How to Keep Termites Away From Your Home

Termites are not only pests, but they can also be a major hazard to your home, and they only need three things to thrive: food, moisture, and shelter. Here are a fews steps you can in order to keep termites out of your home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Keep your rain gutters clean. Wet leaves can provide moisture and food, and since the gutters are attached to your home, it makes for an easy way for the pests to get in.
2. Piles of wood, boards touching the ground can all be food sources. Keep wood stored in a shed away from moisture and the ground itself.
3. If you are building extentions to your hold like a deck, be sure to make concrete barriers and use borate-treated, pressurized wood.
4. Make sure the air conditioner tank is at least four inches from your house. Don't let it leak near your house.
5. Dryers should vent away from the house -- the warm air is moisture-saturated from dried clothes. Washers should drain away from the house, too.
6. Check for leaky faucets. Make fixing them a priority.
7. Keep flower gardens and storage containers away from your home. Their roots feed the termites, and the leaves give the termites the moisture and shade they crave.
8. If you are infested with termites, it is best to call a professional pest control company. They have the proper equipment to rid your house of the pests.

Tips & Warnings

• Summer sprinkler play is fun for kids, but make sure the faucet is turned off --tightly -- after the water games are finished.
• Check your home for termites regularly.