What Sort of Damage Do Insects Cause to Homes?
Posted on: 2 April 2019
Insects can cause all sorts of damage to a home. In Australia, there are hundreds of thousands of different species of insects which will sometimes choose to set up colonies close to people's properties. When you are living close to a colony of insects, then damage may well occur. As such, you should take whatever steps are necessary to remove them or to encourage them to move on elsewhere to build their nests. What are the major insect pests found in Australia, and what sort of damage can they cause?
Termites
If you find that subterranean termites are living in your garden, then seek a termite control company to help you get rid of them. These creatures can live in very sizeable colonies, which may mean they start to come into your home as they roam even if their main nest is at the far end of your garden. When it comes to dry wood termites, their numbers may be fewer, but they can do even more extensive damage. These insects tend to chew their way through the timber struts that many Australian homes are made from. They can hollow out roof supports, for instance, and undermine their entire structure, which could make your home unsafe to be in.
Bees and Wasps
If you notice a wasp nest on your property somewhere, then the likelihood is that it is in a tucked-away place which does not get disturbed much. Therefore, they can get quite large before you end up dealing with them. Quite apart from the fact that wasps can sting you, they can cause plenty of damage to homes. The nest itself is constructed from tiny particles of wood pulp. Wasps frequently destroy wood in a home in order to make their pulp. Window frames, weatherboarding, fences and sheds can all be slowly destroyed by the presence of a nearby wasp colony. In fact, you can also find similar damage from certain species of bee. For example, the so-called carpenter bee will often make its own nest inside the timbers of a house.
Ants
Ants are another insect that you will often find coming in and out of homes, usually because they have found a food source inside which they are slowly removing. Of course, ant nests are most commonly found in a garden. However, if they are living underneath or inside your home, then they can cause lots of damage. One of the things that they like to do is to chew through the sheathing found on electrical cables. In some cases, they have even caused domestic wiring to short-circuit. If this happens in your home, then you could even face the possibility of an electrical fire breaking out. In addition, ants tend to like to make nests within the cracks found in paving slabs and concrete. Over time, this can cause cracks to widen, which means they end up splitting apart and need to be either repaired or replaced entirely.
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