What Attracts Termites Besides Wood?

If you are like most homeowners, you may think that just because your home is made of brick or stone, you have less of a chance of attracting termites. Unfortunately, while there likely still is wood used in the bones of your home, there are many other things besides wood that may be attracting termites. To ensure you are protected from the potential damages that these hungry pests may cause, here are 3 other things that aren’t wood that could make your home the target of a termite infestation.

Moisture Retention

Like other insects, termites require a steady amount of moisture to survive. The digestion process of termites will often be disrupted if they don’t have access to enough water to function normally. Without access to water, termites will ultimately die like any other living organism. For this reason, limiting the amount of water they have access to in mulch beds or around your foundation is critical for keeping an infestation at bay.

Cellulose-Based Materials

While termites are most well-known for their love of eating wood, they are chewing the wood to get the cellulose-based materials that it contains. This means that any other items that are made of cellulose including leaves, cardboard boxes or even paper could be a potential food source for termites. As long as these items provide nearby access to your home through termite tubes, you could be at risk.

Dark Spaces

While most homes in Oklahoma are built without basements, a large amount of them will typically have a crawlspace. Like other pests, termites will often inhabit dark spaces because of the protection it provides from predators and a higher moisture content that can’t be reached by sunlight that would otherwise dry it out. However, once alates begin to swarm and create new colonies, they will often seek out this sunlight to reach new areas.

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