Do Squeaky Floors Mean Termites?( How to Check)

Do Squeaky Floors Mean Termites?

Generally, there should be not much to worry about with regard to squeaky floors as they tend to be caused by minor issues.

For instance, if your floor is made of hardwood, squeaking is inevitable, thanks to seasonal moisture and temperature changes.

But many homeowners worry that they might have termites if anytime they have a squeaky floor.

While squeaky floors are not necessarily an indication of having termites in your home, a termite infestation can still be associated with squeaky floors.

In this case, you will have excessive squeaking, and the wood will sound hollow, probably the floor joist sunk.

So, if you were wondering, do squeaky floors mean termites, the answer is yes and no.

To tell if your squeaky results from termites, you don’t have to be a certified exterminator.

But to get to the issue at hand, you will need to look for several signs to tell if termites are behind your squeaky floor.

First, since termites’ damage seriously weakens floor supports, excessive squeaking might mean that you have a termite infestation.

Indeed, weakened and damaged floors will squeak quite a bit because they are extra sensitive to increased weight and movement.

Stepping on these arrears will force the flooring to rub against nails, producing loud squeaking sounds.

And if hollow noises accompany your floorboards’ squeaking, you are most likely facing a termite infestation.

This is because termites will always make cavities in the wood or timber that falls victim to them.

Termites make cavities in the wood whenever they eat, so the floor will sound hollow when someone taps on it.

If you are lucky enough to catch the damage when it’s minor, the cavities will work using wood filler to seal.

What Attracts Termites In The House?

Homeowners have to fight termites from time to time. In some homes, this seems to be a perennial problem.

While homeowners try their best to keep termites away, sometimes they keep re-emerging.

So you might be asking, what attracts termites in the house? Well, many things.

There are scores of things that you might do around your home that will keep termites coming back, eventually leading to extensive and costly termite damage.

You need to consider that termites will typically inhabit the top 30 cm of soil. They are constantly moving, looking for food and moisture.

And if you are providing these important things, your home might be a good place for termites to frequent.

Once termites establish a good and reliable food and moisture source in your home, thousands will come, making for a very serious problem on your hands.

Consider your home a major food and moisture source for termites. Once they enter your property, they will try to secure their entry points in pursuit of timber to consume.

You can make your home less attractive to termites by conducting regular inspections.

If you couple this with reducing factors in and around your home that make for a conducive termite environment, termites will become a thing in the past.

Indeed, you can make big strides in preventing termites from accessing your home in a few simple changes around your property.

To succeed in this, understand that termites love moisture, mulch, timber, and firewood. Not taking good care of these things will make you more susceptible to termite infestation.

What Do Termites Hate?

Having known what termites love, you might be wondering what smell is unbearable for termites.

As you know, these notorious insects are popular as the most effective decomposers. Termites are infamous for damaging forestry, wooden structures, and crops.

Unfortunately, the damage extends to synthetic products, household products, and paper products.

So, it only becomes imperative to search for ways of controlling these fierce-damaging insects.

When many people think of ways to control termites, they think of a costly control that involves expensive treatments, chemical sprinkles, etc.

However, there are particular smells that termites can’t stand. These smells will repel and keep termites away from your property.

Indeed, termites hate the smells and odors of anything bitter. It’s that simple! Consider a small amount of bitter gourd juice; this will work like magic in sending away termites.

You only need to sprinkle it around a termites’ nest. This will scatter the termites away and stop any further infestation.

Another common remedy is orange peel. Orange peels are not hard to find, as you will find them anywhere.

These are a very effective control against termites. It’s indisputable that orange peels are universally used as food flavor.

Additionally, orange peels are also used in making orange oil, an oil packed with multiple health benefits.

But if you use large amounts of orange peels, you will have nausea and possibly end up vomiting.

Fortunately, such adverse effects are amplified when the victims in question are insects.

Particularly, orange oil is deadly to several insects including, crickets, wasps, spiders, flies, cockroaches, dust mites, ants, and the subject of our article – termites!

The effectiveness of orange oil against termites is essentially packed in its smell.

While orange oil is the best natural remedy for termites, cinnamon will work perfectly also. Cinnamon oil will repel termites.

Other oil extracts that will eradicate termite infestation include garlic oils, tea tree, and clove bud.

Do Termites Leave On Their Own?

No, there is no good reason why they should. Think of it this way, if you had a good source of all you’re the things you will ever need in life, all for free, would you think of leaving?

I doubt. Unless termites are forced out of your home, there is no way they will leave your home.

While sometimes you might see evidence of inactive termite infestation in your structure or house, it doesn’t mean that the termites went away without being forced out.

The possible cause is that the termites moved to another part of the house where they are too lucky to see them.

Therefore, when buying a house with evidence of termite infestation, insist that the seller gets the house treated by a well-reputable company.

But if you are already in the home, get your house treated before termites cause much damage to your home and property.

By default, every home has all that termites need, and they will be happy to hang around your home until they are forced out.

There are some states where termites are a major concern. In California, there are several different termite species capable of destroying your home.

They do this in a slow but effective manner. You will not know of their infestation until it’s too late.

Therefore, if you intend to buy a home, you first want to have the home inspected for termites’ presence.

The best way to deal with termites is to conduct annual termite treatments and inspections.

But not all people understand how termite treatments work or even why they should be reapplied.

Treating a home once never means that it is safe from termites forever. This can never be true.

Are Termites Hard To Get Rid Of?

Termites are not only tough to eliminate but also hard to spot. Most of the time, you will spot termites after the damage they caused becomes obvious.

Therefore, you will need to be extra keen or consult the services of a professional termite control company.

In the United States, termites account for an estimated 600,000 damaged homes each year.

If you commercialize this damage, you might begin to understand what we are talking about here!

In reality, this costs residents an estimated $5 billion in termite control repairs! In reality, termites are found in every state.

If you happen to have experienced termite infestation, you know how frustrating these can be. They rob you of your peace, never knowing what they might be eating up next time.  

If you do not know how termites live, you might be forgiven to think that they have superpowers. And there are reasons they are too hard to get rid of.

Therefore, you need to understand termites and their behavior to figure out how to eliminate them.

One of the reasons it’s hard to get rid of termites is that, as mentioned earlier, it’s not easy to spot them.

Have you known that a colony of termites can live and thrive inside the walls of your home for ten years without detecting them? That’s how stealthy they can be!

This characteristic comes in handy for them, giving them all the time they need to chow down on everything.

From furniture to the wood inside the walls, wallpaper, and even books, without blowing their cover.

They know they have to hide to survive. Let me say that this is in their instincts. So they have to eat from the inside, not from the outside.

Another thing you might want to know is that termites are blind, lacking any functional eyes.

Thanks to their blindness, they are extra careful, highly dependent on the sense of touch in exploring and communicating with each other.

Lastly, termites need moisture due to their delicate skin. If termites are exposed to the sun, they will easily dehydrate.

With termite colonies increasing in thousands, it’s not easy to eradicate them.

Some queens will comfortably lay several thousand eggs each day, constantly growing the colony. Mature termite nests host millions of individuals!

How Do I Permanently Get Rid Of Termites?

While it’s a good feeling to imagine that you can permanently get rid of termites, it’s not possible.

And although they cause great damage around the globe, they are not eternally useless. Indeed, termites play an active role in our environment.

Some termite species help break down rotting wood into the soil, while others help break down animal feces. We need termites in our ecosystem.

But with your intention to get rid of termites permanently, perhaps it might help to prevent them from taking root within your home, controlling any active colonies nearby.

Since termites can remain active in your home with no trace to the layman, it’s highly advisable to conduct professionals to offer termite control services to you.

Such services offered yearly will control termites in your home. This is because termite treatments are the most complex treatments of all household pest management issues.

There are times one treatment will not suffice, depending on the species of the termite.

Again, other things that contribute to this are the colony’s size and the extent of the infestation.

The colony’s location(s) is also critical in determining the best treatment method.

What Does It Mean When You Find Dead Termites?

When you find dead termites, it’s very symbolic. This is because most of the damage that termites cause is within the inner walls of any structure, making it very difficult to detect.

Consequently, any sign of dead termites is significant as it’s indicative of a subterranean termite infestation.

Light attracts swarming termites, which are often found near doors, windows, vents and light fixtures.

When you experience a termite swarm, this is the first sign that your property is faced with a termite problem.

When exposed to light, the small, light-colored worker termites move quickly.

Additionally, these are the family members that will cause the most devastating damage to your property. 

Therefore, it’s needful to check your windows or vents, even if you haven’t seen signs of termites, to see if there are any dead termites or termite wings.

Winged termites are characterized by broad waists and pigmented bodies, having two pairs of wings.

On the other hand, subterranean termite swarmers are about one-quarter of an inch in length. They quickly shed their wings after a brief flight.

Does Bleach Kill Termites?

Yes, bleach kills termites. But the effectiveness will depend on the brands of bleach in question. This has been a question that many people ask all the time.

But as you might know, Clorox is considered the king in the bleaching world. Therefore, this would be your best bet when it comes to using bleach to kill termites.

After spraying Clorox bleach on termites, it will be absorbed by the termite, which kills it.

Conclusion

Sometimes, a squeaky floor is indicative of termite infestation, but not always. You will need a secondary method of identification.