Pennsylvania Termite Control
Termites are wood-eating pests that cause billions of dollars worth of damage every year. They can eat away at the structural wood of your Pennsylvania home or business unnoticed until the damage becomes severe and shows up in other areas of the property. To protect your Pennsylvania home or business from termites, you need to learn about the behavior of this pest, take steps for prevention, and find effective treatment options should an infestation occur.
What are Termites?
Termites are wood-destroying organisms that eat away at the wood of houses, businesses, and any other structures that are partially or completely constructed of wood. Termites spend the majority of their time out of sight moving back and forth between their food supply and colony through the mud tubes they created. The Pennsylvania termite control experts at Viking Pest explain there are different types of termites in each colony that fulfill particular roles. The types of termites in each colony include the reproductive king and queen, soldiers, workers, and reproductives (also known as alates or swarmers). The reproductive king and queen have the role of continuing to populate the colony. Soldiers protect the colony from threats, while workers spend their time on tasks such as locating food. The alates swarm out of the colony in the spring in PA and search for a new place to establish a colony. Once they find a suitable location, the swarmers shed their wings and create a colony.
How to Identify Termites
Termites can be difficult to identify because they spend the majority of their lives out of sight either in their nest or traveling in mud tubes to their food supply. The Pennsylvania termite control experts at Viking Pest explain the type of termite that you are most likely to see around your Pennsylvania home or business is the winged reproductives that swarm between February and June. This type of termite is often confused with the winged ant. The shape of the wings and antennae of the termites will help you make a correct identification. The wings on termites are the same size as one another and the antennae are straight.
What Problems Can Termites Cause for Pennsylvania Home and Business Owners?
Exterminators explain termites can cause significant damage to the structural wood of your Pennsylvania home or business building. Termites often establish their colonies underneath houses or other structures. This allows them to stay out of sight and provides quick access to both moisture-rich soil and the wood that makes up the structure of your home or business. As termites eat, it damages the wood. Over time, this results in the weakening of the wood to the point where it can no longer perform its intended function. When this happens, secondary damage starts to appear around your Pennsylvania home or business. For example, if the structural wood of your building or house gets significant termite damage, it can cause doors and windows to close improperly, cracks in your drywall, and serious framing problems. This type of damage can lead to costly repairs.
Subterranean Termite Mud Tunnels
Eliminate subterranean termites and their mud tunnels from your property with our professional pest control services.
What are Subterranean Mud Tunnels?
Subterranean termites are a nightmare to residential and commercial property owners. Termites build mud tunnels out of soil, wood, and their saliva to connect underground colonies with food sources above-ground. What’s more, these tunnels protect termites from moisture and predators, explain the termite extermination experts at Viking Pest.
What Do Termite Mud Tunnels Look Like?
Termite mud tunnels tend to look like stalagmites in caves. When inspecting your property for termites, look out for three types of mud tunnels— working tubes, exploratory tubes, and drop tubes. Working tubes run from the soil to a food source, while exploratory tubes go through the soil. A drop tube forms a path from the wood back to the soil.
Where to Find Mud Tunnels in Your Home
Termites love moisture. Viking’s termite control experts normally find termite mud tunnels around framing cracks, unprotected brick walls, bathrooms, laundry rooms, crawlspaces, or any other moist areas around your property.
When Are Termites Active in Pennsylvania?
Eastern subterranean termites are the most common type of termites found in Pennsylvania. This species is active throughout the year and eats away at the wood of your home or business around the clock. The Pennsylvania pest control experts at Viking Pest explain the reproductive swarmers typically start to emerge and search for a new location to establish a colony as the weather warms and spring approaches in Pennsylvania.
How to Control Termites in Pennsylvania
If you want to know how to prevent termites in Pennsylvania, the answer is twofold. Learn to recognize elements that make your home vulnerable to this pest—such as poor drainage—and get professional pest control help. Viking Pest uses a Termite Bait and Monitoring System. Their termite pest control experts professionally install this system around your Pennsylvania home or business. This system lures termites away from your house or building using bait and eliminates termites when workers return this bait to the nest.
If you want to know how to get rid of termites in Pennsylvania, the answer is to bring in expert help. The Environmental Protection Agency points out that termite treatment for your home or business is best performed by a trained pest management professional. Termite treatment and control in Pennsylvania are often approached with a combination of methods including baiting, termiticide, and repairs to the property.
Protecting Your Home or Business From Termites With Viking Pest Control
Viking Pest offers expert treatment designed to effectively and efficiently control and prevent termites from invading your home or business in Pennsylvania. Our use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques focuses on finding the core of the pest concern and controlling termites from the source. Through IPM, pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, pets, and the environment. Call Viking today for your FREE and NO OBLIGATION estimate at 1-800-618-2847 or schedule online today!