No one wants to deal with a pest infestation in their home. Pests like roaches and rodents can spread disease and infest your food supply. Pests such as bed bugs and fleas can terrorize you with itchy bites. The most annoying of all pests may be a debatable topic but there is one pest that is the clear winner when it comes to causing property damage: termites. Termites can cause damage to the structural wood of your house as well as in areas around your windows and doors. Serious infestations can even lead to damage inside the walls of your home and to the wood furniture inside. This potential for damage makes a termite infestation one type of infestation that you cannot allow to go untreated.

Damage to the structural wood of your house

Certain types of termites need to be near moisture in order to survive. One example of this is the subterranean termite. Subterranean termites usually stay near moisture rich soil and even build their colonies in the soil. This means that termite problems typically began with the foundational wood of the home in areas such as the crawl space or along the foundational walls. Damage to these areas can be expensive because it is difficult to repair and often impacts other areas of your house.

Damage to the wood around your windows and doors

There are many areas where your house has wood that you cannot easily inspect. This includes the wood under your house, the wood inside your walls, and inside the attic. If you want to keep an eye on these areas for termite damage you will have to be intentional about making the time to crawl under the house or climb into the attic. There are other areas around your home made from wood that you can easily check for termite damage as often as you like. These areas include the wood around your windows and doors. Builders usually use wood frames to install doors and windows in houses. Signs of termite damage include wood that looks wavy, has voids throughout it, or is weak.

Damage to wood on the inside of your house

Termites that start out on the wood under your house will eventually move inside of your walls if they are not eradicated. There is even a type of termite that will eat away at the wood furniture and other elements inside your home. This type of termite is called a ‘dry wood termite’ and they do not require the contact with moisture that is characteristic of subterranean termites.

This list of the types of damage termites can do is not exhaustive. These destructive pests can find their way to any and all wood around your house. Termites will not cease their destruction of your house until they are killed off. The most effective way to stop the damage caused by termites is to bring in professional help as quickly as possible.