Tempting Termites: 2 Termite-Attracting Mistakes You Don't Want To Make At Home

Even if you're a social butterfly who loves entertaining guests at your home, there are certain visitors you don't want showing up at your doorstep. Termites are like those unwanted visitors, and there are mistakes you can make that will undoubtedly attract them to your home. If you don't want belligerent party animals showing up at your house at 1 a.m., then don't fill your house with kegs and place a sign out front that says "Free Beer." And if you don't want termites showing up at your house (at any hour), then don't make the two mistakes below.

Mistake #1: Giving Termites Free Water

Though there are some insects, such as mosquitoes, that are more likely to show up at your house when you have free beer, termites are only looking for one free drink — water. As you can imagine, eating wood all day results in unquenchable thirst. Termites need plenty of H2O to survive, and they will gladly show up and stick around for a while when they have easy access to the life-giving liquid.

Termites aren't picky, though, and don't care where the water comes from. Leaky toilets, showers, and sinks all attract termites. Similarly, when freezers and washers malfunction and cause puddles of water to accumulate on the floor, those sources of water attract termites as well.

Roof leaks are another major problem. If you have a leaky roof, you could have water accumulating in your walls, and — without even realizing it — you could be creating the perfect environment for termites to live, feed, and breed.

Mistake #2: Giving Termites Free Wood

Termites need wood to survive, so they choose to live in places where they find plenty of the fibrous material. As is the case with the water they consume, termites will consume wood indiscriminately from a wide variety of sources, including firewood, overgrown shrubs, rotting trees, dead tree stumps, and mulch.

The closer these sources of wood are to your house, the more likely termites are to show up at your door. Firewood stacked right outside your house is one of the biggest attractors of termites and is the equivalent of the "Free Beer" sign discussed earlier.

Giving termites easy access to food and water is a surefire way to attract the property-damaging pests to your home, and having your home treated by a termite expert is a surefire way to shield your home from the tiny wood-eating invaders, so protect your home by calling a termite pest control expert today.