New Jersey Homeowners Should Watch for Signs of Termites
Northern New Jersey homeowners should be on the lookout for termite activity. Although termites are active all year long, termite activity is often discovered in the spring as northern New Jersey homeowners start on home maintenance and home improvement projects. The annual spring cleaning ritual and home spruce up projects that most New Jersey homeowners begin as soon as the weather warms up put homeowners in a position to discover termite damage and sometimes observe these well-hidden insects at work.
Termites are small, about 1/4 to 1/8 inch long, white, wingless insects that live in large social colonies deep in underground which makes their discovery unlikely until significant damage has been done. These tiny insects have an appetite well out of proportion to their size. They feed on wood and are particularly fond of the pine and other soft woods used as structural timbers in the building of northern New Jersey homes. Termites are attracted to homes by moist conditions caused by plumbing leaks and poor foundation drainage.
In northern New Jersey, one in five homes will be attacked by the Eastern subterranean termite, the most prevalent termite species in the U.S. These hungry wood-eating insects damage more than 500,000 U.S. homes each year causing more than $5 billion in damage. Make sure your home isn’t one of them. If you’re concerned about termites, contact the termite experts at Heritage Pest Control.