A Wet Season Is A Termite’s Delight

Let it never be said that an East Tennessee season change is anything but unpredictable! Over the last few weeks, we’ve basked in the glow of the spring sunshine and shivered through the return of a late-winter snow. However, one thing that Knoxville residents have done a lot of in 2013 is dodge rain drops. January was an astonishingly wet month, and March also dealt us above-average rainfalls. While Knoxville homeowners may have mixed feelings about this damp weather, you can be sure that one portion of the population is perfectly pleased by all this moisture: That would be the millions of termites that reside in Knoxville, Maryville, Lenoir City, Sevierville, and other surrounding cities.

As we’ve mentioned before, termites thrive in wet environments. Termites are the clean-up crews of our world. They cheerfully consume dead and rotting (in other words, moist) wood that we view as unsightly clutter. Unfortunately, termites aren’t picky about what they eat. You might be glad that they’re busily getting rid of the fallen tree in the back of your property, but you would probably be less pleased to find that they’re hollowing out the support beams in your crawl space.

Because termites are completely moisture dependent, they must make mud tubes or tunnels for themselves so that they can cross spaces above ground. When a crawlspace or basement holds dampness for an extended amount of time, this makes the termites’ job a lot easier. They can chew through damp wood very quickly and access areas that might otherwise be unappealing in dryer times. So, if you have excessive condensation in your crawl space or water pooling near your slab foundation, you are at a greater risk for termite invasion.

We try to make sure that this blog is as full of self-help tips as possible because we want Knoxville homeowners and business owners to be actively involved in preventing unwanted pest invasions. But, termites are tricky. The average person will likely have a hard time spotting termite activity (which can lie hidden inside your walls for an extended period of time), and effective over-the-counter termite treatments are extremely rare.

Because of this dilemma, we at Russell’s Pest Control like to make the termite prevention process as painless as possible. We do free inspections for termites, so you can have professional eyes on your property without having to pledge your first-born as collateral. Additionally, we use the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System with Always Active Technology.  That’s a long, intimidating product name, but let us assure you that it’s the best termite prevention and elimination system out there. The Sentricon System uses cutting-edge baiting technology to ensure that this product ends up in the mouths of every termite in the invading colony. And, because this system takes advantage of the specific structure of termite biology, we can achieve colony elimination without employing harsh chemicals that could have negative side effects on other bugs or animals in the area.

After just a few more warm, sunny days, the termites are going to wake up and start swarming, and that has potential to add unneeded stress to your already overly-busy life. We can’t make sure that you don’t get stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work or that your dog doesn’t track mud across the kitchen. Termite maintenance, however, is one stressful detail that Russell’s would be happy to take off your plate. Questions? You can always reach us on our contact page.