How to Get Rid of Termites

The health and safety of your home can be compromised in many ways. Threats can arise from indoor air quality, home invasion, gas leaks, and natural disasters, among others. One that might escape your immediate attention, however, is the damage that can be done by termites.

How to Prevent Termites

Termite prevention begins during construction. Maintaining termite prevention will protect your home and reduce pest control costs greatly in the long run.

1. Construction 

• Build on a concrete foundation.
• Allow a ventilation space between ground soil and any wood.
• Wood surfaces should be covered with a sealant or metal barrier.
• integrate good drainage and plumbing to keep the foundation dry.
• Keep humidity low in crawl spaces, making sure vents are not blocked by shrubbery.
• Eliminate any place where wood may touch the ground—even pressure-treated wood, since termites can build tunnels through the cut ends.

In general, reduce moisture and eliminate wood-to-earth contact. These create a perfect storm of shelter, hidden access, food, and needed moisture that welcomes in any termite swarmers.

For more information, check the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Healthy Housing Reference Manual for more detailed information on building codes and preventing termites.

2. Maintenance

• Keep the foundation dry with good plumbing, sufficient drainage, and proper grading.
• Maintain gutters, downspouts, and pipes to eliminate warm, dark. moist hiding places.
• Fill in openings that might give termites access, such as cracks in the foundation, windows, doors, or places where utilities come through the wall. Use cement, caulk, or grout.
• Avoid firewood or any other wood debris piling up next to a house or in a crawl space. Wood, trellises, vines, and plants all give termites a food source as well as an access path that bypasses any soil barrier treatments you may have done.
• Address any leaks, especially in plumbing, air conditioning or roof, immediately.
• Make sure vents are never blocked, especially by plants.
• If you have trees or bushes, plant them so that they don’t grow against wood surfaces.
• Minimize use of mulch and wood chips. Subterranean termites in particular love the cellulose often found in wood mulch.
• Try pea gravel or crushed stone to diminish not just termites but other pest problems.
• Use a professional pest control company to inspect your home regularly.

Maintenance primarily revolves around reducing moisture and not offering attractive food sources.

The most effective tactic is to use a professional pest control company to treat your soil with termiticide. The EPA has more information on the most effective types of chemical and non-chemical treatments here. 

How to Kill Termites

So if you find that you do have termites, what next?

The first thing is find a good pest control company to investigate the extent of the damage and estimate the cost of controlling it. You may have lucked out—if caught early enough, the damage may be minimal. Sometimes homeowners don’t even need to repair it once the infestation is controlled. At the other end of the spectrum, damage may be too extensive to rescue the house.

Treatment includes non-chemical  and chemical options. The purpose of both is to create or replace a barrier, whether physical or chemical, between the wood in your home’s structure and the termites in the ground. 

1. Non-Chemical Ways to Kill Termites

• Damage Control by adopting all of the maintenance steps above that haven’t already been used
• Physical Barriers like steel mesh and sands—research is being done on the efficacy of sand with some success indicated https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/publications/books/housing/cha04.htm in early studies in California and Hawaii
• Biological Agents including certain fungi and nematodes (parasitic roundworms) can infest and kill termites and other soil insects, with varying rates of efficacy. 

2. Chemical Ways to Kill Termites

• Treated woods, and building materials treated with termiticides—used to replace affected construction areas if necessary and possible 
• Termite Baits—this system involves monitoring stations set up with wood bait. If and when termites take it, the traps are then set with termiticides that are taken back by workers to poison and kill the colony.

This is a longer-term approach, taking weeks or months to fully effective. It also requires a contract with a pest control company who will know exactly where to set the bait traps and will replace the baits for a specified amount of time. On the plus side, it greatly reduces the amount of chemicals used as well as the disruption to your home and property, and is believed to fully eradicate colonies.

• Liquid Soil-Applied Termiticides—these chemical treatments are applied to the soil under and around the foundation. They are regulated by the EPA to reduce toxic chemical exposure. Application is a complex procedure, given how specifically placed the chemicals need to be applied to be effective. This needs a certified pest-control company who knows not only how to mix the chemicals but also how to apply them.

Liquid termiticides are a shorter-term process than termite baits, using one treatment and killing termites in hours or days. On the other hand, it also uses more chemicals (gallons instead of ounces), creates more chemical exposure and greater inconvenience, and may not be as effective in getting a whole colony.

The USDA has additional detailed information on treatments. For information on specific chemicals involved in these treatments, the CDC has information here. 

3. DIY Ways to Kill Termites

There are some DIY methods that may help short-term. Some of these include:

• Boric acid: used in crevices and cracks in ceilings, walls, and floors to dehydrate termites, shutting  off their nervous system. 
• Termiticite Barriers: used around your home’s perimeter. You may or may not have access to these professional-grade chemicals based on your state’s laws on toxicity. If using in drilled holes in walls around suspected nests, fill with cement, front or putty. 
• Diatomaceous earth: made of silica from fossilized organisms sprinkled around suspected termite access points. It will poison termites as they crawl over it and take it back to the nest.
• Essential oils: Orange and neem oil may work slowly by impeding certain reproductive functions. Shake or spray a diluted solution on infested areas. 

These DIY methods will likely only be effective in the short term, and are not recommended.

Full termite treatment requires pest control experts who know how to find colonies, pinpoint their entry points, and create a multi-layered approach based on your specific situation to rescue your home.

The Financial Risks of Termites

Termites are insects that feed on decomposing or dead plant and wood products. They eat through walls and structures, even working their way through tight spots in foundations. Termites wreak havoc on materials they don’t eat on their way to their cellulose-based food sources like wood or drywall. According to the EPA, every year termites cause billions of dollars in structural damage.

The damage is not only structural but also economic. No one study can record the full economic impact of termite damage, because much of it:

• Goes unreported
• Does not include the cost of preventive and curative treatment
• Can’t fully assess damage that isn’t immediately attributed to the pests (e.g., wind damage to structures weakened by termites)
• Doesn’t factor in loss of property value
• Doesn’t factor in damage to publicly-used benefits like utility poles, fence posts, etc.

While the full extent is unknown, estimates of yearly damage caused by termites usually start at $1 billion at the lowest, going as high as $7 billion.

What Are Termites?

Termites are insects known as detrivores—insects that feed on decomposing plant and animal parts. Termites get nutrients from dead plant material and cellulose, particularly from wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung.

In tropical and subtropical regions, their recycling of wood and plant matter actually promotes ecological stability. Termites help break down dead trees and other wood materials that would otherwise accumulate. The resulting biomass breakdown is recycled in the soil so that other things can grow.

When termites attack your home, however, they become dangerous pests. A single termite won’t do much damage, but termites cluster in large organized colonies. These colonies often remain undetected while they eat through wood, furniture, flooring, even wallpaper, leaving weakened and crumbling structures in their wake. 

Over 2000 species of termites can be found worldwide. Only 50 species are found in the United States. Not all of those are considered dangerous. 

Termites can be found in every state but Alaska, most commonly in southern regions. They  prefer warm, moist environments. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s study on termite prevention and control, home builders and homeowners often accidentally increase the likelihood of termite infestations in homes and other structures by creating environments that welcome termites.

We will discuss ways to avoid doing this later in this article. 

What Do Termites Do?

Termites don’t just eat wood walls. In addition to structural timbers, they consume many cellulose products (including cardboard, paper, wallpaper) and other wood products (including furniture, pallets, crates, indoor wood frames).

Termites leave additional damage as they tunnel to get to their food. They destroy the non-cellulose materials that they don’t eat but burrow through, including plastics, rubber, and even thin metal. Those tunnels can also destroy electrical cables to cause electrical failures.

Termites can be present for years below concrete buildings before they finally get through floor or wall cracks and expansion joints. The CDC estimates that termite management costs homeowners more than any other pest management except for cockroach control. 

What Do Termites Look Like?

Termite appearance varies depending on their type. They live in highly organized colonies composed of “castes”—categories that have different physical features, different roles, and sometimes both.

Termite colonies are organized around:

• Workers
• Soldiers
• Reproductives (some winged, some not)

Different physical characteristics distinguish each caste.

Worker Termites

Workers search for food and maintain the colony. This is the caste that you are most likely to see. They actually eat the wood and create the tunnels and tubes. Workers are most often found during renovations, remodeling, or tree stump removal.

Appearance: 

• Can be mistaken for cream-colored ants
• White /yellowish-white
• Yellow-brown head
• 3/8” to 1/2” long
• Wingless
• Soft body with translucent skin.
• Teardrop shape—Abdomen is larger than their head
• Can also be mistaken for maggots due to their pale slimy appearance

Soldier Termites

Soldier termites protect the nest. These will be seen first if you stumble into a nest. 

Appearance:

• Large rectangular heads that are dark yellow/brownish
• 3/8” to 1/2” long
• Wingless
• Large mouthparts
• Pincers on head

Reproductive Termites

Reproductives lay eggs and swarm to expand the colony with kings, queens, and alates or “swarmers.” You won’t usually see a king or queen, who mate to produce workers which may or may not become swarmers.

Appearance:

• Yellow-brown or blackish bodies
• 3/8” to 1/2” long
• May be winged or wingless
• Four equal-sized long wings, when winged
• Pale, smoke-gray, or brownish wings
• Wings much larger than their bodies and shed after flight.

In spring and summer as ground warms up, termite populations send out their swarmers. These explorers look for new friendly environments like rain or snow-damaged homes.

Flying termites swarm towards light so you may find their shed wings around exterior lighting fixtures or window sills. Swarmers can indicate a mature termite colony already in the walls and ready to expand. If you see piles of shed wings, check with a professional pest control service immediately.

Alate swarmers, as they fly out to create new colonies, are often confused with flying ants. Don’t ignore them if you find them inside. If swarmers like your home, a colony will follow.

Differences Between Termites and Ants

Winged termites are often confused with flying ants. To the naked eye, they look like white ants.

Closer inspection can give you some clues to distinguish ants from termites.

• Wings: Termite wings are of equal length. On winged ants, the front set of wings is shorter than the back set. Ant wings are only slightly longer than their body, while termite wings are almost twice as long compared to their body.
• Antennae: Termite antennae are straight and beadlike. Ants have “elbowed” antennae, bent at a 90° angle.
• Abdomen: The abdomen area is broad on a termite. An ant’s body behind the wings is more pinched

The USDA offers some additional distinguishing signs. 

• Color: Termites workers are usually white, yellow, or caramel colored. Ants are often red, dark brown, or black. 
• Body Hardness: Termites are usually soft-bodied. Ants usually have much harder bodies. 
• Location: Subterranean termites are almost never seen foraging out in the open.

Different Types of Termites

The main damage-causing types of termites in the United States include:

• Drywood termites
• Dampwood termites
• Subterranean termites.

Drywood Termites

Drywood termites need less moisture. They aren’t dependent on tunneling through soil like subterranean and Formosan termites. They build nests above the ground in dry wood and are often found in roof materials, attics and garages, wooden wall supports, and any dead wood surrounding a home. 

Lighter in color and larger than most other US termites, drywood termites can be 1/2” to 5/8” long. Look for them in southern states from North Carolina down to Gulf Coast areas, California coastal areas, and Arizona.

Dampwood Termites

Dampwood termites infest damp, soft, decaying wood and are attracted to cellars and crawl spaces. They can nest above-ground, because while they require high moisture content in the wood, dampwood termites don’t need to keep contact with damp ground. They can extend tunnels from their damp nest out into drier wood.

Dampwood termites gravitate to areas like southern Florida, the Pacific coast and neighboring states, and some desert/southwestern regions.

Subterranean Termites

Subterranean termites build mud tubes to protect them from open air as they travel to get to their above-ground food sources. They nest in underground colonies and must maintain contact with the ground for moisture.

Occasionally nests can also be found above-ground if the areas are secluded and damp. These termites cause the most damage across the United States. This category includes Formosan termites, a particularly aggressive and fast-spreading species that is showing some resistance to soil pesticides.

Warning Signs of Termite Damage

Termites don’t often come out of the ground or their food source tunnels. The first signs that homeowners may see are either a swarm or damaged wood discovered during construction. By that time, severe damage may have already been done.

Staying alert to potential signs is crucially important. Here are some steps to take and things to look for when investigating possible termite infestation: 

• Check any ant swarm to make sure they aren’t termites (swarming often happens in March to June, then later in September to October)
• Probe exposed wood for hollow spots (try using something like a screwdriver)
• Tap and listen—soft wood will sound hollow
• Look for damaged wood—you may see mud-packed hollow sections, a honeycomb appearance in infested wood, or wood hollowed out along the grain and lined with bits of soil
• Take note of any small piles that look like sawdust—these could be feces near a termite nest
• Notice any piles of discarded wings especially on window sills or near outside lights that may indicate swarmers
• Check wood surfaces for any dark spots or blisters, including any paint that is uneven or bubbling. These don’t necessarily mean termites but it’s a good idea to check.
• Check both outside and inside surfaces for mud tubes about the size of a pencil—termites use these to reach food sources. Look on foundations, walls, joints, sills, even nearby trees or lumbar sources.
• Investigate any buckling in walls or ceilings, as well as anything that looks like water damage
• Listen for rattling, rustling, or clicking sounds inside the walls. Soldier termites bang their heads against wood, creating a rattling sound and using the vibrations to warn others of impending threats. Clicking and rustling sounds may be made by large numbers of tunneling worker termites.

Summary

Termite damage can be a scary thought, but you can definitely reduce your risk. Routinely check for danger signs, get inspections, and follow the prevention steps above.

This will reduce your chances of having to deal with an infestation, as well as reduce the damage caused by catching it early. Use a reputable and skilled company to both inspect and, if necessary, treat your home.