Your home is your sanctuary, but silent invaders could be threatening its safety. A termite infestation is a serious problem for any homeowner, capable of causing thousands of dollars in damage before you even know it’s there.
Termites are more than just simple pests; they are highly organized social insects that live in large, complex termite colonies. Within each colony, different termite species have a caste system consisting of worker termites, soldiers, and reproductive termites, each with a specific job to ensure the colony’s survival and growth.
The most common threats in our service area come from subterranean termites.
Termites cause billions of dollars in structural damage every year — and most homeowners insurance policies don’t cover it. Whether you’re buying a new home, building from the ground up, or protecting the one you already live in, Andy’s Pest Troopers offers complete Termite Inspection & Treatment Services to defend your property now and for years to come.
We check baseboards, crawl spaces, slab edges, garages, and other high-risk areas for signs of termite activity or conducive conditions
For homebuyers, sellers, or agents needing documentation for real estate transactions, we provide Texas-compliant Wood Destroying Insect (WDI) Reports.
If termites or conducive conditions are found, we’ll develop a treatment plan customized to your structure and soil conditions.
Liquid Soil Treatment – We apply a termiticide around the perimeter of your structure and other key points of entry to create a continuous barrier.
Termites are relentless in their search for food and moisture, and they can find numerous ways to get inside your home. Subterranean termites, which live in underground colonies, are particularly skilled at finding entry points. They can build their mud tunnels over concrete foundations to reach the wooden parts of your house.
These pests often exploit tiny cracks and gaps in your home’s exterior. Openings around utility lines, pipes, and vents are common entryways. Any place where wood from your home directly contacts the soil, such as a porch, deck, or even stacked firewood, acts as an open invitation for this pest.
Furthermore, areas with excess moisture are highly attractive to termites. Leaky faucets, clogged gutters, or poor drainage near your foundation can create the damp conditions they need to thrive, making it easier for them to establish a path into your home.
Have you ever wondered why termites seem so determined to get into houses? The answer is simple: your home is a massive food source. Termites feed on cellulose, an organic fiber found in wood and dead plants. All homes, regardless of construction type, contain cellulose in some form, from wooden structures to drywall and paper.
In addition to food, termites are drawn to moisture, which they need to survive. These two factors—food and water—make a typical home an ideal environment for them.
Wood-destroying insects are those insects that cause damage to a structure. In Texas, the three primary wood-destroying insects are:
• Carpenter Bees
• Termites
• Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants differ from termites by having dark-colored bodies, narrow waists, elbowed (bent) antennae, and, if present, hind wings shorter than front wings. Carpenter ants are very common and are frequently seen in the open. Termites are light-colored, have no waist constriction, have straight antennae, and if present, wings are of equal length. Normally, workers are black or red and black in color and range in size from 3/8 to 1/2 inch. Winged queen ants may be as large as one inch. However, size is not a reliable characteristic to identify carpenter ants. Termites are less common. They avoid light and are rarely seen outside of their colony.
Carpenter ants tend to invade homes in Texas throughout the year. They are usually noticed in the spring and summer, when winged reproductive ants begin looking for a suitable nesting site in a swarming flight.
Warning Signs That You May Have Carpenter Ants Include:
• Sawdust [Also Known as “Fress”] – Wood shavings, dead ants and old ant cocoons are often piled up outside of the nest.
• Windows – Small slit-like openings that carpenter ants cut into damaged wood.
• Swarmers – The winged reproductive that usually but not always swarm in the spring. Look for them trapped in spider webs, on window ledges, or in light fixtures. They are good clues to nest location.
• Workers – Solitary ants wandering aimlessly, most active at night. You may not see any activity during normal working hours. If you do it does not mean the nest is nearby. Worker ants can travel the length of a football field looking for food.
• Clicking – Rustling or clicking sounds can sometimes be heard coming from carpenter ant nests. If you identify potential nest site, try tapping against it with your hand or a tool. You may get a response, clicking of alarmed ants. Get close enough and you can actually hear the colony chewing through wood inside your walls.
• Water Damage – When you find the leak, the carpenter ants are usually there. Carpenter ant damaged wood contains galleries that feel sandpapered very smooth and clean.
Carpenter Ants are usually found outdoors. Often carpenter ant nests found indoors are satellite nests that can be traced back to a parent colony outdoors in trees, stumps, roots, fence posts, landscape timbers, and other wood structures.
Carpenter ant damage can be severe & expensive. Carpenter ants damage wood by excavating and creating galleries and tunnels. These areas are clean, i.e., they do not contain sawdust or other debris, and are smooth, with a well-sanded appearance. The damage to wood structures is variable. The longer a colony is present in a structure, the greater the damage that can be done.
Carpenter Ants are typically more visible at night because they are nocturnal. To prevent Carpenter Ant problems:
Carpenter ants are one of nature’s most aggressive wood destroyers. Similar to termites, carpenter ants damage wood. Unlike termites, however, carpenter ants do not eat wood. Carpenter ants only bore into wood to establish and/or enlarge their nest. They can do lots of damage to wood. They are able to excavate wood and cause moderate amounts of localized damage. The amount of damage carpenter ants cause is usually far less in comparison to that of subterranean termites; however, if carpenter ant nests are left untreated and undisturbed, the sheer numbers of ants can be enormous, and the resulting damage caused by “mining” of wood to increase the nest can be substantial. Carpenter ants cause damage to wood primarily due to nest construction. In other words, damages are only a result of their nest-building efforts. As a general rule, carpenter ants do not damage wood as heavily as subterranean termites, but given enough time and a large enough nest, damage can be severe.
Depending on your geographical location, termite swarms should be visible in the early spring. Termite swarms can be confused with flying ants. Telltale signs of termite infestation include soft wood in the home, mud tubes in the interior or exterior of your home (often near the foundation), and darkening or blistering of wood structures.
Termites primarily feed on wood, but also damage paper, books, insulation, and even swimming pool liners and filtration systems. Termites can injure living trees and shrubs, but more often are a secondary invader of woody plants already in decline. While buildings may become infested at any time, termites are of particular importance when buying or selling a home since a termite inspection/infestation report is normally a condition of sale. Besides the monetary impact, thousands of winged termites emerging inside one’s home are an emotionally trying experience — not to mention the thought of termites silently feasting on one’s largest investment. Termite-damaged wood is usually hollowed out along the grain, with bits of dried mud or soil lining the feeding galleries. Wood damaged by moisture or other types of insects (e.g., carpenter ants) will not have this appearance. Occasionally, termites bore tiny holes through plaster or drywall, accompanied by bits of soil around the margin. Rippled or sunken traces behind wall coverings can also be indicative of termites tunneling underneath. Oftentimes, there will be no visible indication that the home is infested. Termites are cryptic creatures, and infestations can go undetected for years, hidden behind walls, floor coverings, insulation, and other obstructions. Termite feeding and damage can even progress undetected in wood that is exposed because the outer surface is usually left intact.
Certain obstructions will either hinder, limit, or prevent placement of the termiticide into the soil where it needs to be placed to be effective, and certain factors will adversely influence or disrupt the termiticide soil barrier following treatment. Obstructions which hinder, limit, or prevent placement of termiticide into soil where it needs to be placed to be effective, and factors which disrupt or adversely affect termite soil barriers (not in any particular order):
TAKE NOTE: The treating company has no control over any of the above-listed twenty (20) factors, which either obstruct treatment (placement of termite into the soil where it needs to be placed to provide effective control) or disrupt or otherwise adversely affect existing soil barriers. Now you know why all termite soil treatments are limited as to extent and effectiveness. Due to the factors mentioned above, there is no such thing as a perfect termite soil treatment.
Whether you have just moved into a new home or have been settled in one for years, it is important to keep up with termite prevention. Termites are one of the few insect colonies to eat continuously; a typical single termite colony can completely consume 2.3 linear feet of 2×4 pine in a single year. Where there is one termite colony, there are usually others, clustered together in pursuit of food.
A termite colony consists of anywhere from 350,000 to well over a million workers, soldiers, and swarmers (termites with wings). A single termite queen can lay thousands of eggs per day and live between 30 and 50 years. That means a queen can recoup her losses and repopulate her colony even after tremendous devastation. The best way to fight this foe is to prevent it from ever touching your home.
There are a few things that homeowners can do to prevent termites from invading their homes. The first thing to do is make sure that your rain gutters are clear of any debris. The downspouts should carry water away from the house. The downspouts should be three or more feet out. All outside wood needs to be away from the home. If you use mulch in planters around the home, you will attract termites. Use alternatives such as rocks or any material that does not contain any wood composition. These two things are the most important things to remember for preventing termites. If you have damp areas around the foundation of the home and wood is present, you need to check these areas often. It may be wise to find a solution to the dampness problem to keep termites away from this area. Pretreated woods may repel termites, but this is only good as long as the wood stays treated and in good condition. Pest control prevention is better than trying to get rid of the pest once it has invaded your home. Look around the exterior of your home for potential areas where termites might breed and enter the home.
How to prevent Termites from infesting your home:
There are three types of Termite Treatments:
FULL TREATMENT (aka Pretreatment): The homeowner can only receive a “full treatment” before the house is built. Effective pre-construction treatment for subterranean termite prevention requires the establishment of complete vertical and horizontal approved physical or chemical barriers between wood in the structure and the termite colonies in the soil, or a “horizontal chemical barrier” that is created by using a low-pressure spray after the final grading is complete and prior to pouring the slab or footings.
The licensed pest technician is bound by the instructions on the chemical label that they use. The Texas Structural Pest Control Board considers these instructions as law. Termiticide labels have specific directions about the product’s use. Pest control companies must follow these directions and Structural Pest Control Board regulations, including 599.3 (a) and (b). Please go to the website located at www.spcb.state.tx.us for more information.
SPOT TREATMENT: Any treatment that concerns a limited, defined area less than ten (10) linear feet or ten square feet that is intended to protect a specific location or ”spot.” Often, there are adjacent areas susceptible to termite infestations that are not treated.
PARTIAL TREATMENT: This technique allows a wide variety of treatment strategies, but it is more involved than a spot treatment. Example: Treatment of some or all of the perimeter, bath traps, expansion joints, and stress cracks.
Pier and Beam: Generally defined as the treatment of the outer perimeter, including porches, patios, and the treatment of the attached garage. In the crawl space, treatment would include any soil-to-structure contacts as well as removal of any wood debris on the ground. Slab construction: Generally defined as the treatment of the perimeter, all known slab penetrations, and any known expansion joints or stress cracks.
The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the entire industry are committed to providing highly effective treatment options for all pest issues. The most effective type of treatment depends upon the location and construction of the home or building. A trained and licensed pest control operator can assess each infestation separately and recommend a rigorous treatment plan that will effectively control the termite population. A trained and licensed pest control operator is the best person to make a recommendation for each particular property.
The amount varies considerably, based on the construction of your home and the difficulty of treatment. Typically, a foundation treatment estimate is based on the number of linear feet around the perimeter of the house. Because a slab foundation is the least accessible for treatment, the cost of concrete foundation termite treatment typically is higher than the cost of treatment for a similarly sized house with a crawlspace construction. Low-access crawl space treatments will usually be a little higher.
Termite treatments typically will take no more than a day. How long it takes for the termites to be eliminated depends on the location, and extent of damage. After a thorough inspection, we should be able to tell you what we will use to get rid of the termites and how long it will take.
Partial Termite Treatments include a one year renewable warranty. Customers are given the option to renew their warranty on an annual basis for a small fee that covers inspection of the structure. If a new termite problem is found while the structure is under warranty, necessary treatment will be done at no cost to the customer. Warranty is transferable in the event that the structure is sold. [Only pre-slab treatments are considered “full” treatments.] Pre-construction termite treatments include a five-year optional renewable warranty.
