While warm winter weather caused termites to swarm earlier than usual, residents shouldn’t worry that home infestations will increase drastically this summer, according to St. Charles Parish County Agent Renè Schmit.
“There are not really more termites, but the swarms are more noticeable,” he said.
Schmit says he has received termite samples from around the parish, but that a majority of them have come from areas on the East Bank, such as Destrehan, St. Rose and Norco. Samples from the West Bank have mainly come from the Des Allemands and Paradis areas.
Nearly half of the termite samples that are being collected are of the most aggressive species – Formosan. That termite species can destroy wood at twice the rate of native subterranean termites.
Schmit says that native termites have been around for hundreds of years, while the Formosan have only been here a short while, invading St. Charles approximately 15 years ago.
“This is Louisiana and we have a tropical climate because of heavy moisture. Termites thrive in our environment,” Schmit said.
People should start to worry if they see a heavy accumulation of termites in the bathroom, in floorboards or around sheetrock, Schmit said.
“If there are heavy accumulations in those areas that is a good indicator of an infestation,” he added.
People may see winged termites in their home from time to time, but Schmit said that often means that swarms have entered the house through either vents or an attic. To prevent termites from swarming near a home, residents should either turn off their outside lights at night or switch from a white bulb to a yellow one.
Termites can invade any home, whether the house is old and sits on pillars or is new and sits on pillars or slabs. However, those homeowners that have not conducted or maintained a home barrier treatment are the most at risk.
“Termites are attracted to practices such as storing wood on the ground or homes that are untreated or have a leak somewhere, which is typically the bathtub area,” Schmit said. “The main thing people can do to keep termites away is to keep all wood products away from your home and stored above ground while maintaining service from a pest control operator who provides defense through treatment.”
Termite defense treatments are usually good for three to five years and Schmit said the pest control company should return yearly to do a topical treatment.
“It is very important to get some type of treatment barrier to prevent termites from entering your home and to make sure you don’t have any areas around or in the home that are left to develop heavy moisture, such as broken gutters,” Schmit said.
To reduce risk for attracting termites, consider the following maintenance tips:
Reduce moisture
•Provide for gutter downspouts to drain water away from your house, including air conditioning condensate.
•Promptly fix any leaks in roof, gutters and plumbing.
Eliminate earth-to-wood contact
•Make sure wood is not in direct contact with the soil.
•Outdoor wood porches and wood steps should be placed on a concrete base at least 6 inches above grade.
•Store woodpiles or firewood away from the house and make sure they are raised off the ground.
•Keep shrubs and flower gardens at least 12 inches away from the house.
Minimize the amount of raw wood available for termites to eat
•Treat unpainted exterior wood with an oil based wood preservative or borate product such as Bora-care.
•Replace rotted or destroyed structural wood with properly pressure treated wood.
Inspect your property often for termites
•Look for signs of infestation inside and outside of structures – mud tubes along the slab, siding, especially in crawl space, attic and bathroom.
•Accumulation of termite wings indoors or swarms emerging from the building exterior.
For more information on termites and termite control, contact Schmit at (985)785-4473.
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