It is bad enough that the import and export of wood have increased the chances of pest invasion. Research also shows that termites invade and damage an estimated 600,000 houses in the United States.
As a concerned home or business owner, you should be willing to learn more about these tiny creatures that can damage your homes and farms. And as soon as you confirm the infestation of pests in your home, get rid of them by contacting pest control near you.
Wood Damaging Pests
Even though wood pests species are abundant all around, some common wood-damaging pests are hard to miss:
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter Bees are very similar to bumblebees in appearance except for the yellow abdomen marking, which carpenter bees lack. If you notice a bumble bee-like insect in your woods, they are carpenter bees because bumblebees live in the soil.
And though carpenter bees do not feed on wood, they use it as a home for their offspring. If generations of carpenter bees keep using the wood as a nest, it will cause great damage to the wood. They bore an almost perfectly round hole into the wood; you can identify them by this sign.
Termites
An average of $5 billion is spent annually by the United States residents to control and repair damage caused by termites. That is to say, termites are one of the most prominent wood-damaging pests.
Termites are sometimes called white ants because they look like a common ant but white. Termites’ damage is usually not known in time because they cause damage from inside-out. They emerge from the soil and bore into the woods for the cellulose in the woods.
Termites’ infestation can be known by hollow sounds in woods, which indicate their movement and seeing flying ants (termites).
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are large black and brown ants. Like carpenter bees, they also use the wood as a nesting home rather than feed on it. They prefer dead and decomposing trees, which means you will find them if you already have decaying woods in your home.
Carpenter ants leave telltale signs of sawdust near their site of operation. To prevent them, get rid of decaying tree stumps or woods near the home.
Wood Wasps
Wood wasps are wasp-like in structure, and they are harmless to humans with neither their stinger nor wood infestation. They lay their eggs in damaged trees and mostly get into the home with treated woods.
Woodwasps cause a dent in the woods when they want to exit it, and this can cause little aesthetic damage to the wood wall and floor. But other than that, their activities are not dangerous.
Wood damaged by pests can be identified by new wood holes, wood bits/ saw specks of dust, hollow sounds in the wood and maybe damp wood. As soon as you recognize any of these signs, find out more info on how you can get rid of them.