Termites And Cedar Siding

When they ve expended those food sources they often create feeder tubes hollow channels in your siding that destroy the structural integrity of the wood.

Termites and cedar siding.

Subterranean termites live underground feeding on wood surfaces buried below the surface. However as with all wood and even lumber resins and sap seep out of the wood over time. Cedar s unique aspect and advantageous properties such as its durability and excellent insulating factor make it a choice material. 1 keep the wood siding at least 6 inches above ground.

Department of agriculture that s because cedar contains allelochemicals. This provides easy access to the termites that may be present in the ground. According to the u s. Thus building with hardwoods of these varieties will provide some natural resistance to termite infestations but these woods still can t provide complete or long term protection against these invasive pests.

Termites can eat cedar but they tend to stay away from it because cedar wood has resin and oil that tends to repel them. Some scientists have even found that these resins are toxic to the termites that decide to ingest them. These are substances naturally produced by plants that act as repellents against some insects. No other exterior siding can rival with real wood.

Wood siding must not come in contact with the ground. That said termites are less attracted to cedar than other types of wood. Maintain a distance of 6 inches or more between the earth and wooden decks or siding.