FAIRFAX VA. (March 12, 2018)<\/strong> \u2014 Termites are one of the most destructive insect species to impact homeowners here in the U.S. In fact, termite infestations cause more than $5 billion in property damage in the U.S. every year \u2014 costs that are not typically covered by home insurance policies. The National Pest Management Association<\/a> (NPMA) is working to spread awareness about these silent destroyers during Termite Awareness Week, March 11-17, by educating consumers about the structural dangers of termites and providing tips to help prevent infestations.<\/p>\n \u201cTermites are tiny, but the damage they cause if left to their own devices sure is mighty. With spring approaching and termite activity increasing, it\u2019s important to take the proper precautions to protect your greatest investment from these wood-destroying insects,\u201d said Cindy Mannes, vice president of public affairs at NPMA. \u201cConsider adding pest-proofing tasks to your spring-cleaning list, such as remediating sources of excess moisture around the home and having a licensed pest control professional assess your property annually for potential termite issues.\u201d<\/p>\n New this year, NPMA commissioned a first of its-kind research project to visually show homeowners the destructive nature of termites in a controlled environment. The group designed a custom, built-to-scale, miniature dream house, dumped nearly half a million termites into it and has been watching them work together as a colony and wreak havoc behind the home\u2019s walls through a mix of high-definition video and photography. Mud tubes \u2014 used by termites to reach a food source and a common sign of termite trouble \u2014 quickly formed around the house\u2019s foundation and a full reveal of the damage done by the colony is expected in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of this project is to show a never-before-seen view of exactly what goes on between the drywall and floorboards of a home infested by termites. Because termites are so hard to see once inside a structure, they are able to silently chew through critical support beams and other materials uninterrupted, 24-hours a day with the damage often occurring unbeknownst to homeowners,\u201d added Mannes.<\/p>\n Here are NPMA\u2019s top 10 termite prevention tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n For more information on termites, visit PestWorld.org<\/a>. For updates on the Tiny Termite House project, visit PestWorld.org\/tiny-termite-house<\/a> or follow @PestWorld social media channels.<\/p>\n About the National Pest Management Association<\/strong><\/p>\n The NPMA, a non-profit organization with more than 5,500 members, was established in 1933 to support the pest management industry’s commitment to the protection of public health, food and property from the diseases and dangers of pests. For more information, visit PestWorld.org<\/a> or follow @PestWorld on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Pinterest<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a92019 National Pest Management Association<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Termites are one of the most destructive insect species to impact homeowners here in the U.S. In fact, termite infestations cause more than $5 billion in property damage in the U.S. every year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willtheyeatit.pestworld.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n