What Causes Termites in Your Home

Termites, mostly light brown with some reddish-brown heads, crawling on a dark surface.

Have you noticed mud tubes and flying termites in your home? Perhaps there is wood damage, bubbling, or flaking wall paint. Or maybe you're hearing chewing noises from the walls. If this applies to you, you may be facing a termite infestation.

If left unaddressed, termites can cause extensive damage to your home's structure and deplete its value. Read on to learn what attracts termites to your home.

Moisture in Your Home

Termites need moisture to survive, so any areas of your home that are damp or humid are likely to attract them. This can include areas with leaking pipes, standing water, or high humidity. Moisture can also soften and weaken wood, making it easier for termites to chew through. This problem is common in areas like bathrooms, kitchens, or basements where water is more likely to accumulate.

To prevent termite infestation, repair any leaks immediately, and ensure proper ventilation in areas like the basement and kitchen. Also, regular inspections of your foundation, roof, and plumbing can help you identify and address any leaks or dampness before they lead to an infestation.

Wood Piles Near Your Home

Wood piles, such as firewood, near a home can be a major attractant for termites. Termites feed on cellulose, and wood is a primary source of cellulose, making wood piles a perfect food source for termites. The proximity of wood piles to your home also provides an easy path for termites to enter your house, causing damage to your property's structure and foundation.

Store any wood or wooden structures at a reasonable distance from your home. Also, keep them elevated and protected from moisture, and get rid of any rotting wood as soon as possible to prevent termite infestation.

Openings in Your Home

Warm, dark, and secluded environments such as foundations are perfect for termites to build nests. Termites can use any gaps and crevices in your home, such as cracks in the foundation, to move in undetected. Once they've established a colony, these pests can seriously harm your home's wooden elements, such as support beams, joists, and flooring.

Use of Mulch

Mulching is a common gardening practice that many homeowners use to promote healthy plant growth and improve curb appeal. However, mulch can unintentionally attract pests such as termites. Termites can be found in mulch as it provides a moist environment and an abundant food source. This is especially problematic when mulch is placed too close to the foundation of a home, as termites can easily travel from the mulch to the wooden structure of the home.

Your Home's Location

Termites are attracted to areas with warm and humid climates, making tropical and subtropical regions ideal environments for termite activity. In these areas, termites can thrive year-round due to the consistent warmth and moisture levels.

The location of a property can also affect the likelihood of termite infestation. Homes near wooded areas or water sources may be more vulnerable to termites as they provide shelter and access to food.

Thus, if you live in such areas, you should take preventative measures to protect your property and routinely inspect for signs of termite activity. The most common types of termites in our area are subterranean termites. Subterranean termites tend to live in soil, and require moisture.

If you've noticed a termite infestation in your home, contact a reliable pest control service immediately. At Pass Pest Control, we're experts in pest control with over 250 years of combined experience. Contact us today for residential or commercial pest control services.

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Hand holding a magnifying glass over a bed, enlarging a bee illustration near a bedroom scene

BED BUGS: What They Are, How to Identify Them and How to Eliminate The

August 19, 2026

Bed bugs are small, parasitic blood feeding insects that can a comfortable home into a very unpleasant residence. Although they are not known to transmit diseases to people, their bites can cause itching and irritation, and an infestation can be difficult to correct without a complete application. However, in larger infestations the problem can cause open wounds due to scratching that can become infected. What are Bed Bugs? Bed bugs are small, dark brown insects that feed on blood. Adult bed bugs are about the size of apple seed where younger bed bugs are about the size of a grape seed and lighter in color. They are compact insects, allowing them to hide in cracks and crevices that are about the width of a dime. Despite their name, bed bugs aren’t limited to beds. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, couches, chairs, carpets, cracks and other areas where individuals might rest. How to Identify Them? Bed Bugs can be difficult to spot because they are good at concealing themselves. Most common indications of an infestation are: Blood stains on bedding and mattresss Small dark spots indicating bed bug droppings Small eggs or cast skins Active bedbugs around tufts in the mattress, couches, chairs and cracks and crevices Red bites that occur in lines Where do they originate from? Bed bugs are excellent travelers. Bedbugs have a claw like hook similar to a tick which makes them the ultimate hitchhiker. They can enter a home through luggage, clothing, used furniture, bedding, and other personal belongings. They may also spread between rooms or apartments through cracks and other openings as well as person to person. How do you eliminate bed bugs? A few steps to take reduce your exposure to bed bugs: Inspect used furniture before you place it into the home. Use caution when traveling- inspect head boards, mattresses and all hotel furnishing before removing your items from your suitcase. Carefully check contents of luggage when returning home. Keep rooms organized which will make inspection easier in case of infestation. If you are suspicious of an item treat it for bedbugs before you place it into your home What Do I Do if I Find Bedbugs? Don’t discard of your furniture. Moving the items around can spread the infestation and make the problem worse. Start by carefully inspecting the area where bedbugs were observed. Wash and dry bedding on the highest setting available. Vacuuming is a valuable tool in helping to control infestations but can’t eliminate bedbugs on its own. Bed bugs can conceal themselves in cracks and crevices. Professional pest management may be necessary if the infestations is well established. What to Do? Bed bugs are an unpleasant, but they are a manageable pest problem. Early detection makes treatment easier. If you suspect and problem, inspect carefully, avoid spreading potentially infested belongings and consider contacting a qualified pest control professional for an appropriate treatment plan. If you are experiencing a reoccurring bed bug problem it is likely that you are coming into contact with an infected person or infested item. The key is to act in an organized manner rather than relying on a single treatment for moving to another room. With careful inspection and the correct treatment protocol bed bugs can be eliminated. There are many types of treatments for bedbugs and all of them work to a certain extent depending on the level of infestation and the condition of the home being treated. Heat is a very common way to control bedbugs but it only has about an 80 percent success rate. High clutter and easy avenues to avoid heat impact the ability of heat treatments to be successful. Temperatures have to be maintained at a level of 140 degrees or higher for at least three hours to see optimum results. Uncontrolled heat applications that maintain heat at 150 degrees for higher can result in serious damage to furniture, wiring and belongings. Chemical applications tend to perform very well in small to medium infestations but are challenged by aggressive, more populated bed bug infestations. Cryogenic applications do an excellent job of killing bedbugs on contact but do very little in controlling hidden infestations and leave no chemical residual for long term control. Fumigation is likely the most reliable method. Performed at the proper dosage rate a variety of insects and rodents can be eliminated with fumigation. However, fumigation tends to be more expensive that other applications and leaves no residual as chemical applications will.