Posts Tagged ‘termite’

What’s Involved In A Termite Inspection?

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

So maybe you’ve seen some tunnels or tubes around the foundation of your home. Or maybe you’ve seen wings lying around indicating that termites have been swarming in the area. Maybe you’ve just noticed a great deal of wood damage around your home, or have actually seen termites crawling around your space. Whatever the reason for it, you know or at least suspect that termites have invaded your home, and you want someone to come do something about it! No one could blame you but before a professional exterminator will help, they will first come do a termite inspection. So what all will be involved with this inspection, and what will you have to do?

Really, you won’t have to do too much during a termite inspection except be at home and be prepared to tell the exterminator about your termite problem. They’ll probably want to know things such as where the termites seem to be located, the extent of the damage they’ve done, and other issues related to the termites in your home.

During the termite inspection the exterminator will walk around both the interior and exterior of the house. They will examine areas such as the roof, under the house, sills, joists, concrete blocks, cross ventilation areas, fencing, trees, and stumps, and anywhere else that termites may be lurking. The exterminator may also ask you about, and want to inspect, termite barriers that were installed during construction.

After the termite inspection, the exterminator will discuss with you the extent of your termite problem and possible treatments for it. They will then prepare a report which should include all of the areas of the home that were inspected and the areas of the home that were not inspected, and why. The report should also include the possible termite control options that were discussed during the termite inspection.

While you may be hesitant to have a termite inspection due to the cost, there are some exterminators that will come and do this for free. And even if you can’t find one that will prepare a no-cost inspection and report for you, getting the termite inspection done as soon as you suspect termite activity will save you thousands in the long-run.

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS

What Does Termite Treatment Cost?

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

If your home has become infested with termites and you’re thinking about calling in the professionals for a termite treatment, then you might be worried about what the cost of that treatment will be. While it may be an investment initially, consider how much damage the termites are currently doing to your home, and how much it’s going to cost to repair that damage. There’s no doubt that getting a professional termite treatment is going to be cheaper in the long run when you’re battling termites.

It’s important to understand that it’s very difficult for any extermination company to give you an accurate quote on how much the termite treatment will cost without coming to see the property. This is because the treatment will depend on several factors such as how bad your infestation is and how large your home is, to name just a couple of elements that your quote will be based on. That being said however, there are a few guidelines you can use when trying to get an idea of what termite treatment will cost you.

Chemical extermination is a very popular termite treatment that has a price based on linear feet. A home that is about 1,250 square feet equals about 150 linear feet. Termite treatment for this size of home can cost anywhere from $1,350 – $2,500. A larger home that’s 2,500 square feet or larger will be 200+ linear feet and treatment can cost anywhere from $1,700 – $3,200.

Bait extermination is another popular form of termite treatment for a home and the costs with this method vary only slight from those of chemical extermination. Bait extermination for a home of 1,250 square foot home will cost about $1,500 while the cost for a 2,500 square foot home or larger will cost approximately $3,000 and up.

Fumigation and heat extermination are termite treatments that will both require the home to be tented. These too, cost about $1,250 for an average-sized home while larger homes usually cost anywhere from $3,000 – $4,000.

There are so many variables when it comes to termite treatment and will be needed for one specific situation that it really is impossible for any professional exterminator to give you an accurate quote until they’ve seen the infestation. These are some good guidelines however on what you can expect when you hire a professional to battle your termite infestation. And because termites can destroy a home, literally eating it from the inside out, termite treatment is always a good investment in your home!

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS

Prevention: The Best Form Of Termite Control

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Once termites get into your home, they can be a real nightmare. Termite control can not only be very difficult, given that there can be thousands in one small space, but it can also become quite costly and can do a severe amount of damage to your home. Because of this, the best thing a homeowner can do to protect their home is to prevent termites from ever taking up residence in the first place.

The first thing you should always do to prevent termites from entering your home is to make sure that there is no wood from your home touching the soil outside of your home. Termites love to burrow in soil trying to find wood to eat and live in; and if the wood from the frame of your home is directly touching the soil, this makes it very easy for termites to come in. If you have control over the type of wood that is used for your home construction, using termite-resistant lumber is also a great way to prevent termites. If you move into a home that’s already been built before you took ownership, always make sure that any exposed wood is treated so that termites don’t find their way in.

If you live in an area that’s known for its termite problems, you can also use bait blocks to prevent termites. These blocks are wedges of wood that are termite-resistant but that also contain a substance that’s poisonous to termites. When a scout termite goes out to find the best place to live and feed, they find the bait blocks and investigate it, trying to get samples to take to the other termites. When they do, they distribute the poison to the other termites, and they never have a chance to come camp out in your home.

It’s also a good idea to regularly walk around your home and look on the ground for termite tunnels. When termites are going from one place (such as the ground outside) to another (such as the wood inside your home) they need to build tunnels. If they didn’t, the outside air and the sun would dry out their shell and skin and kill them. When you walk around your home, look for these tunnels and if you see any, destroy them immediately. Without the tunnels, the termites will not be able to survive.

Lastly, always make sure that if you need to store firewood or other lumber that you do so in an area that’s far away from your home. These are prime camping grounds for termites and you’ll only be placing them in a prime location to enter your home.

Getting rid of termites is something that no one wants to deal with. Take proper steps to prevent them, and you won’t believe how easy termite control can be.

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS

The Social Structure Of Termites

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Termites, just like ants, bees, and wasps, live in social structures called colonies in which every termite has a specific role. Many aspects of the termite colony are similar to these other insects, such as the way that they all have queens, kings, workers, and soldiers. However in other ways, the social structure of the termite is quite different. Such as the fact that queen and king termites usually mate for life.

A queen termite’s job is solely to lay eggs. In fact within some species, the queen termite can lay over two thousand eggs a day! There can also be multiple queens within a termite colony, unlike other insects, which usually only have one. The queen termite is also responsible for spreading pheromones throughout her colony. These pheromones lead worker and soldier termites back to the nest and help the termites within the colony recognize each other as they feed each other and pick up the pheromones. With each laying of eggs, the queen termite will grow a pair of ovaries. Over time, this results in her abdomen becoming quite distended, and making it harder for her to move. For this, she has the assistance of the worker termites to help her.

Although it’s possible for a termite colony to have more than one king, it rarely does. There is usually only one king found in every termite colony and his only job is to fertilize the queen so that she may continue to lay eggs. It’s also worth taking note that although king and queen termites mate for life, they are not monogamous for life. So although the king does not die shortly after fertilizing his queen, he may also fertilize another queen in the colony if there is one. A king termite doesn’t look any different than worker termites, except that he does not have any wings.

Worker termites make up the majority of any termite colony. The workers are responsible for going out and foraging for food, and for feeding the young termites and the queen, when necessary. They do this by first finding wood that they can eat and then digest into cellulose. It’s not the actual wood that the worker feeds other termites, but rather a substance that comes after the wood is ingested by the worker termite. They will then feed other termites either through their mouths or their anuses.

The main job of the soldier termites in a colony is to protect other termites and the nest from predators and anything that could potentially harm it. Soldier termites are usually quite larger than other termites and their mouths are often so large that they cannot feed themselves. Because of this, they rely on the worker termites to feed them as well. The main enemy of the termite is the ant. Soldier termites will often lay their jaws or their bodies against the entrance of tunnels to block entry from anything other than the worker termites.

In every termite colony, the role that each termite plays is very important. In some cases, individuals termites can be replaced if they should die, but in some cases, such as when there is only one queen in a termite colony, the elimination of one of the roles could jeopardize an entire colony.

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS

Could Termites Power Our Cars In The Future?

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

The United States government has been trying to find new sources of bio-fuels derived from corn for years. This is because it could be kinder to the environment, and would lessen the amount of carbon emissions and toxins being put out into the air. However, the problem is that as the population continues to grow, and more farmland is needed to produce the corn bio-fuel, it will actually become more expensive, and more harmful on the environment to use this as any kind of long-term plan. So what’s the solution? Well now it looks like as though the answer may lie with the termite.

A study at Japan’s Riken Discovery Research Institute has found that enzymes in the termite’s digestive system could actually produce a bio-fuel in much the same way that corn has been proven to. Although it is Japan that is known for being the first to discover this new and exciting research, work to turn termites into fuel is also being done in the United States. At the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, researchers are also working to learn more about the termite enzymes, and how these could be used to actually power our cars!

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS

Cockroaches And Termites – The Historical Connection

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

The scientific world has always known that there is some historical connection between cockroaches, termites, and praying mantises. Just what that connection was, research never really found, and so termites were still placed into a class all their own. But now, research from the Natural History Museum has actually proven that there is a historical connection between cockroaches and termites, and the knowledge could change some of the long-held beliefs in the insect world.

The research was completed by Dr. Paul Eggleton, Deagan Inward, and George Beccaloni. Together this team of researchers studied over 107 species of termites and cockroaches. They found that the differentiating development factor between the two came with the evolved ability to chew and consume wood. The team also found that the evolution of the cockroach to the termite probably came about because cockroaches once ate each other’s droppings. It’s thought that as this continued to happen, cockroaches could have exchanged microbes, which led to the wood-chewing ability.

One of the reasons why it’s so hard to believe that termites could have derived from cockroaches is because termites are known for being highly social insects, while cockroaches aren’t as much. In addition to that, termites and cockroaches also look very different, and not as though one could have come from the other at all. But it’s very normal for a species to take on a very different appearance while their other characteristics change over time. As well, it’s also important to note that ants, which are some of the most social insects, also derived from solitary wasps.

The new research isn’t only exciting because it sheds new light on both termites and cockroaches. It’s also exciting because it’s incredibly rare that new information is found that can change the way an entire class of species is viewed by the scientific world.

Accuracy Plus can handle all of your pest control needs, both inside and outside. Visit our site for more valuable information or give us a call at 888-675-0258.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS

How to Choose a Termite Control Service

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Regardless of whether you have a current termite problem, or you’re simply trying to protect your property investment with a termite prevention program there are a few things you may want to consider as you choose a termite control service:

First, take some time to discuss termite control with your friends and neighbors and ask them what kinds of services their providers offer.  Ask them what they like and don’t like about their pest control service and make it a point to ask your potential provider about these things during your initial visit.

You also want to have a good idea of whether or not you’ve currently got termites or if you property has had a termite problem in the past.  Most states require that the seller of a property disclose any prior termite infestation to the new owners, but you may want to go back and review your initial inspection report and closing documents if it’s been a while.  You can also look around your property for tell-tale signs of termites—things like mounds, tunnels, droppings and wood siding that is jagged from being chewed on.

When you’re finally ready to make a decision on a pest control service, make your choice based on three important things:  price, experience, and customer service.  Obviously you want to get the best value for your money, but keep in mind that not all pest control services are created equal.  Be sure you compare a company’s experience and customer service by checking references, reading customer reviews online, and talking to people you know about how well they served them.

Termites are very serious pest control problem that can affect the overall value of your home or property.  Don’t delay calling a pest control expert if you suspect a termite problem, and be ready to take action if they determine there is an infestation.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to http://www.accuracypluscalifornia.com/.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • StumbleUpon
  • Suggest to Techmeme via Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • RSS