Tips on Preventing a Termite Infestation in Your Home

I recently had a termite inspection from the Orkin Company. My husband and I are already customers of Orkin so they came over and did a courtesy termite inspection for our home. My husband and I were planning on moving so we thought that it was best to see if we had termites or not. After the inspection, I spoke with the Orkin representative and he told me that he didn't see an infestation of termites in our house. However, we did talk about some of the conditions surrounding my house that are conducive to creating termite colonies. I'm going to give you tips on preventing and treating a termite infestation in your home.

1. Get an inspection from a reputable company. I chose Orkin because I already used them for spraying for insects and ants around my house and because they have been around for a long time. Before the inspection, I never really thought about termites being a problem in the home. The inspection opened my mind to a better understanding of the damage that termites could do if left untreated.

2. The first thing that the Orkin representative noticed was that we had cut down some trees that were growing on the side of our house. We had cut them down to stumps. The Orkin representative didn't notice any termites at the time but he did say that as the wood gets older then it will attract termite colonies and then since the wood stumps were so close to the house, it would be a way that termites would enter our home.

3. My husband and I also had vines growing on the front of our two story house. The vines had made it to the second story window. We thought that the vines were pretty but the Orkin representative said that was dangerous because the vines could attract termites and then climb up the vines and make their way into our home.

4. We had a pile of wood in the backyard that my husband uses for his barbeque grills and for our fireplace. The Orkin representative said that it wasn't a good idea to keep wood piles so close to the back wall of the house. He said that termites are attracted to dry or rotting wood pieces. They would start with the wood piles and since they were so close to the house, they would have easy access to the wood in our home.

5. We had flower beds with soil in our backyard that was very close to the back of our house. The flower beds were encased in a very nice wooden hutch. The wooden hutch wasn't treated. The Orkin representative said that termites live in the soil and eat wood. The flower beds could attract termites because they are planted in soil and the termites would have the wood hutch encasing to eat off of.

6. We had a deck in our backyard that my husband built. The wood was touching the ground, hadn't been treated with anything, and was starting to warp. The Orkin representative stated that termites would be attracted to the wooden deck because it was touching the soil and the wood was getting old and warped. The Orkin representative stated that we should have built the deck on a concrete foundation that was at least 3 feet off of the ground.

7. My husband was planning on building my daughter a wooden playhouse for the backyard. He had bought the wood for the project but left it in the backyard. The Orkin representative said that we shouldn't leave lumber just lying in the backyard like that because it will attract moisture and once the playhouse is built it could attract termites. My husband moved the wood to inside the garage until he was ready to build the playhouse.

8. The Orkin representative noticed that we had sprinklers in the backyard and that we liked to water the grass. He suggested not having the water from the sprinkler hit the house because termites are attracted to water sources and need moisture to survive. Instead, pull the sprinklers away from the house and just let it water the areas that you want.

9. The Orkin representative suggested that we clean out our gutters. They were full of leaves and water. This condition would attract termite populations because of the moisture content and then colonies would help their make their way into the home.

10. The washing machine drain was leaking water at the house. The water started running out of the drain and onto our wall. This is very dangerous and would be attractive to termites since our washing machine is within our house. The Orkin representative suggested that we get that taken care since the moisture and the wet wood would definitely attract a termite colony that would start within our home.

As you can see, termites are attracted by the littlest of things. From speaking with the Orkin representative, it seems like keeping up with maintenance within your home is the most important thing that you can do to prevent termite infestation. Using common sense about not leaving wood lying around or letting your shrubs and bushes grow too high is something that every home owner should be able to do. Even if you use all prevention tips to safeguard your home, sometimes termites still make their way inside. However, protecting yourself with the following tips will definitely improve your chances of detecting and then treating a termite problem more successfully.