Tackling A Termite Problem In Your Kittitas County Home

In our area, the termites we deal with are subterranean termites. As their name suggests, these termites live underground - making them difficult to detect. Let's take a look at how Kittitas County pest control deals with termite control, termite inspections, and ongoing termite prevention.

Methods Of Termite Control In Kittitas County

There are two trusted methods for getting control of termites: Bait and termiticides. Both of the treatment options have a transfer effect.

Bait

When bait stations are installed around your property, termites find the bait and share the active ingredient with the other termites in their colony. They do this by way of a process called trophallaxis. This is a nice way of saying that they have a mutual exchange of regurgitated liquids.

Termiticide

When termiticide is injected into the ground around your home, it creates a barrier that termites must pass through to get into your home. Unlike termiticides of the past, new technologies created by BASF are undetectable to worker termites. The active ingredient gets on their bodies and they pass it to other termites as they groom each other - which happens a lot.

Modern termite control products offer active protection 365 days a year. While both are known to be effective, the experts here at Prosite prefer the termiticide treatment method. Rather than hoping that termites will find bait stations, Termidor termiticide treatments create a complete barrier that termites can't avoid.

How Often Should You Treat A House For Termites?

Termidor provides exceptional protection for about five years. Your Termidor specialist will evaluate your property to determine conditions that may alter how long the product will last and provide routine inspections to make sure there are no active termites on your property.

What Is Considered During A Termite Damage Inspection?

Subterranean termites are incredibly sneaky, but they're not so sneaky that we can't detect them. When we inspect your home, these are a few of the things we look for:

• Shelter tubes - Subterranean termites must create above-ground tunnels to go from the soil to the wood of your home. These are called shelter tubes. They are made of soil and saliva. When termite workers create these mud tubes, they often do it in concealed locations such as underneath decks, patios, and stairs, or inside a crawlspace.
• Termite swarmer wings - When you find a termite swarm in your house, you know you're in trouble, but swarmers rarely emerge inside. These winged reproductives are attracted to light and they want to be outside in the sunshine. When they emerge outside, they swarm for less than 30 minutes and shed their wings on the ground. The wind can catch these wings and move them into hiding places. Your technician will check spider webs and structural voids for shed wings and uncover wings hidden in the places you may never think to look.
• Termite workers - Termite identification is key to detecting termite activity. Property owners in Kittitas County often see termites and don't realize that they're termites. When we get calls for white ants, we know that we're being called in to deal with a termite infestation. During an inspection, we look for termite workers on your property. Worker termites can appear in many places throughout your yard. We'll look under dead branches, inspect stumps, examine wood deck posts, check the points at which fence posts enter the ground, and other key areas.
• Termite damage - Most of the damage subterranean termites do is on the inside of wood. We check structural timbers to see if they sound hollow. We look in humid and dark spaces to see if there is visible termite damage. We check where wood and soil touch and see if any damage can be found just below the surface. If termites are damaging your property, there are many ways we can detect this damage.

The inspection process is essential for effective termite damage prevention. While it is nearly unheard of for termites to evade modern termiticide barriers, the manufacturers require ongoing inspections to make sure nothing goes wrong. This is added protection for you and this protection is backed by the manufacturer's warranty. So, it is a win-win. If you want to know for sure your property is guarded against termite damage, a professional termite treatment is the way to go.

Termite Control In Kittitas County

If you are currently dealing with a termite problem, the termite control professionals here at Prosite can perform a detailed inspection, apply termiticide in wall voids and other key areas, and treat the soil around your home to give you ongoing protection against future infestation. Reach out to us today for immediate assistance at the first signs of termites in your yard.