How To Protect Your Home From Termites + Why We are Doing It

Hello Darling!

As you may know, Hunter and I just became homeowners and moved into our beautiful new house. This has been such an exciting season for us and we have definitely learned a lot! Being new homeowners can be a bit daunting at times. You just made the biggest investment of your life and now it’s your job to protect that investment. Scary- but fun. 😉 We recently found out that over 600,000 homes per year are invaded by termites. Rounding up to about $5 billion in damage. Can you believe that? When I heard those numbers I knew it was time to learn more and protect our home. So today, I am so excited to team up with Orkin Pest Control and share how to protect your home from termites and why we have chosen to protect ours.

How To Protect Your Home From Termites

You may remember, last April when we officially announced we had started the house hunting process. I shared that we had teamed up with Orkin Pest Control to help us select a pest free home- (You can check out that full blog post here). We truly had the best experience with them through this process and are so excited to continue to team up with them now to protect our new home.

Things You Should Know

Here’s some things we have learned that I believe all homeowners should know about termites:

Termites can cause serious structural damage to your home and most insurance policies do not cover that damage.
They are cryptic insects, who can eat away at your house from the ground up and can be overlooked in regular home inspections.
These pests love to eat wood, so any home, old or new, is susceptible to termites.

Why New Homes Have Pest Problems

New homes may actually be more likely to have pest problems, especially termites, than older homes. Here are a few reasons why:

If native termites are eating a forest and the land is cleared to build a house, those termites just found a new meal. Think of it this way, we took away their food source, so now our home is the food source.
During construction of your new home there is a big chance that it rained at some point in this process. This can create trapped moisture that may lead to future pest issues. This is a big reason for termite and pest problems for us in Houston area as we live in a very humid, tropical environment.

How You Can Help Prevent Termites

Since termites are a constant threat to your home, here are some things you can do on a fully constructed home to help maintain the effectiveness of Orkin’s termite treatment.

Eliminate Moisture Problems
- Repair leaking faucets, water pipes, and A/C units.
- Keep gutters and downspouts clean.
- Remove excessive plant cover and wood mulch.
Remove Termite Food Sources
- Keep firewood, lumber or paper away from foundation or crawl space.
- Get rid of stumps and debris near house.
- Place screens on outside vents.

Why + What Treatments We Are Having Done

After learning all of these facts, it was a no brainer for us that we wanted to protect our home from termites and pests. We had some of the Houston Orkin team come out to perform their free inspection and come up with a plan. From there the team decided the best plan of action was to treat the exterior with a liquid termite treatment and place Orkin insulation up in our attic to protect from termites + many other kinds of pests.

Having Orkin come and help us protect our home from termites has brought me such peace of mind. Though this may not be the most glamorous side of being a homeowner, it is so important! That is why I thought it was vital to share with you as well. It has been so fun to be able to share this entire home buying/ homeowner process with you. I can’t wait to continue to share more!

If you are a new or old homeowner I could not recommend Orkin’s services more. We have been so impressed! Now through June 30, 2019, call 877-284-7429 and mention the offer code TC15 for 15% off your termite service with Orkin Pest Control.

I hope this post has been helpful and inspires you to protect your home today!

YOU ARE SO LOVED!