Destructive Appetite

Termites can be a homeowner’s worst nemesis, just like bitterness is the arch enemy of a broken heart. 

It has been my experience in life that we tend to ignore things that could be harmful, until we notice the damage. This is most definitely the case with termites that eat away at the foundation of a house costing the homeowner his peace of mind and quite a bit of money.  Bitterness also can cause significant damage as it eats away at your soul, often causing anger and irreparable harm to others and self.  Both are curable if treated in time.

For example, since I used to be a termite technician, over the years I’ve been in over a hundred basements.  During that tenure, I’ve seen where termites and their destructive appetites have eaten over half of the house’s foundation.  I’ve also seen when they were just in the beginning stages and when a mud tube was found.  In these cases, the termites didn’t surface again because the exterminator heavily treated the area with industrial strength termiticide.  With close scrutiny they are manageable, however if you ignore the warning signs they can do serious damage.

 Here are a few tips to alert you about termites:

- During the spring or early summer, be on the lookout for what appears to be flying insects in your doorway or basement, which swarm and then suddenly die.  Examine a few closely and see if they look like a cigar with wings.  A cigar with wings is a termite swarmer, if it has a pinched a waist it’s an ant swarmer.  If they are a termite swarmer you should call an exterminator for an inspection.  

- From time to time, when in the basement, check if there are any exposed beams and look for mud like tubes.  If so, be sure not to ignore it.  Take action by calling a professional for a inspection so he can  discover if there are live termites still active  in that tube. 

-If you buy or have bought a house which has been treated for termites you need to do some research.  Call or talk to the previous owner and get the run down on any paper work he might have as proof of past termite activity.   Houses with treated termite damage will sell as long as you are honest to the buyer about it.

So, as to give you clarity regarding our friend the termite, here’s a little pest anatomy. Termite workers are the class of termite that eats wood, are milky white, blind, and hate the light. Termites have a keen sense of smell, excellent hearing and stay underground as they spend their time finding wood to take back to the colony.  It takes a while for them to do significant damage to a structure, but once you have them in your structure you need to evict them and then take preventive measures to keep them out. 

Which brings me back to this: Bitterness is like a colony of termites.  At first, it bothers us and we wish we didn’t feel that way.  But, after a while we drop our guard and it begins to attack our foundation and steal our joy.  When someone becomes bitter often they become despondent or just plain mean.  Which often results in losing touch with those we love and makes it nearly impossible for their broken hearts to mend correctly.

This is too bad because the people who care about you are the ones who can help point out bitterness and help you eradicate it.  By all means don’t lock all the doors of your house and keep everyone out. 

To eliminate a destructive appetite you need to stop being bitter and invest in getting better.  

Swavel