Why Are Termites Attracted To Bathrooms?

Termites in Southern Arizona are a continual threat, and these insects can start damaging a property without warning or warning signs. Trouble often begins when termites find ideal conditions. Let's take a look at the conditions that might attract termites to your bathroom, and what you can do to guard your property.

How do termites get into your home?

In our area, the most destructive kind of termite is the subterranean termite. These insects live in the ground and search for food both below and above the ground. When they find your home, they may enter through wood-to-soil contact or create shelter tubes made of mud. Shelter tubes look like wiggly mud lines about the width of a pencil.

Why termites are attracted to bathrooms

When termites choose where to go after they enter your home, they're motivated by moisture and the availability of food sources. These two factors make your bathroom a prime location. Here are a few ways your bathroom might attract termites.

• When you take showers, the moisture in the air can not only soak into your walls but get into gaps and cracks that are available. Termite workers are attracted to that moisture because the skin of a worker needs hydration.
• If you have an unfinished bathroom, moisture can get into wall and ceiling voids far more easily and create the humid conditions termites crave.
• If you have a jetted tub, you can have humidity in your bathroom for a lot longer and increase your humidity issues.
• If you have a leaking pipe, even a slight drip can lead to moistened boards and wood rot, which will definitely attract termites.
• If you have a damaged fixture or poor grout, the water can run down your walls and through unsealed cracks, soaking the wood underneath your tub or shower.
• If you have splashing or spillage issues in your bathroom, that is another way the wood of your floor can get soaked. Water splashes onto the tile floor and spills into cracks around the edges of your floor to soak the wood and create conditions for wood decay.

It isn't easy to tell if you have termites in the wood of your bathroom floor, walls, and ceiling. These insects feed quietly. It helps to know what attracts them so that you can evaluate your risks.

Ways to reduce moisture problems in your bathroom

There are many steps you can take to prevent high humidity and wood rot in your bathroom. These tips will directly address the conditions listed above.

• Always use the vent in your bathroom to evacuate the humidity while taking a shower or bath.
• Make sure your cracks and crevices are sealed with proper trimming and caulking.
• Consider refraining from leaving water in your jetted tub or bath.
• Contact a plumber and get faucets, showerheads, and pipes fixed.
• Apply grout and repair any damage in your shower or bath.
• Lower the water level when bathing children or pets to avoid spillage.

With some simple handyman repairs and due diligence, you can reduce moisture problems and deter termites.

Ways to prevent moisture problems outdoors

It is important to consider moisture and wood rot around and underneath your home. These tips address exterior conditions.

• Keep dead branches and other organic debris away from your exterior.
• Cut your grass next to your home.
• Trim the shrubs and plants in your landscaping.
• Remove weeds and grass from your landscaping.
• Clean out any debris from your gutters.
• Make necessary repairs to gutter runs, splash blocks, and downspouts.
• Repair any exterior plumbing issues, such as damaged spigots.

Now that you know how to deter subterranean termites, let's look at ways you can protect your property from termite damage.

Termite control in Phoenix, Tucson, and Southern AZ

There are primarily two ways our licensed professionals can help you guard against subterranean termite damage; one is a termite baiting system and the other a liquid termite treatment.

Trelona® ATBS Annual Bait Stations

This termite baiting solution is an environmentally responsible termite control that offers ongoing protection against these wood-destroying insects by strategically installing termite baiting stations around the perimeter of the structure that not only eliminate the foraging termites, but also the entire colony!

Termidor® HP II

One of the most advanced liquid termiticides on the market, Termidor® HP II is injected into the soil with precision to create a zone of protection around the entire structure.

Contact Northwest Exterminating for help getting rid of termites

If you're in Phoenix, Tucson, or somewhere else in our Southern Arizona service area, contact Northwest Exterminating for professional termite control. There is no time like the present to guard your property against termite damage.