Why Winter Weather Makes Your Home A Bug Magnet

Just as people tend to stay indoors more often during the winter, bugs like termites seek refuge in warmer places to protect themselves from the bitter cold of the winter months. They usually prance around in the summer, fall and spring. In the winter we don't see them around much. And yet...

Unsuspecting homeowners however don't know that the reason they're not very visible is that they've gone into hiding - right in the nooks and crannies of our homes!

Termites in your Home: Where to Look

During warmer months, you find out immediately that termites are present because they leave tell-tale signs. One such sign is damaged or infested wood. When your wooden furniture looks like it has been chewed at, that's a sure sign that termites may have already built colonies in your home. One way of confirming their presence is to use sound probes and to perform meticulous visual inspections to see if there are mud tunnels.

How is wood probed? Usually an awl, screwdriver or an ice pick will do the job. If you're not sure how to do it, you do what most homeowners do: call in the experts. Professional inspectors will draw up a set of control measures for any future termite colony formations. Pest management professionals are also able to make the distinction between termites and white ants.

During the winter months, it is more difficult to look for termites because they tend to gravitate in those unnoticeable areas where there is adequate heating. People have the mistaken notion that their homes are safe in the winter because these creatures go into hibernation, but termite activity can continue all year round provided the conditions are right. For example, if you have thick slabs in your home, termites would most likely be there, assuming of course that you've seen them in your house earlier in the year.

One rule of thumb: termites depend on sources of moisture that most homeowners don't see. These are the areas you should inspect for possible termite invasions: basement, cellar, structures just above cellar walls such as studs, joists, underflooring, floors and mudsills. If you have wood siding, doors, windows and frames that are covered by soil, are near earthy places, or are firmly anchored to the ground, these are also “breeding” grounds for termites.

Other areas that termites tend to settle in are heating furnaces and the areas close to these furnaces, hot water tanks, chimneys and the pipes that deliver hot water to the house.

Winter Tips

To minimize the damage caused by termites even during winter time, you can do these simple steps:

if you have wood debris lying around in the outside and inside yard of your dwelling, clear them and put them away. Do not bury wood bits or shavings near your house.

if you have wooden steps or trellises that are exposed to soil, replace them with materials that are of the non-cellulose type or wood that has undergone pressure treatment.

Make sure your house has proper ventilation and an efficient draining system in the basement, cellar and all those special spaces that bugs like to hide in.

Fill up or close cracks and empty slots in the foundation with either cement or a caulking material.

Minimize the amount of soil moisture accumulation. You can do this by re-directing run-off away from the house's foundation as well as from the gutters and spouts.

It is good to note that in western locations in the United States, termites are known to carry on their colony activities as long as there is no frost. In the eastern seaboard and other cold areas, termites dig deep into the ground to avoid the cold but when they feel that the temperatures have stabilized and are tolerable, they come out of their hiding places to look for food.

Your home therefore becomes a bug magnet in the winter time because termites will always find ways to find warm places. We also tend to stock up in the basement during the cold season so our homes are fertile grounds for termite colonies. Any part or structure that contains cellulose, wood panels, paper, cardboard - even art canvasses and carpeting - will attract these creatures. They go through tunnels that don't have cellulose substances like plastic and foamboard.

Lighting the fireplace soon? Inspect the firewood that you bring in from outside. Termites may be hiding in the bark so you could be ushering them into your home and giving them a warm place to cozy up without you being aware.