When you live in the desert climate surrounding Phoenix, a drywood termite infestation is always a possibility. However, since they live deep within the wooden structures of your home, you may not even know they are there unless you look for the following subtle signs that your house is infested with drywood termites.
1. Winged “Ants” Fly Around Your Home
One sign for which you should be on the lookout is the presence of winged “ants” flying around your home. However, these insects are not ants. Rather, they are termites that are in the breeding stage which are looking for a new nest.
If you see these flying termites, they mean one of two things. First, they are new to your home and are searching for a place to nest. In this case, quick action is required to keep them from infesting your house.
Second, their presence means you already have a massive infestation, and these termites are ready to separate from the nest to find ones of their own. They may even try to infest other wooden structures in your home if they find them convenient.
2. Clicking Noises Coming from Inside the Wood
When you have a drywood termite infestation, they burrow through the wood. As a result, you may expect to hear that the wood is hollow when you tap on it. However, there is another sound that can come from inside the wood.
If you tap on the wood and place your ear on the surface, you may hear an odd clicking noise. This noise is caused by soldier termites.
Serving as sentries, the soldier ants detect danger and start banging their heads against the walls of the tunnels. As the sound travels throughout the nest, the colony is alerted to this danger.
Unfortunately, one or two soldier termites will not make much noise. When you hear clicking noises inside the wood, this is a sign of a massive infestation, meaning you may already have extensive damage inside the structure.
If you are finding the above subtle signs of a drywood termite infestation in your Phoenix home, there may already be a large colony causing immense structural damage to your Phoenix home. Call us today to schedule an inspection of your home and discuss our termite control services.
