How termites can destroy your home

Guess what else can lead to the collapse of that building of yours…A relentless real estate property agent in the nuisance category.

Termites are tiny wood-boring insects that are silent killers to homes and other buildings; their preoccupation is destruction. They have been around since the beginning of time because they are adaptable to ever-changing environments. Their ability to cause serious structural damage makes them significant to property owners and builders.

Termites live in the soil, but feed off the cellulose in wood, breaking it down and returning it to the soil. Be forewarned that any untreated wood that comes into direct contact with the soil surrounding a home provides a perfect entry point for those destructive, menacing insects who care less about your property.

Essentially, termites have been saddled with a responsibility by ‘God knows who’, to cause destruction. They evolved to do one thing, and that one thing can completely ruin the value of your home in a matter of months. Termites don’t just eat wood, they eat a lot of it in a short time depending on the drive. They are what I will describe as ‘wood gluttons’. The average colony can eat about one foot of a 2×4 in six months, but certain species of termite can tear through an entire house at a much faster pace that you will be wondering if they were once humans. In eating wood, termites are also making tunnels inside the wood in order to help foster and grow their colonies, each of which contain about 60,000 termites. As such, when they eat the wood that provides the structure of your home, they can quickly create an unsafe environment for you and your family. And thanks to the fact that they remain unseen and cause their destruction under the surface, they can be very difficult to detect. If they are found in a home’s support beams, thereby jeopardizing the integrity of those beams, they can put the entire home at risk!
You can see what I’m talking about…How bad can witchcraft get? Imagine that home you spent millions on, only to be felled by mere termites?

Builders erect structures, termites destroy them

They act like they are actually sent to destroy your home that after the attack you may be forced to agree with me that what a demon can do, a termite can do even worse!

A termite infestation that has gone unnoticed for some length of time can create a major headache, as the colony can spread and impact on the stability of the structure. Even brick or masonry homes can have termite damage, as they often still have some wooden components.

Termites thrive on moisture in the home, making the homes settled in the damp, humid southern locations a prime target for these pests. Homes stand a higher chance of termite infestation if there is wood paneling or support touching the ground on the exterior of the home, if there are cracks in the foundation or if there are woodpiles or stumps near the home, which are breeding grounds for termites. However, it’s possible to get a termite infestation even if these elements aren’t present.

Not only can termites do actual structural damage, but they can also cause odour due to their fecal pellets. These fecal pellets also cause discolouration and blisters on your walls, and you may have to replace them completely in order to get rid of the smell and the unsightly stains.

Termite repair can cost a small fortune, and if damage is severe, there may be a need to gut an entire section of the house entirely. Termite damage around the structural foundation can be especially challenging to fix due to the location.

Damage from termites not only ruins the aesthetic of your home, but also impairs the value. People interested in selling their homes may be unable to do so if there is evidence of terminate damage, as people are unwilling to purchase a home wherein the safety of the structure is compromised though that also depends on the terms agreed upon.

Because termite infestations may go unnoticed or undetected for a long time, it is important to address them the moment you discover them in your home. In some cases, it’s possible that your home has been infested for years, and that the visual damage you see today is only a symptom of a much deeper termite infestation.

If you’ve ever experienced a termite infestation, then you know how devastating it can be to have to deal with getting rid of the colony, addressing the structural damage, and preventing future infestations. It can be a long and difficult process, but fortunately, it can also be manageable with help from the right pest control experts.

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