3 Signs You Might Have Termites
No matter what the outside of your house is made of, the odds are that your house has a wooden skeleton. That wooden skeleton makes it vulnerable to things like termites. The termites can undermine the beams and load-bearing walls of your home, which can eventually cause your house to be unstable and unlivable. The best way to prevent that kind of damage is to know what some signs of termites are so that you can call an exterminator as soon as you notice any of the signs.
Tight Windows/Doors
One sign that you might have termites is that windows and doors that have never had problems opening or closing are now hard to open or close and seem too tight in their fittings. This is because when the termites are chewing away on the wood, they are also producing moisture. Moisture and wood don't play well together, and the moisture getting into the grain of the wood will cause it to warp. That's what makes it hard for the doors and windows to open or shut.
Piles of Frass
Frass is insect droppings, and it is a pretty good sign that you have some insect infesting an area. Termite frass looks like piles of black powder, similar to pepper. You may also see black streaks on the walls around the area because the termites push their frass out of the tunnels and it can stick on the walls, leaving a streak.
Wing Piles
When termites leave their original colony and go to find their own, they have wings and swarm. Once the termites find a good place and start their colony, they all shed their wings. That can leave a pile of wings around your house. The wings are iridescent and look like they could be fish scales. If you noticed that you had flying insects swarming around your house for a few days before you saw the piles of wings, that's a really good sign that you have been infested with termites. The good part of this is that they aren't really established yet, so you should be able to get rid of them quicker.
If you think that you have termites, you should immediately call an exterminator. They can check out your house and yard to see if you do indeed have a problem. Then they can suggest some options in how to get rid of the termites that are eating you out of house and home.
Reach out to a termite control service for more information.