If you have found termites in your home, it may be time to call the exterminator. These pests can be especially destructive to the infrastructure of your home because they literally eat away at the wooden structure of the building; they may cost you thousands of dollars in repairs. You may even be sharing your home with these critters for quite some time and never know it, making the option of an annual inspection all the more appealing.

A termite, as everyone knows, feeds on wood. What many people do not know is that these bugs will also feast on paper, cloth, carpet and furniture. It is important to have a finite understanding of what these bugs will consume, this way you are best able to protect your home and belongings from the damage these bugs can cause. After they have been feeding on wood for a while, termites will seek moisture. Often, they will form colonies beneath or around the outside of a home, and this is the reason. Their underground lair not only provides the necessary moisture, but it protects them from danger as well. Being underground protects the pests from hot weather, which they do not enjoy, and so infestations are often found in basements.

Now that you know termites eat plenty of substances outside of wood, you may be wondering what it is that attracts them to these commonplace materials in the first place. It is cellulose that they so enjoy and this substance can be found not only in wood, but in paper, carpet, cloth and various other household objects. A termite may find it in himself to consume your windowsills and flooring while he is at it. These bugs do not exactly hold themselves back when they have found substances to feast upon. Once they have eaten their fill, they like any other insect need to digest it. Microorganisms within the termite transform cellulose from the wood or whatever they have eaten into nutrition for the pest. Although, the termite seems to be most readily attracted to wood especially rotting or decayed wood, it will consume all that will keep it alive. Fresh wood is an equal target for the termite making new homes just as subject to infestation as an old home.

Our homes provide the termite with the foods it loves, and it knows just where find them. If you are not yet convinced that it is a good idea to have your home inspected for these pests annually, you may just find yourself shelling out thousands of dollars to repair structural damages caused by an infestation. The termite will never be extinct make no mistake and because the termite is actually a vital part of the ecosystem, we must continue to be vigilant in protecting our homes.

A termite will consume whatever food is there and is not above destroying an entire home if left to its own devices. Consider all of the aspects of your home that are made up of wood and other materials rich in cellulose. Would you like to see them destroyed or severely damaged by these pests? Keep your property in line: call an exterminator and request an inspection!

Author Bio: Chuck R. Stewart is a writer who frequently writes on the topic of using an exterminator to fix termite problems. He frequently writes on the topic of termites.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: exterminator,termites