Pest
Articles - 1
Termites -- could anything be more nerve shattering than the
discovery that you have termites infesting your home? That fright
could be for a good reason, as termites often are present for
one reason only, and that is to eat the available wood that
constitutes the home.
Why is termite control so mysterious? Well, first of all the
pests themselves usually are completely hidden from view during
their normal activities, and come to light only when an inspection
of the hidden areas is performed, or damage is broken into and
discovered during remodeling. Sometimes their presence is discovered
when hundreds of them suddenly "swarm" inside the
home.Termites are insects. They also are "social"
insects, meaning that they live in colonies where they communicate
with each other, and cooperate in all the activities needed
for the survival of the colony. The Queen lays the eggs - possibly
several thousand each day in some kinds of termites - and the
workers gather the eggs, care for them, feed the new nymphs
that come from the eggs, and take care of all the other functions
- gathering food, enlarging the colony galleries, etc. Without
termites diligently working in this recycling process Nature
simply would not function well, and their role, obviously, is
an important one. Unfortunately, termites are not a discriminating
lot. We humans make many things from trees - boards, paper,
books - and as far as the foraging termite worker is concerned,
wood is wood! If it used to be a tree, then it needs to be recycled,
and the attempt is made, even if we aren't actually done with
the product just yet.
Dampwood Termites - the easiest to keep out of a home, because
they require high moisture levels in the areas they live. Preventing
this moisture, or eliminating the problem that causes it, will
eliminate the termites, and that level of moisture is unacceptable
in a structure anyhow. Sometimes these very large termites also
are called "Rottonwood" Termites, as the wet wood
they require tends to become rotted and soft more quickly.
2) Drywood Termites - these prefer very dry wood, can enter
the structure and infest from anywhere, and generally maintain
small colonies that work slowly. Over time they can cause great
damage, but not nearly at the rate of subterranean termites.
Drywood termites are far less common in the U.S., being present
in "pockets" in California, Hawaii, Florida, and a
few other areas. However, where they are common they can be
very common.
3) Subterranean Termites - so called because they usually are
coming from well-established colonies underground, which have
a Queen, King, and many, many thousands of workers. There are
numerous kinds of subterranean termites, the most damaging of
which in the U.S. is the Formosan Termite. This species is common
in Hawaii, well established in the Gulf Coast States, found
in Southern California, but absent elsewhere, as it is a tropical
species that does not do well in colder climates.