Termites are among the most destructive pests in the world – these small insects are capable beyond structural damage. Besides ruining the foundation and aesthetics of your home, they can also destroy some of the most valuable things in your house, including money.

There are already many reported cases of damaged bills and bank notes due to termites around the world. To understand more about this problem, this article discusses the most important pieces of information you should know about the ability of termites to eat your money away.

Do termites really feed on money?

The simple answer to this question is yes. Termites can literally eat your money away, particularly your bills, mainly because they love to feed on cellulose, which is contained in most paper money. Termites break down this cellulose into digestible bits in order to acquire life-sustaining energy and nutrients. As such, items made of paper are some of the most common household things that termites can destroy easily. Fortunately, in Singapore, the switch to polymer notes from January 2006 onwards means significantly fewer cases of damaged banknotes due to termites.

But as mentioned earlier, many cases of damaged money due to termites have already been reported across the globe. In China, for instance, a woman lost $9,786 after termites ate through her savings, which had a total amount of $65,000. According to the woman, she only wrapped her bank notes in a plastic bag and stored them in a wooden drawer. After around six months, she was shocked to see that a colony of termites had already raided her stash.

Fortunately, the Chinese woman was able to retrieve about $55,454 after her damaged banknotes were scanned and verified by bank personnel for several painstaking hours. In a similar case in India, a man lost his life savings after termites ate up his currency notes with a total amount of more or less $6,000, which were kept in an iron safe. Termites made huge holes in the bundles of said currency notes, thereby leaving them entirely useless.

In Indonesia, a 23-year-old woman also had to let millions of her savings go after the rupiah bills she hid inside a cabinet were eaten and damaged by termites. In Malaysia, the decision of a man to store his cash at home likewise ended in disaster when most of the ringgit notes he kept turned into termite food. In all of these cases, one ultimate conclusion can be drawn: your hard-earned bills are highly vulnerable to termite damage, especially if you are not careful enough.

How to prevent termites from eating your money away

The best way to keep your money safe from termite damage is to make sure your house is free from termites and other pests as much as possible. You can do this by subjecting your home to regular termite inspection in Singapore. This is especially necessary if you start to notice some signs of termite infestation in your house, such as wood damage, termite droppings, and the like.

Aside from hiring termite inspection and control services, keeping only a small sum of cash at home and putting the bulk of your savings in a savings account is highly advisable. For one, banks usually carry insurance, which allows you to recover your money in the event of theft or damage to it. This will surely keep you from worrying about wasting your life savings due to preventable damage caused by pesky insects like termites.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that termites are among the most destructive pests globally. If you are not careful enough, termites can ruin almost everything you have worked hard for, including your hard-earned life savings. For this reason, it is imperative that you keep your home termite-free as much as possible by engaging in termite control at home in Singapore, among others.

For the most effective and reliable termite control services in the country, PestClinic is the service provider you should partner with! We provide extensive and affordable pest control services in Singapore that ensure the removal of destructive pests in your house, which could damage a lot of your valuable things, including your money. To learn more about our excellent services, feel free to give us a call today!