“They come out of the earth, infest the wooden walls, and cannot be got rid of by any amount of cleanliness,” English explorer and author
Isabella Bird wrote of household pests.
It’s a silent assault, but an assault, nonetheless. Years pass and one day you notice a strange pile of white, or wood colored dust in the basement. Maybe you decide to replace a window and when you peel back the siding you discover the frame of your house riddled with small holes and crumbling particles of digested wood. Conventional wisdom says you have a termite problem. But that same conventional wisdom once solved wood infestation with fire.
Homeowners don’t have to rely on conventional wisdom these days to mitigate pest infestations. Professionals, with professional solutions are available to not only eradicate pests, but to restore the damage they’ve created. The mid-southern states present a unique environment that harbors a myriad of threats to the structural integrity of your home, buildings and commercial property. The mid-southern region also has proven solutions to these unique problems that we use at Triplett Pest Solutions, located in Dexter Missouri.
Wood destroying organisms, (WDO) are not limited to termites but include a wide variety of other organisms. Beetles, particularly powder post beetles and fungi, commonly creating damage called dry rot or white rot are examples of problems that defy simple methods of pest control. Breaking the destructive life-cycle of beetles and fungi demands unique solutions to the problem, but removing the pests are only half the work.
Damage to a structure by WDO comes in stages. Early detection offers easier solutions than more long term exposure allows. In extreme cases of WDO, foundations can collapse as the remaining fibers of the wooden infrastructure of a building are devoured. The hollow skeleton of once sturdy studs, perlins and trusses can’t bear the weight and a building collapses. Triplett Pest Solutions removes the pests, prevents further infestation and utilizes the latest in wood restoration technology to bring your structure back to its original integrity.
Missouri is home to perhaps the greatest variety of WDO outside the Amazon Basin.
These pests can have an adverse affect on the health of the people living in infested structures as well. “It is a matter of conjecture whether many people live in poor housing because they are sick or are sick because they live in poor housing,” Dr. Carter L. Marshall wrote in the Dynamics of Health and Disease. Older structures are more prone to beetle infestation, a process that involves beetle eggs hatching into larvae and consuming the wood they were hatched in.
Bees, particularly wood bees or as they are sometimes called, carpenter bees can create spectacular damage to sheds and attics. The holes they leave behind are as smooth as those created by the finest drill bit and are often large enough to stick your finger in.
Dry rot has a unique odor and a telltale white/yellow tint. Wet rot is harder to find. In well painted wood it is nearly impossible for the amateur to detect and it can destroy a structure before a novice can discover it.
At Triplett Pest, we can also take care of any moisture control issues you may have. Prolonged damp conditions can lead to the colonization of building materials in HVAC systems by molds, bacteria, wood-decaying molds and insect pests
(e.g., termites and carpenter ants). In those with allergies, exposure to these contaminants can be life threatening.
Wood, when carefully maintained can last centuries, but it takes an expert to discover potential damage and an even more knowledgeable hand to mitigate the destruction. Don’t leave this to chance, bring in the experts at Triplett Pest Solutions today. We will come out for a free inspection and assess the damage and provide a plan to get your home rid of what ails it.