How to Know if You Have Termites in Your Dallas-Fort Worth Home
Termites can be hard since you can’t know 100% if you have termites unless you are seeing visible signs and damage. However here’s the TLDR on how to know whether or not you have termites:
- The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is one of the nation’s hotspots for termites
- There are, on average, 25 termite colonies per acre, so odds are they are on your property or will be at some point in the future
- You don’t always know you have termites until you see visible damage, and by that time it’s too late to prevent
- The most common signs of termites include mud types on the inside walls or exterior foundation of your home and flying termites or discarded wings
Here’s some more for those interested in the details:
If I had termites, how would I know?
Subterranean termites - especially the Eastern Subterranean Termite, which we deal with here in Dallas - live in the ground. They need two main things for survival: food and water. For food - your house’s drywall and wood frame are great as are dead trees, chopped firewood, etc.. They also need a water source. I note those two things because the most common places we see termites infesting homes often have those in common:
- Exterior foundation - mud tubes coming up from the ground and into a weep hole or another crack. If you knock them you are likely to see termites crawling up and down inside the tube - looking for a food source and access to the inside of your walls. If the mud tube is going into a weep hole, that means they are going to be on the inside of the wall void feasting on the wood frame and/or drywall
- Interior bathrooms and sink areas - this is a common one because the plumbing penetrations can sometimes provide a couple of critical things for termites: moisture (especially if there’s a leak) and access. The termites can squeeze in between the concrete slab and the plumbing that goes through it. Often you will see them pop up around the pipes or above the tile for example
- Interior walls - if you see peeling paint or use a moisture meter on the wall you may notice elevated moisture levels. These termites, if on an exterior wall, are likely coming in from the outside. If you go look outside you are likely to see a mud tube snaking up the foundation and in through a weep hole or crack in the foundation
- Crawl spaces - only relevant for homes with a pier and beam foundation as is very common in older buildings, especially in Dallas. You should annually look in the crawlspace and try to find mud tubs going up any piers or tubes coming down from the ground floor towards the soil
Where to look for termites in your home:
- Mud tubes
- Peeling paint
- Moisture-laden walls
- Hollowed out wood
- Physical termites
- Discarded wings
Contact Forterra today for expert termite control services to help identify and eliminate termite infestation.
