Morgan Termite & Pest Control
St. George termite and pest control company treating the subterranean termites that follow moisture to desert foundations.
Morgan Termite & Pest Control works on termites and general pest control in St. George. Termites in a desert sound like a contradiction and are not, because the species that damage buildings here do not live in the wood they eat - they live in the soil beneath it, and everything about how they are found and treated follows from that.
The wider picture
Subterranean termites need moisture, and they get it from the ground. They tunnel through soil and reach wood from below, and because they dry out quickly in open air they cannot simply walk across a concrete stem wall to get to a sill plate. Instead they build shelter tubes - pencil-width tunnels of soil and saliva running up the foundation - which keep the humidity around them high enough to survive the trip. Those tubes are the single most reliable sign of an active colony and the first thing an inspector looks for along the base of a wall, inside a crawl space and behind stored material stacked against the house.
That biology also explains where the risk concentrates in a desert valley. Almost the only reliably damp soil around a house here is where we put water: irrigation heads and drip lines running against the foundation, planters built up against a stem wall, a leaking hose bib, an air conditioning condensate line discharging beside the slab. Landscaping that puts moisture against the building is what turns an unremarkable lot into a termite problem. So is soil or mulch mounded above the level of the slab, which lets termites bypass the visible foundation entirely and reach framing without ever building a tube anyone can see.
Related on the site: home inspectors and what a desert home inspection covers. Browse all Pest Control in the directory.
Nearby: Las Palmas Authentic Mexican Food, LongHorn Steakhouse, Riverside Automotive Repair.
Categories
Address
1460 S Hilton DrSt. George, UT 84770
Contact
- Work Phone: (435) 673-9172
- Website: https://morganpestcontrol.com/
Frequently asked questions
Are there termites in southern Utah?
Yes. Subterranean termites are the species that matter for buildings here, and they live in the soil rather than in the wood they consume. They reach structures from below, which is why the desert climate does not protect a house the way people often assume it does.
What does a termite shelter tube look like?
A pencil-width tunnel of soil and saliva running up a foundation wall, roughly the color of the surrounding dirt. Termites build them to keep humidity high enough to survive the trip from the soil to the wood, and an active tube is the most reliable sign of an infestation. Inspectors look along the base of walls, in crawl spaces and behind anything stacked against the house.
What around a house attracts termites here?
Moisture, almost always introduced by irrigation. Drip lines and sprinkler heads running against the foundation, planters built up against a stem wall, a leaking hose bib and an air conditioning condensate line discharging beside the slab all create damp soil where there would otherwise be none. Soil or mulch mounded above slab level is the other common problem, because it lets termites reach framing without building a visible tube.
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