Termites Be Gone: Proven Techniques for Successful Termite Control In Pasadena

The secret to keeping termites out of your Pasadena home is understanding how they get in and how a termite problem grows. Today, we're going to break down all the facts you need to know. We'll look at how termites in Pasadena behave when they enter your yard, how to detect termite activity, and how termites find their way into your home. We'll share some prevention methods that will make your yard less appealing to these wood-damaging pests and we'll look at the unique ways a termite professional can target termite colonies before termites even attack your home in the first place. We've packed a lot into this little article, but if you need more information about termite pest control in Pasadena, remember that Accutech Pest Management is your local termite company. We have the service and solutions that work to prevent termite damage. With that said, let's jump in!

The Anatomy Of Termites: Understanding Their Behavior And Habits

Termites are sneaky insects by nature. When a worker termite is born, it is immediately averse to light. It wants to live its entire life in utter darkness. Research reveals that worker termites dislike the light so much that they even hide from the moon at night. What does this mean? It means termite activity, termite damage, and other warning signs are found in hidden places where the sun and the moon aren't able to light. If you perform a termite inspection, you need to keep this important fact in mind. The signs you'll look for are mud tubes, damaged wood near the soil, or the presence of worker termites underneath objects on the ground. 

Another behavior of termite workers is that they prefer to stay in moist environments. A worker termite has a thin exoskeleton that is prone to dehydration. How does this relate to termite control? If you go looking for evidence of termite damage, you'll have a hard time finding it. Workers try very hard to avoid breaching tunnel walls which will allow dry air to enter. In studies, subterranean termites devour wood studs without creating any exterior damage. To detect damage in your home, you'll need to tap on wood and listen for a hollow sound.

Workers make up most of the numbers in a termite colony. But there are other termite castes to consider. The termites you're most likely to see are winged termites, called swarmers. These are reproductive termites that leave the nest to establish new nests. The reason you'll see them is that they are the opposite of the workers. They are attracted to light, and they can tolerate being out in the dry air. You'll also have no trouble seeing them if they are grouped together in a swarm. Termite swarmers have long white wings that are rounded at the tips. Unfortunately, they don't stay in a group for long. Swarmers have a job to do. After leaving the nest, they quickly find a mate, shed their wings, and disappear into the ground to make their nests. For this reason, swarms often last less than an hour. The only warning sign you may see are the wings they leave behind. Keep watch for them.

In a termite colony, there is another kind of reproductive. These termites don't have wings and they stay in the ground. If a termite colony finds a food source, these reproductives may work together to create a satellite colony. When they enter your yard and make this new colony, they do it all under the surface of the ground. There is no chance of ever seeing them. 

When it comes to termite behavior and habits, it isn't all bad news. There is one behavior pattern that can help you detect termites in Pasadena. It is the sound soldier termites make when an enemy invades their tunnels. Soldiers bang their heads against the tunnel walls to sound the alarm. Property owners describe this sound as a rattle or a clicking. But, if you hear this noise, it is definitely time to contact a professional. For assistance in Pasadena, the Accutech Pest Management team is here to help.

Understanding The Termite Threat: Why Termites Infest Homes

Termites begin by entering your yard. There are reasons why they may choose your property. If swarmers enter from a nearby property, they may choose it randomly, but they have habitat preferences. A yard with moist vegetation is inviting because the offspring they produce will need moisture. A yard with a pile of dead branches is the best because dead wood is an easy and desirable food source. If termite workers enter your yard, they're looking for the same conditions. They want to find moisture and food.

Whether swarmers create a nest or workers find what they're looking for, active termites in your yard are likely to lead to property damage. There are reasons for this as well. Termite workers are always looking for food even after they find a source. While they're eating dead branches in your yard, they can also eat your back deck or interior wood. The workers search diligently for food and will crawl between rocks in the ground or crawl up into the cracks of a foundation. If you have a vulnerability, they'll find it.

The worst vulnerability termite workers can find is wood-to-soil contact. When termites find direct access to the wood of your home without needing to create mud tubes above the ground, they can enter and exit without detection and in great numbers. An example of wood-to-soil contact is a back deck that has wooden posts that go down into the soil.

Once termites get into your home, they will look for all available food sources and can attack many points at one time. While each termite is only about ? of an inch in length, hundreds of thousands (or even millions) can feed on your home at the same time. Why millions? Because termite workers travel as far as a hundred yards in search of food and you may have more than one colony feeding on your home at the same time. All of this feeding is done quietly as workers scrape on wood, digest it with the enzymes in their stomachs, and bring the food back in liquid form to the other termites in their colony.

Considering the secretive and silent nature of termites, it is not wise to wait until you need termite removal. Proactive termite control is the best decision you'll ever make. There are some things you can do to prevent termite damage. We'll look at those first.