How To Deal With Termites

Since termites are attracted to moisture, it’s important to prevent moisture from accumulating beneath your foundation by filling all your home’s exterior cracks with elastomeric caulk, available in hardware stores.

If your basement or crawl space has a dirt floor, cover it with 6-mil polyethylene plastic sheets, available in hardware stores. Overlap the edges of each sheet by at least a foot.

If you break open a piece of wood with muddy tubes on it, you can see if termites are still active inside the wood. If you see insects, don’t panic. It’s easy to confuse termites with flying ants, so be sure you know you have termites by calling in a pest-control professional.

If you do have termites, there’s not much you can do other than let the professional do his job. He’ll use soil, wood, or bait treatments to get rid of them.