Are you a homeowner? How long has it been since your home had a termite inspection? If you live in the southern half of the United States, you should be getting a termite inspection on at least a semi-regular basis. You should also be using various prevention methods to ensure that an infestation isn't able to get started in the first place. A lot of people think that this is something that could never happen to them, but then they wind up having to pay the price when it comes time to repair the serious termite damage. Some things you should be watching for include:
Undefined musty odor
For some people, the first they know of a termite problem is that their home gets the smell of mold or mildew that they can't eliminate. If you've cleaned out your basement, kitchen, and bathrooms and you still have an odor that you can't pin down, then you might have a termite control issue. The only way to find out for sure is to get a termite control professional in to check out the whole house for other signs that you may have missed.
Strange sounds
One termite is quiet, almost silent. Thousands, or even millions, of termites that are all chewing on the wood inside of your walls will be loud. If you hear a tapping, crunching, or quiet thudding in your home, your home is probably not haunted. Instead, that's simply a colony of termites making a meal out of the timber in your walls. For such small insects, termites can be surprisingly loud. The soldier termites will even bang their heads against the inside of the wood when they are startled, which can happen when you accidentally smack something against a wall. If you hear anything like this, call in a termite control professional at once so that the issue can be resolved.
Ant or spider problem
Sometimes, you can be alerted to the presence of one issue by something that's even more obvious. Various types of ants and spiders both prey on termites and will readily move into areas where there is a pre-existing termite colony. If you are having issues getting rid of ants and/or spiders that seem to pop up out of nowhere, the real root of the problem may be that you have a termite control issue. By killing off the spiders or the ants without addressing the termite problem, you could inadvertently be making the situation even more serious. Getting rid of the termites will help resolve the ant or spider issue in a more timely manner.