subject: How To Detect A Pest Presence [print this page] Each year, pest damage to homes is more severe than the impact of all major natural disasters (tornados, hurricanes, lightning storms, and fires) combined, costing home-owners thousands of dollars in repairs. Prevention and early detection are key to preserving your home from the ravages of ants, cockroaches, termites, rodents, and beetles. Here's how to tell if your home is being infested by one of these pests.
Ants are the primary pests for many areas of the United States. The black carpenter ant in particular causes the most damage. Check moist spots in your house: droppings or sawdust--in crawl spaces especially--may be signs of the carpenter ant. Cockroaches, flat insects with long feelers, are more difficult to find. They nest in hidden spots like cracks at the back of water heaters, sinks, and doorframes and behind baseboards, walls, and cabinets.
Termites are pale insects, sometimes with wings, and are notorious for the structural damage they wreak, since they are constantly eating wood--particularly near fireplaces, heaters, or soil. If you see wavy or blistered wood, sawdust residue near studs and/or beams, loose trim, sagging floors, and small tunnels in the mud, there's a good chance you have termites.
Rodents, primarily mice and rats, enter homes through openings in air conditioning ducts, vents, drain pipes, and even door clearances. Among other things, they tend to ruin insulation, wiring, and wood sheathing. They often gather around sources of food, so check behind cabinets and pantries for nests and droppings. If you can, look inside walls as well.
One family of beetles is a wood-boring species that damages home structures and furniture. Powderpost beetles, false powerpost beetles, and deathwatch beetles are all members of this family. They are commonly brought into the home in firewood and are drawn to unfinished or unpainted wood furniture and frames. Powderpost beetles, which are a brownish red, attack hardwoods (hickory, mahogany, ash, walnut, oak, etc.). They create small holes in molding, frames, and paneling. False powderpost beetles are dark brown or black with red mouths and limbs. They bore tunnels in wood and soft materials: hardwood paneling, furniture, floors, and even plaster. Deathwatch beetles, a dark reddish brown, lay eggs in unfinished soft woods like beams, girders, foundation timbers, and anything that's decaying. Some will even invade books. Signs of any of these beetles are hard to detect; you have to closely examine the wood to find the small holes filled with powder they leave behind.
Check your home for signs of these pests. If you find any, contact an extermination company immediately. You don't want to wait for them to cause serious damage.
