Pests not only infest your hardwood, but they can eat away your mental peace, bit by bit. A pest infestation in the house is the worst thing imaginable.
These tiny critters can become scarier than the grim reaper because they penetrate the surface of the wood and damage it from within.
This can weaken entire wooden structures and become a safety risk for the people living inside! And if you don’t take proactive measures, it can spread the damage faster than you think and triple the repair costs.
Be it due to water seepage or aging, your hardwood—once exposed to a pest infestation—will go to ruins. It’s best to identify the problem early on and save your hardwood from the following pests!
Termites
Termites are a death sentence for wood. If you haven’t seen a plank of wood infested and eaten by termites, you can’t even imagine the damage they can cause. They have the ability to feast on wood, by turning the fiber into sugary material. And you only need a handful of termites to ruin the entire wooden structure!
But the scariest part about a termite attack is that it destroys the wood from within. Their masterwork may be going on right in front of you and you wouldn’t be able to see it. This is because they eat the wood from the inside and weaken the structure.
This compromises the structural integrity of wood until there’s nothing of substance left in it. It’s important to get your hardwood inspected for termites regularly so that you can prevent impending damage while there’s still time.
Powderpost Beetles
These are wood-boring pests that can attack both hardwoods and softwoods. Adult pests lay eggs on the surface of wooden floors and structures and wait until their larvae are born. Their larvae bore into the wood through cracks, holes and unrepaired damages. Once they’ve secured their bases in your wooden structure, their master plan is set to work.
The larvae live and grow inside the wood until it matures into an adult. Once it reaches maturity, it comes out of the resting place within the wood, leaving a hole where their entry passageway was.
This enables other larvae to enter the wood from the same channel. Thus they can bore a million holes in the wooden mass and also weaken the flooring from within.
Carpenter Ants
This isn’t a risk for homeowners who have recently gotten new hardwood floors installed. But if your hardwood flooring has seen many seasons come and go, it’s at the risk of getting infested with carpenter ants.
They look a little different from regular ants. They’re larger in size and don’t usually build their nests underground. They can set camp at several spots in the house where the flooring has seen water damage, or has been in place for years!
They become a threat to your house when they settle in abandoned corners and infest your hardwood. The consequences can be major, depending on the duration of the infestation and the extent of moisture damage.
If you’re looking for reliable hardwood flooring companies in Seattle, we can help. We provide hardwood floor installation Seattle to all homes that need to get their damaged floors replaced. Call us to get a pest-free wood installation and dustless floor refinishing for your home.