What To Do After Termite Treatment?

It can be easy to assume that once you have a termite treatment, your pest problem has disappeared, and you don’t have to do anything else. 

However, you should do a few things after treatment to ensure your home is safe and prevent termites from returning. 

Immediately after a termite treatment, you should ensure your home is safe for you to re-enter by cleaning up and inspecting any termite damage. Then, you should perform some tasks inside and outside your home to keep the termites from coming back. 

10 Steps to Perform After a Termite Treatment 

After a termite treatment, you need to make sure your home is safe to re-enter and that you protect your house from further infestation. 

Thus, you should follow the steps below to keep your family and belongings safe, now and in the future. 

Step One: Clean your Home 

If you have had fumigation performed, the first thing you should do once it is safe to return to your home is clean. 

Fumigation can leave insecticides around your home, making you or your family sick if exposed for too long. So, you should perform a deep cleaning of your house after fumigation. 

To clean up after fumigation, perform the following actions: 

1. Open all the windows and doors before you start cleaning to air out your home 
2. Vacuum every inch of your carpets 
3. Use the vacuum nozzle attachment to clean furniture, curtains, and other fabrics
4. With a solution of half vinegar and half water, use a cloth to wipe down hard surfaces, paying extra attention to surfaces you often touch, such as doorknobs
5. Throw the cloth away when finished 
6. Mop hardwood floors 
7. Wash your toilet with an appropriate cleaner 
8. Wash your clothes and bedclothes in the washing machine 

Step Two: Call your Insurance Company 

Before you begin to repair any damage caused by termites, you should call your home insurance company to see if they cover termite damage. 

It is imperative to talk to your insurance company before trying to make any repairs. If you begin making repairs before you alert your insurance, you may not get as much reimbursement. 

You should be aware that most home insurance companies do not cover termite damage, but it never hurts to ask. 

Step Three: Assess the Termite Damage 

Your next step should be to assess the damage the termites have inflicted upon your home. 

At first, you should focus on load-bearing structures, such as beams and joists. These elements are the most critical structures in the home because if they suffer too much destruction, the house is at risk of collapsing. 

Next, examine other essential home parts, like floorboards and door frames, for signs of termite damage. 

Finally, assess less essential items that termites may have consumed, such as drywall, furniture, and cabinets. 

By making a list of the things that need repair, you can start getting an idea of how much renovations will cost and what companies you’ll need to hire to perform them. 

Step Four: Perform Repairs 

As I mentioned above, the first things you should repair are your home’s load-bearing structures so that you can ensure your house doesn’t collapse. 

Afterward, fix or replace any floorboards, doorframes, or steps that have suffered termite damage because these structures can harm you if they crumble. 

Finally, mend any other items that termites have destroyed. And when making repairs to your home, you should consider replacing the damaged wood with termite-resistant wood varieties. 

You can also buy wood that has received termite-resistant treatment so that termites can not cause extensive damage to your home again. 

Step Five: Move Wood Away from your House 

Many people keep wooden items such as firewood or furniture near their homes. However, since termites primarily live outside, these are the objects they will find first. 

And if these items are near your house, it will make it much easier for termites to realize you have more wood in your home. So, you should relocate wooden objects away from your home. 

Typically, the further away you move them, the better, but you should keep these items at least 15 feet (4.6 m) from your home’s foundation. Or, to be even safer, you can remove wood from your property entirely. 

Additionally, you should refrain from putting mulch near your home. Although mulch is aesthetically pleasing, it makes a good snack for termites, bringing them closer to your house. 

Step Six: Seal Outdoor Wooden Structures 

If you don’t want to remove your outdoor wooden structures, such as wooden swings, decks, or gazebos, you can seal them instead. 

Just about any type of sealant will help prevent termites from consuming the wood underneath, but products labeled as termite sealants better deter these insects. 

Step Seven: Remove Dead Plants 

Since most termite species prefer dead wood, you should eliminate any decaying wood on your property to prevent attracting these pests. 

So, remove any dead or dying trees or bushes near your home. 

Step Eight: Keep your Yard from Flooding 

Many termite species need a decent amount of moisture to survive, so if they identify that your yard is often wet, they will think it is an excellent area to build a nest. 

To eliminate sources of moisture, you should start by inspecting your downspouts. 

Does water pool under them after it rains? If so, you should think about getting downspout extenders so that water drains away from your foundation. 

If water stands around other areas of your foundation, your yard slopes inward towards your house. 

Thus, you should have your yard leveled or sloped outward, so the water drains away from your home’s base. 

Step Nine: Don’t Let your Home’s Wooden Structures Touch the Soil 

In some homes, particularly older ones, wooden siding ends right in the dirt. 

And since termites live in the dirt, the low wooden siding makes it easy for them to find your home and infest it. 

So, you should push back the soil from your home’s siding so that there is at least 2 in (5 cm) between it and the earth. 

Step Ten: Schedule Regular Termite Inspections 

A pest expert will examine the inside and outside of your home for signs of termites in a termite inspection. 

These inspections are crucial in preventing termite damage because they can help you find termites in your home before they can inflict any severe damage. 

Also, the pest professional who performs your inspection will be able to assess your home and give you tips on how to prevent another infestation. 

In general, you should have a termite inspection performed once a year. 

Conclusion 

Immediately after a termite treatment, you should ensure that your home is safe for your family to re-enter. 

To do this, you need to clean your house’s interior and check for severe termite damage that could cause the home to collapse. 

Afterward, you should take precautions to prevent termites from reinfesting your house.