Termites – One of the more common pests in Singapore. Preventing a termite infestation can help you save a lot of money and time on repairs and damage control.
These are some recommended cost-effective preventive measures you can adopt to help prevent termites from causing massive destructions within your premises.
1. Prevent Moisture & Water Leaks
Moisture is one of the main reasons why termites enter homes. Water damages acts as an attractant and if there are termites within your premises, you would typically find them lurking in that area. Ensure that any leakages are fixed as soon as you notice them.
Air conditioning units cause moisture build in your surroundings, ensure that you air your premises regularly (with the AC turned off) if you utilise your air condition often. Clean your walls of any moisture of water condensation, this also helps prevent other common pests like booklice.
2. Limit wood to ground contact: Termite food source
Avoid having wooden structures, lattices, door and window frames that have direct contact with the ground. All wooden materials should be lifted off the ground to ensure that termites will not be able to consume them as it is a food source.
Should you not be able to do this, for example, you have in-built wooden floors in your landed property, always ensure that a property check with these concerns are highlighted prior to purchase or moving in.
If you have wooden furniture that is placed directly onto the ground, try to place a carpet beneath so prevent direct contact with the ground.
When buying second-hand wooden furniture, always make sure that you check for any hollow sounds when you knock on the wood. Do a thorough check of the furniture before purchasing as sometimes it can’t be detected in plain sight.
3. Seal gaps and cracks
Materials like wood, metal, PVC, and concrete expand and shrink differently at different times. This may result in gaps and cracks which provide termites an entry point into your premises.
Do a thorough, regular check to identify any gaps and seal them up immediately. Remove any damaged or rotting wood and replace them with termite-resistant materials such as steel or treated wood.
4. Remove Termite Food Source
What do termites consume? Cellulose in wood and other paper products.
Cutting off access to their food sources can prevent termites from settling and creating an infestation.
These are some practises you can adopt:
- Remove and recycle any build-up of cardboard boxes, stacks of newspapers and paper products from your home.
- Store important paper or wooden materials in upper levels of your home or on a lifted structure.
- Remove any rotting wood, dead trees and leftover wood from construction from your garden and outdoor area
5. Get a Professional to Inspect Your Premises
While using this checklist to assist your efforts in termite prevention, it is also a good idea to get your premises inspected annually by a professional pest controller.
At Wipeout Pest Control Services apart from thorough checks and applied effective termite treatments, we are also able to locate termite infestations that cannot be seen with naked eye.
Infestations could be well buried beneath the ground or within walls and how we detect this is via our termite inspection equipment – Termiscan.
Learn more about Termiscan here.
SIGNS OF A TERMITE INFESTATION
You should contact a professional pest control company and book a termite inspection if you notice any of these signs around your property:
- Visible Mud Tubes & Wood Tunnels
- Hollow wood sounds when knocked
- Flying termites and discarded wings
- Clicking sounds in your walls or ceiling
- Termite droppings
- Peeling paint that looks water damaged
- Termite Tree Nests
Wipeout Pest Control Services P/L provides professional, quality and affordable pest control services in Singapore since 1995. Our technicians are certified to carry out and assist you in eradicating all types of pests. Call us today at +65 63836831.
