Termites

Termites feed on dead plant material such as soil, wood, insulation, paper, books and animal dung therefore Termites can cause serious damage to crops, forests & buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A termite colony can consists of only a couple hundred members up to several million. All colonies have a king & queen that will mate for life. The queen can live up to 50 years. In an early colony the queen will lay only 10-20 eggs, but once the colony has been established she will begin to lay as many as 1,000 eggs a day and after several years she may be able to lay up to 4,000 eggs in a day.

Some Termites have wings, but they usually only fly for short distances & in random directions because most do not have eyes. Their flying is called swarming & the reason for doing so is to find a potential new colony site. Swarmers found indoors are a sign of an infestation and they are usually found around a light source such as a window.

Termites will usually nest within their food source or close to it, but sometimes they build a ‘mound’ as a nest. Mounds protrude from the earths surface and are considered to be safer then a wooden nest because they are stronger. A mound can reach up to 29 feet.

Termites will also build pencil sized mud tunnels or tubes that protect them from the elements & predators as they travel from their nest to their food source. These tubes are proof of an infestation. You can break open a tube to determine if the termites are still active inside however the absence of termites does not mean that they aren’t present within the structure.

Termites will eat across the natural grain of the wood not only on the structure of a building, but also on furniture, cabinets, and floors. At first the damage may appear as water damage or natural wear & tear, make sure you examine the area closely for visible mazes within the wood.

Often there is no sign of a termite infestation on the interior of a structure and their activity can go on for years without being noticed. By then the damage may be too severe. Protect your biggest investment by contacting us so one of our experienced pest control inspectors can confirm wither or not you have an infestation.