Termites!

You do your best to keep your house in good shape. It has been painted, you’ve updated your windows, and even the small holes in the exterior have been fixed. Yes, your house looks amazing and you are proud of it. How would you feel, then, if you found out that your house was rotting from the inside? What if there are thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions!) of termites feeding off of your house and slowly decaying it while you have no idea whatsoever? Unless you live in Alaska, there’s a good chance that your home could get infested very easily by termites, which cause approximately $5 billion in damages annually. Not even the White House or the Statue of Liberty are safe from termites, as both have undergone treatment to rid themselves of these wood-chewing insects.

While you might have heard about termites your entire life, there’s a good chance that you may have ever actually seen one. Termites are small insects that measure anywhere between a few millimeters to a few centimeters in length. There are over 3,000 different species of termite worldwide. A termite colony can consist of a few hundred or up to millions of termites. A home that is within a half-acre of a termite colony can be at risk of infestation, so it is easy to have an infestation travel from one home to the next throughout a neighborhood. Subterranean termites often tunnel underground and produce swarms of winged reproducing termites that emerge once a colony has matured for a few years. Dampwood termites are attracted to, as their name indicates, wood that is damp. They are attracted to moisture and are typically found in more coastal areas. They, unlike the subterranean termites, never live in the soil, but stay in wood where they feed and lay their eggs. Drywood termites live along the southern border of the United States, as well as in the coastal areas of Florida and California. They, much like the dampwood termites, prefer living within a wooden structure and are not found in the ground.

Termites ruin your house by feeding off of its wood and some other building materials. They can be especially dangerous if you have a pier-and-beam foundation, as it is easily accessible via the soil and a good portion of it is hidden from your day-to-day view, often times leaving damage undetected. Interior walls can be infested for years before a homeowner finds out, causing extensive damage. Termites have even been known to ruin furniture, ranging from book cases to antique dressers. It is for these reasons, that you should do everything you can to ensure that your home is not infested and take immediate action if it is.

As the damage that termites can do to your property can be very serious and expensive to repair, you should periodically check around your house for signs of infestation. During the spring is when most termites swarm to look for new colonies. Swarming is when winged termites fly away from their colonies to establish new ones. You can often find discarded wings or dead insects near your house when swarming has occurred. Winged termites look a bit like winged ants, so they can sometimes be difficult to identify. Hallow or rotted wood is often a spot-on indicator that there is a termite infestation. Often times it will appear that only water damage has occurred near where termites have infested, but given that they are attracted to damp areas, be sure not to right off the possibility that termites are present, as well. Drywood termites often leave pellets that one might mistake for mouse droppings. Look for these pellets along window sills and other wooden areas in your home. If you find hallowed wood or wood that has specs of dirt in it, that is another sign of a termite infestation. Sometimes subterranean termites build tubes out of mud and dirt on exposed areas of your house to travel in. The tubes are about the size of a pencil and made out of mud. If you find any of these indicators, contact a termite specialist immediately, before any additional damage is done to your home.

Protecting Your Pipes During the Winter

While it might be “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” for your family, especially the children, the pipes in your house are singing a different tune: “Don’t Let Us Freeze!” Freezing pipes can be inconvenient, dangerous, and very expensive. You see, not only does water stop moving when it’s frozen, it can actually lead to the pipes in your house bursting. Burst pipes will not only take away your hot showers during the cold season, but they will also cripple your holiday shopping budget, as it can be very costly to have them fixed. Obviously, the best way to deal with pipes bursting is to prevent it from happening ahead of time.

Pipes typically burst when there are exposed or uninsulated lengths of pipe on the exterior of your house. While water does expand when frozen, causing bottles or cans of soda to burst in the freezer, this is not what typically causes pipes to burst. Pipes burst due to ice blocking water pressure between the ice and a faucet, typically bursting at a spot where there is little ice to be found! Opening your faucets slightly to allow movement can greatly decrease the chances of pipes freezing or bursting. The cost of increased water usage are dwarfed by the cost of having your pipes replaced. Placing insulation over all over your exposed pipes outdoors is a necessity during the winter, especially if you plan on leaving town.

If you plan on being away from your home for extended periods of time during the winter, there are other things you can do to prevent returning from a trip to a house full of burst pipes. Definitely have a friend or family member on alert to swing by your place and run some faucets during a winter storm. Perhaps the most effective thing you can do is to shut off your main water valve and then turn all your faucets on until no more water comes out. That will empty your pipes of any water that could potentially freeze and cause serious problems while you are out of town. Obviously, this might only be necessary if you live in a climate that freezes for extended periods of time.

Typically pipes freeze when temperatures reach 20°F or below, but it is still wise to have insulation on hand for any time you expect the temperature to fall below freezing. Insulation should be taped around any exposed pipes and you should use an insulated cover over any exposed faucets around your exterior. Unfortunately, some pipes in your outer walls may not be properly insulated, leaving them vulnerable to cold weather. In these cases your best defense is to run water through your faucets to keep it from freezing. You don’t need to open the faucets all the way to have water blast through them to keep them from freezing, just a small amount of flow should suffice.

If you suspect that one of your pipes has burst, contact a plumber immediately! Many more problems will crop up if you have a water leak on your hands, so go ahead and shut off your main water valve, as well. And once again, call a plumber right away.