Termite Control in Paris, TX

The Termites We See in Lamar County

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension lists several termites in the state, but the one that does most of the damage around Paris is the subterranean termite. It lives in moist soil, eats wood from the inside out and needs that soil contact to stay alive. That is why it builds mud tubes. The tubes keep the workers damp and hidden as they travel from the ground to your sill plate.

Here is what to watch for:

• Swarmers: winged termites that come out on warm days after a rain, most often from late winter into spring. They shed their wings fast, so a pile of wings on a window sill is a strong clue.
• Mud tubes: pencil wide tubes on piers, foundation walls, pipes or the inside of a garage wall.
• Hollow wood: tap a baseboard or door frame with a screwdriver handle. Damaged wood sounds dull or papery.
• Bubbled paint or sagging drywall: termites can feed right behind the paper face of drywall.

Swarmers often get mixed up with flying ants. Termites have a thick waist, straight antennae and wings that are all the same length. Ants have a pinched waist, bent antennae and front wings longer than the back ones.

How Your Technician Treats Termites

There are two main tools, and a good technician picks based on the house, not on what is easiest to sell.

1. Full inspection

   Your technician checks the outside of the foundation, the garage, porches and any crawl space. They look for mud tubes, damaged wood, moisture problems and wood to soil contact. They also look for spots that would make treatment hard, like a well, a cistern or a French drain.

2. Liquid soil treatment

   A termiticide is applied to the soil in a trench around the foundation and, when needed, through small holes drilled in slab areas such as porches. The EPA notes that soil treatments create a treated zone that termites contact as they travel. Many products used today are not repellent, so termites pass through without noticing and carry the active ingredient back to the colony.

3. Bait stations

   Stations go into the ground around the house at set spacing. Termites find the bait, feed and share it with the colony. Baits take longer to work, but they use much less product and suit homes near wells, creeks or ponds where soil treatment is limited.

4. Repairs and moisture fixes

   Your technician will point out the conditions that invited termites in. Common fixes are pulling mulch back from the brick, fixing a leaky hose bib, adding gutters or splash blocks, and getting wood skirting or steps off the dirt. Wood repair is a carpenter's job, and your technician will tell you if a beam or sill looks weak.

5. Follow up checks

   Termite work is not one and done. Ask how often the home will be checked, what happens if termites come back and what paperwork you get.

What You Can Do Today

You cannot termite proof a house by yourself, but you can make it a lot less tempting.

• Keep mulch and soil at least a few inches below the top of the foundation and off the brick or siding.
• Store firewood off the ground and away from the house.
• Fix dripping outside faucets and air conditioner lines that keep one spot wet.
• Clear old stumps, landscape timbers and form boards near the slab.
• Keep crawl space vents open and clear so the area under the house can dry out.

Do not spray store bought bug killer on a mud tube and call it fixed. That kills a few workers in the tube while the colony keeps feeding somewhere else. Leave the tube alone until your technician sees it. It is the best clue to where they are coming in.