Termite infestation can spell doom to your favourite furniture. A swarm of hungry termites will happily gnaw their way through anything from the kitchen cabinet to your expensive rocking chair on the balcony. What’s worse is that termites are difficult to kill once they make homes inside your furniture.
So, what can you do to keep these uninvited “guests” away from your furniture? Well, you could always approach a professional exterminator, but that may lighten your wallet considerably. Here are 5 ways to help you work around the money part and still discourage termites from using your precious furniture as an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Build furniture with termite resistant plywood
To ensure that the plywood is termite proof it should be preservative treated and made of hard wood, confirming to minimum BIS standard ie. IS 710. Greenply has a wide selection of termite and borer proof plywood.
Control quantity of moisture in your home
Termites thrive in humid ambiance, and if your furniture is wet or moist, then all the better for them. After all, the softer the wood, the easier it is for them to chomp through it. So, to prevent the entry of termites, you need to control the level of humidity in your home. You can do this by keeping excess water out of your kitchen, bathroom, and garden, as well as keeping your furniture dry at all times. Also, installing a dehumidifier in a central location in your home might help.
Keep furniture away from soil
A garden in your backyard with furniture placed there might look inviting for relaxing in the afternoon, but you need to keep wooden furniture away from the ground. Otherwise, termites may bore directly into the wood through soil and get inside the furniture. A tiled base to place under your furniture might help you prevent this.
Give your furniture a fresh coat of paint
If you want to keep moisture away from your furniture, then giving them a fresh coat of water resistant paint once every year might be a good solution. Oil based varnishes can act as armour plating against moisture, so to speak. The trick is to apply it everywhere – even at the bottoms of the legs of the furniture. That way, your furniture will stay protected from moisture, and consequently, have a better chance of resisting termite infestation.
Be on the lookout for powdered wood
If you see powdered wood near pieces of furniture, be wary. This indicates there might be an infestation inside that piece of furniture right now. This is when you should contact an exterminator, to ensure those bugs do not spread to other furniture as well.
These 5 pointers should help you prevent termite infestation inside your wooden furniture and greatly extend their lifespan. Also, while you are at it, check out our termite & borer proof Green Gold Plywood this will not only protect your furniture from insect infestation but will also provide water resistant plywood, leaving you tension free for years to come