If you notice that you have a leaky pipe, your first thought may be how much it will cost to fix any resulting water damage. However, you should also consider that leaky pipes can attract pests into your home as well. Therefore, it will be necessary to know what type of pests that may come in through defective piping and how you can solve any pest issue that arises.
What Types of Pests Are Attracted to Water?
Termites as well as carpenter ants love water and make a home anywhere it is present. If you notice piles of wood shavings anywhere in or around your home, it is a sure sign that you have carpenter ants. While they don’t actually eat the wood, they can weaken any wooden surface and cause significant damage if left unchecked.
While you won’t directly detect termites in your home, you may have an infestation if you see discarded wings or large piles of shredded wood near the base of your home or any other wooden structure.
What Other Types of Pests May You Encounter?
If water is allowed to collect and become stagnant, you may also be in danger of attracting mosquitoes, cockroaches and silverfish into your home. Mosquitoes can carry diseases as well as make your skin itch if they bite you. As this pest can breed rapidly, it is in your best interest to drain any standing water as soon as possible and do whatever it takes to reduce the humidity in that part of the home.
Cockroaches also like to form colonies and breed rapidly in areas where you may have standing water. They can also be hazardous to your health as they crawl everywhere in your home and can leave behind droppings in your food or clothes. Cockroaches are among the hardest pest to kill, which means that you may need a professional exterminator come in and do a bug bomb.
While not harmful to people, silverfish will eat your clothes and destroy your books if you let them. They can also do damage to walls if they are not confined to a basement or other areas where you don’t have anything of value. If you are intent on killing them, you can use bug spray or insecticide that comes in dust form.
Have a Professional Check for Other Potential Areas of Standing Water
Once you have found the source of your leak and gotten rid of as much water as possible, you should have a professional check the rest of your home. If any other issues are found, they should be corrected right away. As a preventative measure, it may be a good idea to run a humidifier or install a sump pump in your basement to ensure that water is taken out of the air and taken out of the home.
If you have a plumbing leak, you could also have a pest problem. Fixing the leak and getting rid of standing water can make your house a more sanitary and comfortable place to live. It may also help increase the value and attractiveness of your home if you plan to sell it as a major issue will now be resolved.
Charlie Teschner started MESA Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling in 1982. Charlie has a journeyman and master plumber’s license. He was raised with a strong work ethic and he now applies those values to tasks such as Longmont, CO heating repair.