Wood Termites
Facts About Wood Termites
Wood termites are really quite basic in build, resembling a common carpenter ant in shape. The color difference is rather dramatic, however, as wood termites are nearly opaque to a light shade of yellow. They tend to burrow and nest beneath the earth, though they can be found bunking in heavy wood beams and in rotting tree trunks. They enjoy the safety which comes from going underground, but make themselves known within your walls and foundation by tunneling through the cellulose rich framework within. Wood termites prefer warm and humid climates, but have made due with spanning almost the entirety of the United States. A mature colony will house anywhere from 100,000 to 1,000,000 termites, most of which are workers whose job it is to tear your house down from the shell out.
The likeness between these so-called “white ants” and the standard black ant is strictly coincidental, as these two insects bare no relation. They carry out many of the same life activities, as well. For instance, the termite builds an elaborately tunneled and structured colony, just as most ants do. Wood termites do house winged males for breeding season, however, but keep an “all in the family” approach to just about everything that they need. The only creatures that they seem to leach off of or depend on are, well, humans. The most intelligent and forthright, so we say. Yet we can’t seem to catch these little buggers in the act before the damage is done.
This social order of creatures may have its greedy mouthparts on something very special and important to you even as we read, and getting to the source of the issue may be a daunting task to say the least. The experts may use some common detection tests, such as posting stakes filled with a dense wood product in key areas outside of your home’s foundation. The dense wood product is meant to attract any nearby wood termites, as they tend to stay within their tunnels unless there is something interesting close by. At this point, the termites may begin to frequent the test stakes, which can be monitored for recent feeding and tunneling activity.
This is an important phase in the detection of wood termites, but also gives a very good idea of where the termites are entering your foundation. Chances are that the nest is just under the ground beside your foundation. If there are 10 test stakes planted, and only the two beneath your living room wall have been visited then you will have a pretty good idea where to concentrate your efforts. Fighting wood termites and their damage can be a costly battle, and you will want all of the help that you can get.