Subterranean termites in this case are moisture-loving creatures and will go all out to invade and destroy wet areas. Not to worry, I’ll be giving you tips on how to get rid of subterranean termites.

All termites pose a huge threat to your home and property. They bore holes not just in your wooden structures, but in old book piles as well.

Keep reading!

As I just mentioned, subterranean termites love moisture, so you can find them building their nests inside damp soil. They are quite powerful creatures so they can build tunnels through any cracks they can find in the ground.

They are also very fast multipliers, of left unattended to, a colony of thousands can multiply into millions. This is because termites are generally hard workers and when one colony is filled up, the workers will explore more areas and start new colonies.

If you allow this to happen, it could spell disaster to your structures, as they will damage as many wooden structures, books, and clothes as they can come across.

Subterranean termites can creep into your home using several means.

If you have tree branches that extend to your roof or windows, they can simply crawl along the way and let themselves in. They can also get in through cracks and crevices along your walls and even through the base of your door.

Best Ways To Get Rid Of Subterranean Termites

Fortunately, there are several means by which you can get rid of subterranean termites.

Follow these tips if you are looking for tips on general termite extermination.

Remove Moisture From The Foundation Of Your Home

Subterranean termites are fond of nesting in areas that are damp or moist. For this reason, if the soil around your home is soaked, they will not hesitate to explore such a comfortable environment.

What you can do is limit the amount of moisture around the soil in your home. Do yourself a favor and find out what is causing those areas to be moist and fix it.

It could be a leaking or busted pipe. It could also be a faulty drain. Either way, if there is a constant outflow of water towards those areas, then the termites will remain there.

On the other hand, if the soil of the foundation of your home is kept dry, it will be very unappealing to the termites and they will leave since they need the moisture to thrive.

To channel water away from the foundation of your home, you can install gutters to guide the flow away.

Get Rid Of Piles Of Old Wood

When you have piles of old wood laying around your yard, then you are giving the termites a perfect nesting spot. It would be worse if the wood in the piles is moist, as it would be very easy for the termites to bore through them and build a colony within.

To make your yard more unfavorable to them, be sure no old wood piles are laying around your yard. When you fell into your garden trees, be sure to clear out all the debris that lay around.

You can get old tree stumps burnt, or call on a professional lumberjack to take them away.

Seal Off Cracks And Crevices

If you have cracks in your walls or the ground, then they would make excellent crawl spaces for subterranean termites.

For the cracks in your concrete floor, you can seal them off using a cement, sand, and water mixture. You can do this yourself or hire a contractor to get it done. Although hiring help would cost you extra.

If there are cracks in your walls, you can seal them off using caulk. An extra tip here is to reduce moisture around the home by allowing proper ventilation. The more ventilation you have, the less moisture there will be in the cracks.

When the environment (crawl spaces) becomes unconducive, the termites will be forced to go elsewhere.

Get Rid Of Over-reaching Branches

If your garden trees are overgrown and have branches stretching out to your windows or roof, then you are simply granting the termites easy access into your home.

The solution to this is very simple, keep your tree branches properly pruned. Maintain a habit of regularly trimming the branches as at when due.

Proper pruning will also open up your tree and allow better airflow around your yard as a whole. Good airflow reduces moisture, both in the yard soil and in the home.

Once again, the less moisture there is, the lower the number of subterranean termites you will find around your yard.

How To Kill Subterranean Termites

Making your yard and your home uncomfortable for subterranean termites is a good way to chase them away from your premises. However, a more effective means of getting rid of them would be to kill them.

There are different approaches to killing them. We will discuss them below.

Use Insecticides

If you notice you have a termite infestation, then you can kill the workers who troop into your home with termite chemicals.

Subterranean termite workers are long travelers and can explore your home in search of food and other debris to build their nests with. They will move around your home using as many crawl spaces as they can find.

Go to a pest control store and buy a chemical-based insecticide to kill termites in the house.

Visit the areas where they are very active and spray. The places you would most likely find them would be between cracks in the walls, or under old book piles. You can also find them lurking around damp wooden structures in the kitchen or bathroom.

When you find them, you can spray the insecticide directly on them and they will be dead. All it would take is a matter of minutes.

The disadvantage of using chemical-based insecticides is that they can also harm humans and pets. Children are very curious when they come across new things, especially things that look like play toys (the spray can).

For this reason, be sure to keep the spray can away from their reach at all times.

Also, protect yourself before you spray. You can wear a face mask to cover your nose and mouth to avoid inhaling or accidentally ingesting the insecticide.

How To Control Subterranean Termites Naturally

If you do not fancy chemical-based insecticides, you can opt for more natural substances to kill the termites. There are many organic combinations you can try to kill the termites.

One of which is the garlic and cayenne pepper combo. Garlic is a very healthy food for humans, but it contains sulfur that irritates almost every insect on Earth.

Using this knowledge, you can make a homemade garlic/cayenne pepper insecticide to kill the subterranean termites.

All you will need are as many cloves of garlic as required to make the solution, as well as some cayenne pepper.

Grind the garlic and the pepper in a container and add some water to dilute. Stir thoroughly so every component is well blended. Get a spray bottle and pour the mixture inside.

The next step is to visit the areas where the termites usually crawl past. Spray the mixture directly on them if you find any, or spray inside the cracks where they might be hiding.

When the worker termites make contact with the garlic/cayenne pepper solution, they will be irritated and they will leave. If they do not, then the solution will kill them.

The good thing about this approach is that it is safe to execute around children and pets, as it causes no harm to them. It is also a quick fix almost anyone can prepare.

On the downside, using organic insecticides will only kill the worker ants in the home. The more thorough approach would be to use baits, a this can wipe out the entire subterranean termite colony.

Using Baits To Kill Subterranean Termites

If you want to rid your yard of these destructive pests, then your best move will be to target the colony as a whole.

And the best way to achieve this is by using baits.

For this to work, you have to place the poisoned bait along the trails where the worker termites often pass through. When they come across the poisoned bait, they will pick it up and take it back to their nesting place.

The baits don’t kill the termites at once, rather, the poison can take up to 48 to 72 hours to take full effect. During this time, the workers would have made contact with several members of the colony and the poison will spread.

From then on, it will only be a matter of time before every member of the colony is affected and terminated.

Conclusion

Subterranean ants are moisture-loving creatures, so keeping your yard and home moisture-free is the first step to take to keep them away.

I trust these tips on how to get rid of subterranean termites have been helpful.

Take care!

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