While many of us look forward to the warmer weather and the blooming of beautiful flowers that spring and summer often bring, those milder days also mean that you’re more likely to discover termites dwelling in your home or business.

The combination of moist weather and warmer temperatures can bring out what’s sometimes referred to as “silent destroyers,” or termites. The swarmers, or adult male and female termites, leave the nest in massive numbers seeking to establish a new colony. The moniker is given as they are often undetected after the damage has already been done.

These tiny destroyers can threaten the structural integrity of a structure, and cause extensive devastation to a home. Infestations can often be the result of the structural wood coming in direct contact with the soil as it provides the termites with convenient access to food, moisture and shelter – and an easy entry into the structure.

Termites can compromise the foundation, flooring and walls of a structure – its basis and most important parts. Extermination and ongoing termite control is crucial for preventing what could quickly lead to financial disaster.

In fact, it’s been estimated that Americans spend millions of dollars every year treating termites and repairing the damage that they cause.

Termites are often discovered in hardwood floors, the walls or framing, but frequently they are hidden from human eyes until it’s too late. They eat the wood from inside out, creating a honeycomb-like pattern into the wood and forming tunnels inside the moist, soft wood that leaves the external grain intact.

The wood starts to break easily once serious damage has ensued, by then the serious damage is done.

Some of the signs of termites include:

• Tubes of dirt found on the side of the foundation may be hiding subterranean termites. Termites travel by through the tubes from the ground to the wood in the home’s interior. Often times, the signs of them are not very obvious.
• If wood around the home or other structure appears hollowed-out, subterranean termites may have been there.
• Interior damage is often not apparent until there is a full-blown; another reason for the importance of termite control. Some of those signs include bucking wood and swollen floors. 

Termites are the number one wood destroying pest in the nation, but by contacting pest control experts such as those as Assured Environments, your home or facility can be ensured of the maximum level of termite control and protection against them.