Don't Let Termites Damage Your Fort Worth Home: Effective Prevention And Control Strategies

Dealing with termites in Fort Worth is a tricky business. Do you know that you can have millions in your yard and not know it? Do you know that they can feed on your home without making any detectable noises? If you're like most, you don't really know all that much about termites. Fortunately, our on-staff experts know all about them. And you're not alone in your battle to protect your property from termites. Join us today as we break down a few important facts about termite detection, how termites spread, what works to control termites, and how to prevent termite problems. Remember that help is available if you need it. Your All-Safe Pest & Termite team is here to perform termite removal, termite prevention, or a termite inspection in Fort Worth. All the services you need are right here. Find out how stress-free it can be when you ask about pest control in Fort Worth through our contact page. We'll get you on track. 

Termite Infestation: How To Identify The Signs

How do you find sneaky termites in your yard? More importantly, how can you figure out whether or not termites are in your home? Can you just look for signs of termite damage? Sadly, it isn't quite that easy. Most of the damage termites do is on the inside of studs, support beams, and other timbers. Worker termites hide from the light and live their entire lives in utter darkness. They almost never come out into the open. So, you can't count on seeing the damage at first. Here are some ways you may be able to identify signs of termites in the early stages.

• As you work in your yard, you may end up coming across termites. If you're collecting dead branches on the ground, you could uncover workers crawling on the bottom where the branches touch the soil. Worker termites are around ⅛ inch and look like fat white ants. If you identify them on your property, you may catch a problem early.
• Sometimes swarmers appear outdoors. If you're out in your yard, walking up a walkway, and you see a swarm of tiny black insects with long, white, teardrop-shaped wings, you may be witnessing a termite swarm. As colonies mature, they send out reproductive alates. These termites are larger and darker than worker termites and are the only type of termites to have wings. After mating, a swarm will break apart, and the swarmers will shed their wings and look for places to create new nests. Seeing one swarmer is a warning sign of both an impending infestation as well as a mature colony nearby.
• Sometimes termite swarms appear and disappear without being seen. If this happens in your yard, you may still detect it. The wings shed by swarmers can get caught in spider webs. Look in concealed locations to see if you can find webs, and inspect them for tiny white wings.
• Sometimes worker termites have to create shelter tubes to get from the ground to the wood in a structure. If you see a thin wiggly line of mud on your foundation, you're looking at a shelter tube. That doesn't necessarily mean you have an infestation. It is possible that the termites attempted to find a food source and failed. Break off a piece and see if it grows back in a few days. If it does, it is time to contact a certified termite control professional.
• Sometimes termites create damage where you're able to see it – if you know where to look. You'll likely find the damage under structures where the light is shielded or on humid spaces between landscape vegetation and your exterior. If your home has a crawl space, that is a good place to look as well.

When you find active termites, it is critical that you understand the evidence. Termites are destructive insects and, if left untreated, they are able to do a lot of damage over time. Let's take a look at how a small problem can turn into a big problem.

Devastating Effects: Understanding The Potential Damage Of Termites

How fast are termites going to damage your property? Are they as bad as you've heard? Not at first. Termites work slowly at first and increase activity as their nest grows. Once a nest is large enough, it sends out winged termites with one purpose: To create more nests. While not all of these winged termites will survive, the ones that do will attempt to create new, viable nests. Even if only one or two nests are added, your problems have more than doubled. When those nests mature, things are going to get even worse.

When you find active termites or evidence of termite activity, you should take steps to evaluate the problem. Those termites aren't going to give up and move on. They don't just fly around your neighborhood looking for a suitable place to live and move away when they're not happy with what they've found. Once you've seen termites, you know that they are applying pressure to your home, and eventually, they're going to cause damage. It isn't a matter of if but a matter of when.

After years, you won't have to search for evidence of termites. You'll start to see it openly. The floor of your porch might start to sink. The floor in your kitchen might start to warp. You may have doors or windows that stick. Walls may bulge. Termites damage the structure of your home over time. We hope you contact a professional long before you see damage like this. 

Professional Termite Extermination: Know When To Call In The Experts

When is the right time to call a termite expert? Can you wait until you notice a termite problem? Yes. But we don't advise doing this, particularly when there are low-cost entry-level options. You can start by getting annual inspections performed by a certified termite control professional. A professional is equipped to find evidence that is easily overlooked by property owners.

If you know you have a termite infestation already, now is the time to call the experts. A certified termite professional can evaluate your termite problem and provide treatment options. We apply termite control according to field-tested methods and industry-standard protocols. Your professional can also provide insight regarding conducive conditions and tell you how you may have gotten a termite problem in the first place. It pays to hire someone with proper training and experience when it comes to addressing termites. These sneaky insects grow their populations, multiply their nests, and increase the threat they present to your property with every month that passes.     

Stay Termite-Free: Helpful Tips To Prevent Reinfestation

When you call a termite professional and get termite control services for your property, are you done? Can you put those termites out of your mind forever? Sadly, no. While you have a certain level of protection after a treatment, you may need to take a few steps to help increase your odds of avoiding another termite problem.

A common solution for termite infestations is the application of termiticide. Certified professionals use the most advanced products. They are undetectable to termites and are picked up by workers and shared with their colonies. However, even these products aren't guaranteed to stop the next wave of termites. You'll definitely have some protection, but termites could attack another section of your home and never come in contact with the treatment products in the last area attacked.

If you want ongoing and active protection against termites, you need to get professional termite prevention for your home. The most common solution for ongoing and always active termite colony elimination is The Sentricon® System with Always Active™. The Sentricon® System is a network of bait stations placed in the soil around your home. When termites come looking for a bite to eat, they find the Sentricon® bait, which is scientifically proven more interesting to termites than wood. The workers take the bait and share it with the other termites, leading to colony elimination. The Sentricon® System is active 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. When it is routinely checked by your certified technician, your property has the protection it needs. The best part is that you'll know when your termite protection has stopped a termite threat because workers and soldiers appear in your bait stations. You'll never have to wonder if your investment paid off.

Would you like to learn more about how this system is used to arrest termite activity in homes and businesses in the Fort Worth area or how the Sentricon® System provides ongoing protection against termite damage? It is easy to ask questions. You can call and speak with one of our friendly agents, contact us by text, or enjoy stress-free correspondence through our contact page. There is no easier way to find out about termite control service options in Fort Worth. We look forward to hearing from you, and we look forward to helping you find the perfect termite control solution for your property. All-Safe Pest & Termite is your trusted source for certified termite control in Fort Worth. We can help.