9 Simple Ways To Keep Termites Under Control In Your Yard

9 Simple Ways To Keep Termites Under Control In Your Yard

. 5 min read

You love having wooden furniture in your living room and backyard. The beams on your house are from the best trees. Your backyard benches are also wooden. Every part of your property including the fences has some wooden elements.

If this description fits your character, you can confirm there is one big enemy. The termite. These tiny chewing pests are disastrous in any backyard. Their manifestation can cause a huge loss more than a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake.  The painful part is controlling them can be a challenge.

Maybe you have been on the lookout for the best way to deal with termites. You tried most of the commercial termiticides but none is proving to work. Termites resurface on your property sometimes after using these products.  So, you are wondering about the next thing to put the termite under control. Here are some simple ways you can achieve that goal:

Perform seasonal foundation inspections

Termites build colonies in underground spaces. Your foundations offer them a suitable ground for achieving this goal. Though they do not eat concrete, the moisture in this element enables them to build mud tubes that they use to access the wooden parts of your property.

For this reason, pest experts like Active Termite Control advise homeowners to have seasonal foundation inspections. You can hire experts for this job. However, if your budget does not allow you, it is not a hard task.

All you need is to check your foundation for any signs of termite presence. You can confirm their presence if you see mud tubes around your foundations. Consider destroying these tubes and taking the necessary actions to keep the termites at bay.

Assess termite presence on your basements

The dark and cool basements seem like safe havens. But what you do not know is that your enemy may be building their arsenals ready for attack. Not the thieves or terrorists but termites. Dark spaces especially ones with wooden elements and moisture provide a fertile ground for termites. They can establish their colonies here without any disturbance.

Assessing the termite presence in your basements can help you avoid a disastrous termite manifestation. You can put them under control by checking the edges and corners of your basement. Also, use the thumb test to confirm the presence of termites in the basement wooden structures. Remember to carry a flashlight with you for this operation.

Enhance sealing and ventilation in your property

No doubt, moisture, and termites are good friends. Termites will always favour being in damp areas for one reason – it is to build a mud tube and access their food. The only way to reduce moisture in your home is by improving ventilation and installing the right moisture barrier seals. Without adequate ventilation, vapour will condense on your wooden parts. This aspect will make it easy for termites to penetrate and chew the wood.

Also, even if you do not have a wooden basement, the moist walls will become a good place for termites to create their exploration ways. Ensuring no moisture is in your basement or walls will discourage the termites.

Consider termite baits

The most heartbreaking incident is noticing the presence of termites inside your house. This incident is similar to seeing robbers breaking into your house without your knowledge. To avoid such an encounter, placing termite bait stations is a good idea. These stations act as repellents and drive termites far from your property.

Also, they are essential in destroying termite nests. This way, you can control the termites' attack and contain them before they cause substantial damage to your house.

Ensure no woodpiles near your house

Certainly, you feel at peace when your fridge is full. You have enough shopping in your house to take you through several weeks. With it, you do not have a reason to move out. The same case happens for termites. When you pile up some woods in your backyard, you provide termites with plenty of food. This aspect gives them a reason to settle and establish their colony.

Once the food piles are over or want further exploration, the termites will move to the next wooden structure. If the pile is near your house, you will suffer a termite pandemic. You can avoid this situation by ensuring no piles are next to your house. Try creating a distance of at least 20 feet between the house and the woodpile. This way, you will limit the wood-chewing pests from getting to your property.

Keep mulch, branches, and shrubs off the house walls

The cellulose mulch is delicious food for termites. If you are in areas with termites, you cannot control their presence in garden mulch. However, you need to control them and ensure they do not access your house. Termites love exploration missions.

When you have mulch lying neck next to your property, you cannot avoid their manifestation. They will come and eat up the wooden element in your indoor space. Also, the termites will climb up the shrub and trees and use any connection to reach your house. For this reason, always ensure there are no mulch, shrub, or trees aiding the termites to succeed in their mission.

Use natural termiticides

After trying many chemical-based termiticides without success, you can consider going natural. There is a range of natural termiticides available in your area. These products are harmless and do not kill the termites immediately. For instance, Boric Acid hinder termites from getting the desired nutrients from their food. No matter how much they consume, the inability to extract nutrients makes them weak and later die.

Alternatively, you can consider Cayenne pepper. This product kills termites by destroying their nervous system. So, the two natural termiticides are perfect options for eliminating these ruthless pests in your home.

Treat the wood used on your structures

You will not find termites in concrete or gravel unless there is a wooden element nearby. Wood and particularly ones with cellulose is their main food. If you cannot avoid using this wood in your construction, you need to consider treating them. There are different termite treatment for woods that you can use. The overall goal is to make the wood undesirable and bitter for termites. With the treatment, termites will move to other areas and save you from massive loss.

Use heat to kill termites

Maybe you do not want to use pesticides in your home. You might have young family members whose use can have negative impacts on them. This situation does not bar you from keeping the termites under control. The use of heat in killing termites is a good option to consider. The termites hate the heat and will run away when they detect it.

Put a light with some heat will act as a good termite repellent. High heat that is above 120˚F will kill them when exposed to it for more than 30 minutes. As such, a heat lamp is a perfect option for putting termites under control. However, avoid placing it near plastic appliances and electric lines or fittings.

In closing

A termite manifestation can be a costly affair. These wood-chewing pests will cause massive destruction to any wooden element in your house. They will eat your furniture, benches, pillars, ceilings, interior wooden decors, doors, and any other wooden piece. The case can be worse if it occurred in your absence. For this reason, it is crucial to put termites under control.

Before heading to termite control experts, you can apply the above tricks. Some of these tips will require a regular application. But, it is better to do something regularly than suffer a substantial loss that will cost you much more to correct.



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Laura Kemp

Laura is from the UK and has a background in digital marketing for consumer products across global markets.

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