Should I Be Worried About My Neighbor's Termites?

Termites are a nightmare for any homeowner as they can quickly destroy a house. These invasive bugs multiply quickly and mature queens can lay up to 1,000 eggs per day. Even the wind can transport termites to your house. So, should I be worried about my neighbor’s termites?

You should be worried about your neighbor’s termites if they live close to you. Termites can burrow into the ground and build mud tunnels to travel to houses near their colonies. It costs an average of $110 to hire an exterminator for an infestation, and it’s worth the cost to prevent thousands of dollars in damage to your home.

Termites can destroy a house in 3-8 years or even faster if the colony is massive. Look for signs such as sagging drywall, peeling paint, and droppings if you suspect you have termites in your house. Follow along as we explore what you should do if your neighbor has termites.

You should be worried if your neighbor has termites, especially if their house is close to yours. Termites typically build several colonies at a time to keep up with the fast birth rate. These colonies are often spread out, and termites are known to migrate to nearby wooden structures.

This includes fences, sheds, and even nearby houses. Depending on the severity of your neighbor’s termite infestation, there could be a strong chance that they will migrate to your house. That’s why you need to get a termite inspection if you suspect you have termites after your neighbors experience an infestation.

Termite inspections cost $110, on average, but it can cost as little as$70 depending on who you hire. It’s best to catch and exterminate termites as early as possible because they can cause tens of thousands of dollars of damage to your home.

Termites can follow you to another house. This can happen if termites cling to furniture or boxes that you pack and bring to another house. They are also likely to appear at your new house if you inadvertently bring termite eggs.

Termites are often found on wooden furniture, and that’s where they lay eggs in many cases. It’s important to inspect your wooden items and furniture before moving if you suspect you have termites. Ideally, you hire an exterminator to ensure that you get rid of all termites before moving to another house so you don’t bring them with you.

A few termites aren’t necessarily a sign that you have an infestation on your hands. You don’t need to worry right away if you see a few termites hovering around your home. Termites often blow in the wind and stray from their paths, and that’s how a handful appear at a time.

However, it’s time to worry if you find termite droppings in your house or more than 10 termites. It’s also a bad sign if the termites appear during spring when the conditions are perfect for them to build a colony. Swarmers, the termites with wings, don’t necessarily indicate an impending infestation.

Once you find smaller termites and signs of wood damage, it’s time to call an exterminator. While a few termites aren’t always a bad sign, it’s worth getting an inspection to play it safe.

Termites leave many signs of their presence, such as mud tunnels and sagging drywall. Mud tunnels indicate the presence of termites in many cases as they build them to get into houses. Sagging drywall is a sign that termites are eating the wood.

It’s easy to mistake the signs of termites for water damage. Peeling and paint and buckling floorboards are signs of water damage in some cases, but they can also tell you that you have a termite infestation. Termites can also weaken your floorboards and they will be more likely to creak as you walk.

Look for droppings if you suspect you have termites. Termite droppings look quite similar to sawdust and sand. You will often find droppings in the corners and along the perimeter of wooden items, furniture, and floorboards.

It can take as long as 8 years for termites to destroy a house. However, a large colony of termites can destroy a house in as little as 2 years depending on the age of the house and how many termites there are. Houses that are primarily made of wood are most likely to quickly deteriorate due to a termite infestation.

There are reports of houses being destroyed in just 12 months due to extreme infestations. Termites continue to reproduce continually if left untreated, and that speeds up the process. The average termite queen can lay 100 or more termites per year.

However, older termite queens can lay as many as 1,000 eggs per day. That is when termites can quickly overtake and destroy a house. Exterminators use chemicals to kill the queen, colony, and eggs before they can hatch.

It costs an average of $580 to exterminate termites, but it varies based on the severity of the infestation. Minor infestations can cost just over $200 to exterminate. The cost is based on the chemicals, how long the process takes, and the exterminator’s rate.

In extreme cases, you will have to spend nearly $1,000 to exterminate termites. Larger infestations often require treatment over a few days. This also requires more chemicals and, in some cases, more exterminators for the job.

You may need to spend an extra $50 per year for preventative treatment if you’ve had termites before. This is often necessary for homeowners that live in wooded areas with large termite populations. However, many homeowners have great results with liquid treatments that you only need to reapply it every 5 years.

You should hire an exterminator to inspect your house for termites if your neighbor has them. Termites can spread to nearby houses once the colony grows big enough. The wind can carry termite swarmers from one house to another.

They can also spread to your fence or travel underground and build mud tunnels to get into your house. It costs an average of $110 to get a termite inspection, and it’s worth the cost if your neighbors have an infestation. A few termites don’t indicate an infestation, but it’s still important to hire an exterminator as they can destroy a house in 3-8 years.