TERMITES
What is a termite?
Termites are very social creatures. They work together as a team to provide food, water and shelter so their colony can reproduce and swarm off to start new colonies.
Termites feed on cellulose, which is found in plants, but they also feed on materials that contain cellulose like lumber, cotton fibers, paper, cardboard, furniture, etc.
Termite mounds are the product of the colony getting too large for the initially unseen, underground nest and the mounds grow in size with the colony concealed within. Other termites burrow into wood to find shelter and create a nest environment. One of the tell tale signs of this is the small mud tubes they build to gain access to wood material.
Subterranean termites are the most common in North America and cause 95% of the estimated $2 billion damage in the US each year.
Each termite colony has its own society made up of specialized levels or castes, each with a different responsibility:
Queen (aka: Primary Reproductive)
The largest member of the colony at just under 4” long. She’s so big that if she needs to move, it requires several hundred workers pushing at once.
King (aka: Primary Reproductive)
Assists the queen in creating and attending to the colony during its initial formation.
Worker Termites
Soft-bodied, light colored with no wings, workers are about 10 mm in length (about the size of a grain of rice).
Soldiers
White, soft-bodied and wingless.
Winged Reproductives
These are both male and female termites that produce offspring for the colony.
Are they dangerous?
No. Termites do not pose an immediate physical threat to humans as they do not bite and do not carry any diseases that can be transmitted to humans. That said however, termites can still pose an indirect threat to humans. They have a great capacity to cause untold damage to wooden structural members in properties, causing failure of those columns & beams and possibly even total collapse if the problem is not investigated and rectified.
How do you get rid of termites?
Termite control is easier said than done as they can live as far as 300 feet away, using underground shelter tunnels to move to and from the nest site. They are surprisingly weak and fragile insects that can be easily overpowered by other predators such as ants. This makes them difficult to locate and destroy as the pathways they use can be numerous and intricate. If the whole colony and nest is not destroyed termites can return. Home Check Termite program has been specifically designed to get rid of termites and stop them from rebuilding and returning.
Can I do it myself?
Due to the complex nature of investigation and treatment, do-it-yourself termite control and eradication is generally not something many people have success at. When in the wrong hands or mixed and used improperly pesticides can be very dangerous to humans, animals and plants, therefore the best answer for your termite pest problem is Home Check Termite program.
Is the treatment safe?
Home Check uses the latest methods to rid you of your pests and all products we use have been tested and registered by the EPA. We follow a series of very stringent guidelines for the use of the product, as laid down by the EPA so that whatever method of control we use poses no threat to people, pets or plants. Should any specific safety measures need to be taken our highly trained service technicians will make sure you have a thorough understanding of them.
How can I prevent this in the future?
Pest problems can be difficult to prevent. Many of our clients choose to continue service with our Common Pest Control Service to keep pests out of their home.
How do I schedule service?
You can either call the phone number listed at the top of this web page or click here to fill out our online form. A customer service specialist will get back with you right away.
Termite facts
Termite colonies eat non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Termites are very social creatures. They work together as a team to provide food, water and shelter so their colony can reproduce and swarm off to start new colonies.
Termites feed on cellulose, which is found in plants, but they also feed on materials that contain cellulose like lumber, cotton fibers, paper, cardboard, furniture, etc.
Termite mounds are the product of the colony getting too large for the initially unseen, underground nest and the mounds grow in size with the colony concealed within. Other termites burrow into wood to find shelter and create a nest environment. One of the tell tale signs of this is the small mud tubes they build to gain access to wood material.
Subterranean termites are the most common in North America and cause 95% of the estimated $2 billion damage in the US each year.
Each termite colony has its own society made up of specialized levels or castes, each with a different responsibility:
Queen (aka: Primary Reproductive)
The largest member of the colony at just under 4” long. She’s so big that if she needs to move, it requires several hundred workers pushing at once.
- She creates the colony by laying eggs until enough workers and nymphs are produced to care for the colony.
- She can live for more than ten years and can lay up to 30,000 eggs in a day.
King (aka: Primary Reproductive)
Assists the queen in creating and attending to the colony during its initial formation.
- The king continues to mate throughout his life to help increase the colony size.
Worker Termites
Soft-bodied, light colored with no wings, workers are about 10 mm in length (about the size of a grain of rice).
- They are busy 24/7 and rarely leave the tunnels of the colony. They are responsible for caring for the eggs, constructing and maintaining tunnels, foraging for food, feeding and grooming the other members of their colony.
Soldiers
White, soft-bodied and wingless.
- Soldiers have long heads with two powerful jaws which are used as weapons against predators.
- They are responsible for defending the colony, primarily against invading ants.
Winged Reproductives
These are both male and female termites that produce offspring for the colony.
- They develop wings and leave the parent colony in a swarm to mate and start new colonies.
- Colonies can have both Primary Reproductives (1 king and 1 queen) and hundreds of secondary reproductives to assist in egg laying and colony growth.
Are they dangerous?
No. Termites do not pose an immediate physical threat to humans as they do not bite and do not carry any diseases that can be transmitted to humans. That said however, termites can still pose an indirect threat to humans. They have a great capacity to cause untold damage to wooden structural members in properties, causing failure of those columns & beams and possibly even total collapse if the problem is not investigated and rectified.
How do you get rid of termites?
Termite control is easier said than done as they can live as far as 300 feet away, using underground shelter tunnels to move to and from the nest site. They are surprisingly weak and fragile insects that can be easily overpowered by other predators such as ants. This makes them difficult to locate and destroy as the pathways they use can be numerous and intricate. If the whole colony and nest is not destroyed termites can return. Home Check Termite program has been specifically designed to get rid of termites and stop them from rebuilding and returning.
Can I do it myself?
Due to the complex nature of investigation and treatment, do-it-yourself termite control and eradication is generally not something many people have success at. When in the wrong hands or mixed and used improperly pesticides can be very dangerous to humans, animals and plants, therefore the best answer for your termite pest problem is Home Check Termite program.
Is the treatment safe?
Home Check uses the latest methods to rid you of your pests and all products we use have been tested and registered by the EPA. We follow a series of very stringent guidelines for the use of the product, as laid down by the EPA so that whatever method of control we use poses no threat to people, pets or plants. Should any specific safety measures need to be taken our highly trained service technicians will make sure you have a thorough understanding of them.
How can I prevent this in the future?
Pest problems can be difficult to prevent. Many of our clients choose to continue service with our Common Pest Control Service to keep pests out of their home.
How do I schedule service?
You can either call the phone number listed at the top of this web page or click here to fill out our online form. A customer service specialist will get back with you right away.
Termite facts
Termite colonies eat non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- With the help of worker termites, termite colonies can live as long as 50-70 years.
- In the USA, an average termite colony has about 500,000 insects.
- Subterranean termites MUST have constant access to water. If they dry out, they die.
- Above ground, termites maintain mud tunnels or tubes to the ground, which they keep wet with water from the ground.
- While difficult, it is possible to get rid of termites completely.
- About 40 termite species live in the United States.
- Subterranean termites are found in every state but Alaska.
- More than 90% of all termite damage in the US is caused by subterranean termites
- A queen termite can live over 20 years and can lay thousands of eggs a day.