Every building material has its own strengths and weaknesses. This is the criteria that homeowners use to choose one from the other. Before installing a composite deck, you must always find out how good it is over the others. This way you will know whether you are going for the right decking material or not. Most homeowners ask different questions about composite decking to know how outstanding it is. Today we are going to find out whether composite decks are liable to pest damage and this brings us to the question ‘are pests a threat to composite deck?‘
Are Composite Decks Less Attractive To Pests?
Composite is a combination of wood and recycled plastics and therefore it is an engineered product. It is therefore totally different from wood in terms of durability and resistivity. It is not susceptible to splintering, decay or rot and this is why it is less appealing to every type of pests.
Termite Resistance
Termites are threats to wood products and that is why the building industry is coming up with treated wood. However, this still hasn’t eliminated the threat there are still cases of infestation. The reason why wood is the main target for termites is because of the cellulose. Unlike wood, composite does not constitute cellulose and this is why it is less appealing to termites. In case you have any problems with infestation, you should contact a professional as soon as possible to come and inspect the situation before it gets worse. The professional will be able to inspect the extent of the damage both inside and outside your house before making the appropriate repairs.
Carpenter Bee Resistance
Before answering the question ‘are pests a threat to composite deck?’, you must first of all look at all the types of pests. Carpenter bees are also threats to decking materials although they do not eat them. Instead, carpenter bees create bore holes inside wood and other building materials and lay their eggs inside the holes. After hatching and metamorphosis, the grown up bees fly away to go damage other decks. However, the structure of MoistureShield composite is very strong and the carpenter bees find it very difficult to drill through the material. Moreover, the coating for our MoistureShield decking products is resistant to pest-damage.
Rodent Resistance
Rodents are the biggest threats to decks and therefore you always need to keep them as far away from your house as possible. Rats and squirrels can easily damage your deck especially when it is a wooden deck. Therefore, you need to look for treatments and traps so that you don’t end up spending a lot to repair the deck. Composite deck may not be 100% resistant to rodents because of the wood component in it. However, it is not appealing to rodents unlike other materials.
Having answered the question ‘are pests a threat to composite deck?’, it is now up to you to make the right choice of material. Visit Sherwood Lumber website and check out our pest- and damage-resistant MoistureShield products.
