Can You Take Them with You? How Termites Spread and Proliferate – Unseen to Your Eyes

Jan 05, 2023

Moving into a new home is exciting. It is an opportunity to begin a new adventure in a new neighborhood. Part of the transition includes packing belongings into boxes and loading them into a moving truck. You may decide to pare down your items to reduce clutter. After all, why should you take all that extra stuff with you? One thought you may not have considered is whether you may be carrying more than clothes, dishes, furniture, and other essentials to your new Hayward home. For example, can you take pests, such as ants, roaches, or termites? Understanding how termites spread, scheduling regular inspections, and appropriate termite treatment in Hawyard by a trusted pest control company will make your home and belongings safer in your current and your new home.

How Termites Spread and Grow their Colonies

Termites eat twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They slow down for no one because they take the task of building a large colony, very seriously. However, once a colony gets too big, it’s time to branch out. So, how do they accomplish a significant move, and can they travel with you to your new home? Here is how the wood-boring pests continue to expand their reach:

1. Underground: Since they have a large brood to feed, subterranean termites burrow through the ground in search of food containing cellulose, like your floorboards. Typically, they get into houses through wood-to-ground contact. For example, they may find a doorframe, deck posts, or porch steps to invade. Though they prefer to remain underground, they will also build mud tubes to enter your home several feet above ground if required. When experienced technicians come in to perform termite treatment in your Hayward home, they will comb through every nook and cranny to find these destructive pests.

2. Above ground: Drywood termites don’t have the same moisture needs as their underground counterparts. They have swarmers, or flying termites, that leave an established colony searching for new terrain, usually your house. They will find a crevice in your floorboards or roof rafters and carve out a spot for a nest, seal themselves inside, and commence producing eggs and destroying your wood.

3. Furniture: Some types of termites, such as the drywood species, will make good use of your grandmother’s antique rocking chair to fill their voracious appetites! If you have wooden antiques, it is possible you could take some of these relentless eaters with you.

4. Clothing: It is unlikely that you will take termites with you through clothes unless they have been hidden away in a dark area and contain cellulose. These bugs have unique requirements that clothing does not provide.

5. Books: Because the pages of your favorite novel likely contain cellulose, termites will like it, too. Once they eat through the pages, they will keep moving into other areas of your home. So, you can bring these wood chewers with you to your new abode without realizing you have stowaways.

Protect Your New Home with Quality Termite Treatments  

Termites are intelligent creatures and won’t stop until they have demolished your new Hayward home. It is unlikely that you will carry them with you through your clothing. However, they will find ways to enter structures and begin their 24/7 eating unless you have regular termite inspections followed up with quality termite treatments from Times Up Termite. Our trained technicians conduct thorough inspections and offer treatment options such as the eco-friendly, reduced-risk solution called Altriset. It is an excellent choice for homes where children, pets, or pregnant moms reside. We also recommend Trelona bait traps by BASF. Contact us today to learn more.

Call 510-568-7200 to speak with our team of experienced, licensed professionals at Times Up Termite, Inc. You can also contact us online to request a free termite inspection and book a termite treatment in Hayward.

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