87
Termites
Some termites live in the soil beneath your
home. Your professionally engineered grade
in addition to ensuring proper drainage, also
helps prevent termite infestations. If there
isn’t direct contact between the soil and wood
framing of your home, termites will build tubes
and tunnels which they use as travel corridors.
Check for these tubes and tunnels as they
signal an infestation.
Care and maintenance
The following tips will help you prevent damage to
your home resulting frommoisture or termites.
Maintaining yard drainage
Avoid altering the drainage pattern including in
areas designed to retain water.
Ensure a space of at least six inches between
the soil and siding or stucco. Failure to do so
could allow moisture to deteriorate the brick,
siding, or stucco.
Pay attention to the original grade of your yard.
As the soil settles, the grade will change which
requires you to re-establish the original grade.
If you bought your home new, wait at least
a year before undertaking major landscape
projects. The majority of soil settlement
happens in that period.
Have a professional landscaper install or
modify landscaping.
Avoid planting grass or plants too close to the
home. If they’re too close, the water you use to
hydrate them could leak into your home.
CAUTION: Serious water problems could
result from changing the drainage pattern
on your property.
CAUTION: Before digging in the yard, call
the local utility company to have buried
wires marked.
HOME TIP: Inspect for termites every
spring by searching for the remains of
winged insects. Also, search where the
footing and soil meet for signs of the tubes
or tunnels termites use to get at the wood.
Push a knife blade against the wood to
ensure it isn’t rotted. Call an exterminator
if you believe you have a termite problem.
Also, see Downspouts & Gutters (Page 57),
and Irrigation & Sprinklers (Page 88).
