If you’re a homeowner, you know that it can be tough to maintain the peace and cleanliness of your property, primarily if you have termite problems standing in the way. These pests are attracted to wood, which means they can be found infesting trees and building colonies where there are wooden structures present.

Even though termites do an excellent job at consuming rotten trees and stumps, they continue to do more damage than good by putting your home in danger and causing havoc. They will begin by consuming decaying trees and later on moving towards properties in the surrounding areas.

It isn’t just old stumps that termites can cause damage to. If they infest and weaken a tree with a large trunk, the branches can end up falling over your home and damaging its structure or worse, injuring a loved one. If you want to learn how to treat a tree with termites and keep bigger problems from arising, keep reading below.

Facts About Termites

Termites belong to a colony just like ants, and they can grow to accommodate over 250,000 insects. They are divided into a caste system with termites having distinguished parts to fill in their colony.

A flying termite or a swarmer must look for the right location to build a new colony. The king and queen work to create offspring and continue making more termites. There are soldiers with a responsibility to protect the nest from potential intruders.

While the king, queen, and soldiers attend to their duties, worker termites make sure that the colony is well-fed and strong. They watch over the eggs and fix the nest the moment it experiences damage. Workers comprise most of the termite population and eat away through dead trees to gain moisture and cellulose, which the colony needs to continue thriving.

How to Tell if Termites are Infesting Your Trees

Aside from spotting a termite nest in a tree, there are other signs you should look out for to tell you that the pests are infesting the trees near your property. First, you should observe the base and bark of the tree. Since termites require moisture to live, they will build mud tubes on the barks of trees to prevent their exposure and keep predators from trying to get inside the tree. You can try boring a hole in the trunk of the tree to check for termites. If the trunk appears to be fragile and hollow, it’s a sign that a colony of termites are present.

Once you’re done drilling, you can either wait to see for the appearance of termites or utilize a piece of paper, leaf, or grass and stick it inside the hole to see if you can find any insects. You can also use a shovel and dig through the soil found around the roots of the tree. If a termite’s nest is present, evidence can usually be found in the ground close to the base of the tree.

Ways to Eliminate Termites from Trees

It can be challenging to remove a termite-infested tree, but it’s crucial, especially if you don’t want your property to be affected. When you see a rotten tree in your area, call professionals in to eliminate the deteriorating portions of the tree and remove all traces of these bugs.

Identifying the origin of the termites and removing the colony is a crucial part of keeping the termites from causing further damage. You’ll need to work with pest control services because they have the right equipment and tools. They are aware of the best methods of removal and know how to identify a termite’s nest at the base or stump of a tree or pile of wood.

It would be best to use a termite treatment for trees and apply it around the soil and all over the tree to keep the termites from escaping or moving to a new location to continue breeding. You can also use the treatment solution around your property, as well as the trunks of nearby trees to eradicate the pesky critters.

Conclusion

Handling termites found in a tree can be challenging to manage on your own, especially if you have no experience extinguishing insects. Be sure to contact termite control to help with your situation so they can inspect the neighbouring trees from your home and initiate the appropriate actions to prevent the termite infestation from affecting your property over time.

Are you looking for eco-friendly pest control in Northern Beaches to deal with your termite problems? Clean and Green Pest is dedicated to extinguishing pests in homes and workplaces, including cockroaches, ants, termites, fleas, rodents, bedbugs, and more. Get in touch with us today to request a quote!