Published: 07/03/2017
Do you hear noises in the night that sound like millions of tiny mouths munching away on snacks in the world’s tiniest movie theatre?
Have you ever found weird little wings lying around the house and not sure where they came from?
If you’ve experienced any of these things, the timber in your home may be doing more than holding up your walls; it could be serving as a nice bed and breakfast for nasty white ants.
To find out, let’s take a quick look at 6 things that could indicate a white ant infestation in your home.
6 Signs Telling You Your Home Has White Ants
1. You See Flying Termites
Yes, they can fly!
Termites will fly out from their nests to mate and begin new colonies. Usually this happens in periods of humidity and can indicate a serious problem for you and your home.
Flying termites either mean you’re at risk of a new nest being built in your home, or, you’ve already got a termite problem and these are just the offspring breaking out on their own.
2. You See Discarded Wings
You don’t necessarily have to see a flying termite to be aware of a potential infestation in your home.
When flying termites find a mate, they’ll discard their wings and burrow into a suitable location to build a nest and begin the mating ritual.
Noticing discarded wings lying in, or around your home, is a sure sign that the honeymoon period has begun.
3. You Hear Noises in the Walls
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Munch, munch, munch.
Yes, it sounds like something from a cartoon, but it’s true, you can actually hear termites chowing down on the cellulose materials of your timber.
4. You See Droppings
If you were tracking an animal in the jungle, one of the fist things you would look for is their excrement.
Termites are no different.
The technical name for termite droppings is frass (much nicer than excrement, right?)
Frass is characterised by it resemblance to wood-like pellets and can be found near the entrances of termite tunnels. Even termites don’t like to deal with their frass, so they tend to push it out and away from their nests – keep an eye out for holes littered with frass.
5. Your Wood Begins to Warp
Houses in areas with high humidity often experience swelling and warping of timber surfaces and frames.
This causes doors to become harder to open and close, windows that need an Olympian to open them and floorboards that are impossible to vacuum.
The most common culprit for this swelling, as we mentioned earlier is humidity in the air, but did you know termites actually create humidity inside timber as they much their way through it?
6. Your Timber is Hollow
Another, more obvious, effect of termites eating through timber is the loss of density.
As termites devour the cellulous material the timber will become hollow and brittle to touch, loosing all integrity and the sturdiness it once had.
These are just some of the signs that can identify the presence of white ants in your home. Even though it is possible to look for these signs yourself, by the time you notice their existence it may already be too late.
To be safe, get in touch with us and book an inspection in your home today.
