To prevent termites, make sure you:
- Properly Store your Firewood
Formosan termites thrive on firewood.
While they live in the soil, their workers will penetrate and feed into firewood.
Do not stack firewood against your house. Doing so will give termites an easy way to expand their feeding into your home.
Make sure to keep them away from your home and at least a few inches off the ground.
Install bug screens over attic vents to prevent entry.
Termites flourish in damp and moist areas.
Ventilate your home to prevent them from becoming too humid.
- Replace All Damaged or Rotting Wood.
Formosan termites love damaged or rotting wood because they are easy to penetrate and eat.
Keep them away, remove all damaged or rotting wood, and replace them with wood that’s treated with pesticides.
Remove all plants and mulch away from the foundation of your home.
Chipped Paint and small holes allow termites to penetrate wood easily, so make sure to seal them.
Mulch provides termites with the perfect shelter and source of food.
It traps moisture and insulates against harsh temperatures. It’s also often made of cellulose, which termites need to survive.
To keep termites away, minimize the use of wood mulch in your home.
Or use mulch that naturally repels termites such as redwood, melaleuca, cypress, and cedar mulch to prevent attracting termite.
Another alternative you can use is rock, gravel, pebbles, rubber, and pine needles.
Finally, make sure you keep mulch away from your wood siding, door, window framing, and foundation.
- Eliminate Excess Moisture
To prevent termites, make sure to keep moisture away from your home with proper drainage systems.
- Eliminate Soil to Wood Contact
Remove any soil-to-wood contact in your home. Make sure your wood sidings, fences, decks, doors, and window framing are not touching the soil.
Resources: 16 Termite Prevention Tips