites from accessing your home through holes and cracks in search of food.
Anchor Home Inspections is a quality Home Inspector to Rhode Island and Connecticut. Contact us to schedule a home inspection or any of our other home inspection services.
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