How To Get Rid Of Termites: A Comprehensive Guide For Birmingham Homeowners

Devastating Effects: Understanding The Potential Damage Of Termites

When you find a dozen termites on a stick, you may think nothing of it due to how incredibly tiny they are. You may think that dealing with such a small problem doesn't justify the termite inspection price or the resulting cost of termite treatment. Consider these facts:

• If you find a dozen termites, you only see an insignificant fraction of the colony size.
• Termite colonies can have hundreds of thousands of members.
• Termites don't pass through your yard. They encroach. What this means is they will establish a nest and spread out from that nest.
• A termite problem can start slow but grow quickly. The first nest will take a few years before it starts to produce swarmers. The swarmers will pair off and work to create new nests. While many die off during this process, it doesn't take many successful couples to increase a termite problem significantly.
• Some infestations begin with several successful nests. If a few viable couples form nests on your property, they can quickly present a serious threat to your property.

We can't tell you how much of a threat termites will pose to your home specifically. There are many factors. All we can tell you for certain is that termite damage is preventable, and we can guide you in selecting a control solution that works for you.

Prevention Is Key: How To Remove Factors That Attract Termites

There are ways to make your property less interesting to termites, reduce termite activity, and prevent damage. We promised to give you some effective prevention tips that are 100% eco-friendly. Here they are. You can use these tips to build a buffer around your house, stunt colony growth, and resist termite pressures.

• Pick up any dead branches and sticks in your yard. Store the collected wood in a rubber bin or trash receptacle.
• If you have firewood, store it on top of something termites don't eat, such as a structure with concrete support.
• Do you have wooden flower beds? Consider replacing them with a material termites don't feed on.
• Examine your gutters, make repairs, and clean out the troughs. A working gutter system channels rainwater away from your home and guards against wood damage.
• Check your plumbing and ensure you have no leaks that could lead to wood rot in your home.
• Do you have an old pile of cardboard boxes behind your home or next to a shed?
• Termites love cardboard more than they love wood. Pick up all cardboard, paper products, clothing, and other items that contain cellulose. They are food for termites. Store them in trash receptacles until you can remove them from your property.
• Do you have a pile of construction wood or materials you're storing for a construction project? Termites can feed on these materials. Make sure to keep them off the ground so worker termites don't have direct access.
• Do you have an unhealthy tree in your yard? As that tree dies, termites will start to feed on it. As the termites feed, they will increase the speed at which the tree will die. Contact a tree doctor to nurse that tree back to health or have it cut down and removed.
• Do you have stumps in your yard? Those stumps are termite food. Consider hiring a contractor to remove the stumps and roots.      

All of these tips work to deter termites, but they won't stop termite colonies entirely. If you want to target and eliminate colonies actively, you'll need professional termite control. Let's look at how long-term termite control addresses active termites in your yard.

Professional Termite Control: Long-Term Termite Control And Protection

How do professionals deal with termites? We use professional-grade termiticides and baits combined with training and experience. When you need termite protection in Birmingham, it pays to contact Havard Pest Control for trusted solutions.

• We offer annual inspections to check for termite activity in your yard.
• We provide pre-treatments to prepare the ground before a new construction.
• We offer liquid perimeter treatments for existing properties.
• We treat structures to arrest termite activity.
• We can install the Sentricon® System with Always Active™ for termite monitoring and ongoing colony elimination.

When you need termite control near you, we have you covered. Contact Havard Pest Control for the right termite control plan for your property. We'll guide you from start to finish and help answer all your questions. 

You don't have to wait until you see termite activity to deal with termites. today to get your proactive protection in place.