When Amy Wood noticed what looked to be ants with wings swarming around her garage, she had no idea that her property was under attack.

With a last name like Wood, wouldn't it be ironic if termites were the enemy?

Unfortunately, for Wood, they were. And even after spending $1,000 to rid her place of the insects, they still swarmed the next spring and a follow-up treatment was needed.

The only symptom that termites were eating away at her garage came when she noticed the swarming - a common way people find out there's a problem. But many homeowners don't realize anything's wrong until there's visible damage - or even audible clues.

Homeowners have heard their floors start creaking, spotted mud tubing in cracks, or lifted carpet to see munched wood. Even a stone, vinyl-sided or concrete home is no guarantee of a residence being termite proof. Tenacious termites target any opening and any wood - trusses, framing, stucco, beams, and the tiniest of cracks.

"There's no one perfect shield. A single control measure is generally noneffective," said Kevin Powell, research analyst and wood products specialist at the National Association of Homebuilders Research Center in Upper Marlboro.

"I was surprised," said Amy Wood, who's since moved. "My grandmother had them at her farmhouse in Monkton. They ate the foundation totally. She never saw them. Finally, she noticed what she said were 'bugs' and complained, but all the wood floors were ruined by then. She needed new floors and supports."

Now is prime termite season. The ground is warm and wet, new mulch is baking in the sun, fresh growth is abundant - all luring termites closer and closer to your home. The chief American wood destroyers, termites ravage 1.5 million structures annually, causing $1 billion in damage.

"Don't wait if you think there's a problem. Check it out," Wood said.

Termite experts and entomologists say the battle has to be fought on many fronts - from pre-construction to maintenance.

"You need an integrated approach, with many parties being responsible," Powell said.

"Usually, homeowners aren't familiar with termites. No one cares or studies them. They don't want to know," said Dennis Butler, a 25-year industry veteran and president of Environtec pest control service in Belcamp.

The key to fighting termites is dryness. Dry soil near the foundation, dry walls, dry floors and dry roofs. That means keeping rain gutters clean and flowing correctly, fixing leaky drains, using air conditioning receptacles properly and making sure any slopes or water pumps direct water away from the edge of the house, not toward it.

The University of Maryland's Extension Service says plants should be at least 3 feet from the home and clipped to allow 18 inches of clear space between foliage and the house. And the expected height of a tree should equal its distance from the foundation. In other words, if the tree is expected to grow to 20 feet, then plant it 20 feet away from the home.

Mulch is another excellent source of moisture and a treat that termites crave. That means it's a great termite conduit if it's piled against the side of a home.

The design should also be open enough to allow for easy inspections. Soil treatments should be done prior to pouring a foundation slab; wood scraps shouldn't be buried on the property; and treated woods should be used when possible. Finally, homeowners should maintain the home and schedule inspections throughout the lifetime of the home, Powell said.

Even with safeguards, it can be a tough battle.

Maryland's termites can build 12 to 14 colonies per acre, with 750,000 to 1 million termites per colony. Termites will travel from 150 to 200 feet to find food. And they're a hidden enemy.

"Sometimes it's so bad you wonder what's holding the floor up," said George Fidler, who works for Ehrlich Pest Control as its wood-destroying-insect division manager.

"Termites can make mud tubes through cracks as small as one-thirty-second of an inch. It's impossible to eliminate all the cracks," Powell said.

When prevention isn't enough, technicians fight termites in two major ways.

A new method revolutionizing the business is called baiting. This method kills termites where they start - in their colonies.

Baiting is done in steps. First, pest control operators insert wood-based "stations" into the ground at 12- to 18-inch intervals from a home's foundation. The strips, enclosed in child-resistant tubes, are checked every few weeks for "hits" or signs of eating.

If there is a hit - the strips are replaced with chemical baits.

Termite alarm

"Preventive baiting is like having an alarm system in your home," Butler said. "You have zones, triggered by sensors. Termite bait is similar. It monitors the perimeter of the home and monitors an invasion like an alarm system. It's proactive, without using chemicals until there's a reason to."

Some baits are slow-acting killers such as Dow AgroSciences' Hexaflumuron, which blocks the molting process that gives the termite new skin. Without this protection, the termite dies.

The poison is then gathered by worker termites who take it back to the colony, spreading it among other workers, thus eliminating them.

Other baits kill worker termites on the spot, and eventually, the rest of the colony starves because the workers don't bring back food.

"You're using the insect's biology against the insect," Fidler said.

A few baits act above ground, placed in the direct path of termites - on mud tubes or inside areas of wood damage.

The traditional killing method is the "liquid barrier." This method involves applying liquid poison around the outside of the home, inside the home's vulnerable areas - and even beneath the foundation. It creates a chemical fence.

Liquids are the cheaper, "more immediate" method of attack. Sometimes a home is in such danger that the termites must be immediately killed - there is little choice. It usually only takes one round of spraying and one or two follow-ups to obliterate the insect.

"There will always be a place for the use of conventional treatment, but the amount will diminish," Fidler said. "For those who want immediate impact, we do the liquids."

Liquids have grown less popular over the years. One reason is that customers think they're "too intrusive." The other reason is because of environmental concerns, according to Bob Hardiman, Ehrlich district manager.

For an effective barrier, large quantities, usually 100 gallons or more, of chemicals must be poured into trenches around the house, and often injected through holes drilled into floors, foundations and porches, Hardiman said.

Also, if the liquid barrier is broken by plants, house-settling, construction or mulch - the termites can re-invade.

Nevertheless, Ehrlich officials have watched baits rapidly overtake liquids in market share. Even though they're more expensive (at about $2,000 for an average home, compared to $850 for a liquid treatment) - baits have captured 60 percent of the business in the past five years.

Even so, the baiting process isn't perfect. It often takes several months to two years to obliterate a colony. And baits can't easily be put under slabs or in wall voids - so damage may continue until the entire colony is killed. The colony may not be obliterated. How much damage occurs in the meantime and who is financially responsible becomes an issue.

Companies offer warranties and send technicians out to monitor activity several times over the initial two-year attack period.

Safer techniques

No pest control company will say its products are 100 percent safe. Safety and environmental issues continue - though termiticides have become much less toxic and much less concentrated in the past 15 years.

Chlordane, for example, was the killer of choice during the 1970s and early '80s but was pulled from the market after government testing showed its high concentrations and longevity could be dangerous to the environment.

"The materials we use today are different and safer than ever," said Jeff Maslan, vice president of the Maryland Pest Control Association. "They offer little to no danger. I can't say they are 'safe' because even salt isn't safe if it's consumed in too great a quantity."

Baits are easier on the environment in several ways, Hardiman said. First, homeowners only have to use poison baits if it turns out there is a problem. Second, baits are pinpointed to the colonies - not the entire house pad or yard, so they're less prone to human exposure than liquids.

Baits have passed tough new Environmental Protection Agency tests under the new Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative and are often less toxic than chemicals in soil insecticides.

"You apply baits in the ground in limited areas. The chances for child or pet contact are slim to none," Maslan said. "The real danger comes when an operator improperly mixes [liquid] pesticides - or when there is a spill."

"It's also safe on lots with wells. We apply it according to all the EPA laws," Hardiman said.

Also at the safety forefront is "Term-A-Rid," a popular termite-toxic mulch and the first of its kind, but probably not the last, industry officials predict.

Invented by Yaakov Brody, president of Environmental Laboratories Inc. of Pikesville, Term-A-Rid has passed all the EPA-government tests and is no more toxic than table salt.

Made with borate, it kills termites by destroying the protozoa that live in their digestive systems, starving the colony. It's safe around children, pets and wildlife. It's also biodegradable.

It's not designed to control widespread infestation but is a good preventive method, according to officials at Valley View Farms, who sell the product at their Hunt Valley nursery for about $4 to $5 a bag. Term-A-Rid is also available at Home Depot and Lowes home improvement stores.

"We recommend using this with an entire regimen," said Beth Kaplan, Environmental Laboratories spokeswoman, who uses it on her Greenspring Valley yard, including her kids' playground.

"People buy it all the time - 30 to 60 bags a person," said Denise Sexton, a Valley View employee who uses the mulch herself.

Other non-chemical strategies can be used during pre-construction. They include sand barriers, steel mesh, granite or basalt. When properly installed, termites can't penetrate them.

Prevention

Guard against water collecting near your home.

Check downspouts, gutters and hoses.

Minimize areas where wood is placed directly in the soil (such as deck posts, porches, etc.)

Keep firewood away from the house and remove all dead tree stumps.

Paint or seal all exterior wooden materials on your home, including shutters, siding and doors.

Consider an annual inspection to catch problems early.

Keep wood landscaping mulch away from your foundation.

If you're building a home, the soil underneath can be treated to form a protective barrier against termites.

Source: Ehrlich Pest Control

Resources

Maryland Cooperative Extension. Call: 1-800-342-2507. Web site: www.agnr.umd. edu/users/hgic

National Association of Home Builders Research Center. Web site: www.nahbrc.org

Pesticide Action Network of North America.Web site: www.panna.org

Safer Pest Control Project. Web site: www.spcweb.org

Bio Integral Resource Center. Web site: www.birc.org