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This year, property owners nationwide will host millions of houseguests with insatiable appetites. These intruders usually turn up uninvited and threaten to eat their unsuspecting hosts "out of residence and property."

But unlike rowdy relatives who loudly overstay their welcome, these ambitious guests will invade quietly, preserving a hidden lifestyle and thriving unnoticed for a lot of years.

The pests are termites, a menace to house owners across the nation. Termites might be silent, but they never sleep their colonies are active day and evening, feasting on anything produced of wood, plants or cotton.

Termites attack structures of all varieties, forcing property owners and organization owners to invest billions each and every year. According to the National Pest Management Association, annual termite damage and remedy expenses $five billion worldwide. Because infestation is so common, the common homeowner's insurance policy does not cover these costs.

In the spring, warm weather signals the onset of swarm season, when termite colonies grow rapidly. In the course of this component of the year, termite queens lay eggs every single 15 seconds. According to Orkin, Inc., this is the most critical time to protect your residence from becoming a feast for a kingdom of termites.

"Termites travel far from their colonies in search of wooden food sources," noted Paul Hardy, technical director for Orkin, Inc. "They can invade any property-even those covered in brick or stucco, which is basically exterior 'wallpaper'-and result in significant household harm."

Vigilant homeowners can detect some indicators of extreme termite invasion, such as pencil-sized mud tubes along masonry or concrete, distorted areas of paint on wood surfaces, and hollow-sounding wood.

However, most invasions are invisible to untrained eyes, so house owners really should schedule a totally free annual inspection with a trusted and knowledgeable pest handle firm. Only licensed specialists can handle termite troubles, but guidelines for preventing infestation consist of:

• Shut down entry points. Termites can sneak by means of cracks as tiny as 1/64 of an inch.

• Elevate firewood piles and move them away from the house.

• Get rid of moisture, which is essential to termite survival, around the home, particularly in basements, crawl spaces and close to plumbing.

• Preserve gutters and downspouts clear and trim siding or stucco at least two inches above soil level. commercial pest control commercial pest control mesa pest control