Why You Should Get Annual Termite Inspections For Your Nashville Home

Termites Are Destructive

A subterranean termite is only about ⅛ of an inch long. That's not very big. But your home won't be attacked by one little termite. There can be hundreds of thousands of termites in a single Eastern subterranean termite colony, and your home could be attacked by more than one termite colony at a time. That's a lot of mouths to feed! Over time, these wood-eating insects can do a lot of damage to a property. When subterranean termite damage a home, over time it can cause structural supports to weaken, floors to sink, walls to bulge, and ceiling to dip.

Termites Are Sneaky

Subterranean termite workers have a strong aversion to light. This, along with their need to stay hydrated, keeps worker termites from coming out in the open where you can see them. If they're able to access your home at a point where there is wood-to-soil contact, they can go in and out of your home without ever revealing themselves.

Warning Signs Are Often Hidden

There are several warning signs termites can give you, but these signs are most often hidden from view. Here are some examples:

• Worker termites may create shelter tubes on foundation walls to go from the soil to the wood of your home. These tubes can be an obvious sign that your home is infested. Unfortunately, worker termites prefer to create shelter tubes in dark, damp, and secluded places. These places can be difficult to inspect.

• When a nest produces swarmers, these can be an obvious sign of a termite infestation. But we wouldn't recommend waiting until you see swarmers. A nest doesn't start producing swarmers for years. That means, a termite colony can feed on your Nashville home for years before you see swarmers. You also need to be aware that swarms don't last for more than about thirty minutes and that they only happen in the spring. A swarm can exit a nest and move out of your yard in a matter of minutes.

• Termites cause damage to wood but most of the damage they do is on the inside of the wood they're feeding on. In rare cases, they'll damage wood on the outside, where you can see it. Unfortunately, exterior wood damage is usually done in dark, damp locations, making it difficult to detect.

Annual Termite Inspections

While we strongly recommend installation of the Sentricon® System with Always Active™ for termite detection and active termite colony elimination, we understand that this option isn't for everyone. If you're not ready to invest in active termite protection with the Sentricon® System, the next best option is annual termite inspections. Routine visits from a Nashville pest control service professional will provide many benefits.

• Life can get busy. Who has time to think about termite inspections? With an annual inspection, it happens automatically. You don't have to think about it.

• Looking for termites can be very difficult. When you have our service team take care of your inspections, we do all the hard work.

• A licensed professional knows where to look for termites and what conditions are conducive to termite activity.

• Our service team members have a few tricks up their sleeves. There are ways to uncover termite activity.

Protect Your Nashville Home From Termites

It isn't a matter of if termites will attack your Nashville home, but more a matter of when. Don't let subterranean termites secretly eat away at your equity. Invest in ongoing, always active termite protection with the Sentricon® System with Always Active™, or annual termite inspections. When you invest in Nashville termite protection, you decide how much you're going to allow termites to cost you. In fact, you can make it a line item in your budget. Don't let termite damage catch you by surprise. Reach out to All-American Pest Control today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Nashville.

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