How to get rid of termites?: Termites are one of the most dangerous pests as they can damage your beautiful furniture as well as your house. Approximately 40% of your house structure and content is made up of wood. Hence you need to be careful that your house is safe from termite attack. To protect your house from termite damage you should know how to get rid of termites.

Termites are commonly but incorrectly called as White Ants. Termites are not ants as they differ from ants in color as well as in body shape. They basically feed on dead plant material mostly on wood, soil, leaf litter or animal dung. Colonies of termites can cause damage worth millions every year.

How to Detect Termite Infestation?

Generally it is difficult to detect termite infection in your house as they live underground and burrowed in wood. But if you want to detect termite infestation then start looking around your wooden structures. You might come across damaged or rotten wood structure. In case you are unable to notice any damage then gently tap or drill the suspected structure with a probe to find termite infection. It is observed that during warmer season termites tend to come out of the wood.

How to get rid of Termites?

Once you are sure about termite invasion in your wooden structures it is time to get rid of termites. The best option to get rid of termites is to seek professional help. But there are few things you need to do before calling professional exterminator.

• You need to fix leaking and worn-out faucets so as to keep moist spots away. Moist and damp places encourage termite growth.
• You need to keep your gutters clean and repair all the leakages. This will help in keeping your house moisture free.
• It is always better to stack wood products and firewood above the ground.
• If you observe and crack or opening inside or outside your house, fill it up.

Beside professional help the other way to get rid of termite is to be take preventive action. What are preventive measures to get rid of termites? Few of the preventive actions are listed below:

• Sealing all the cracks in wall and foundation.
• Cover all the outside vents with fine screen.
• To prevent your wood from damage treat them with specialized timber treatments.
• Avoid accumulation of water in your foundation.
• It is better to remove all the timber waste.
• Select a dry, well ventilated place to store firewood or timber.

Other General Methods Used to get rid of Termites:

Basically there are 4 general methods used to get rid of termites, which are listed below:

• Fumigation: With the help of potent insecticide fumes termites are killed. But this method is effective only on few termite species like drywood termite.
• Termite Baits: Baits is a common way to kill pests in the same way baits are placed around the house. Slowly it kills the whole termite colony by spreading effective pesticide.
• Liquid Termite Treatment: To kill or to repel termites from your house a liquid termiticide is sprayed.
• Borate Termite Treatment: Borate is directly applied to your wooden articles in the form of paint coat. This treatment is effective when applied during the construction of your house.

It is really difficult to deal with termite colonies but above steps will be helpful in long run.