Since termites mate in the spring, the new season will also bring a ton of “swarming”, leaving households across the entire country at a higher risk of termite infestation. These pests will begin their lives excited to bring significant damage to homes and other structures in the coming months.
If you are wondering what you should be on the lookout for as the weather changes, we can help you out. Keep an eye out for visible tunnels in the trees on your lawn, the floorboards in your home and more. You may also be able to tell you have a termite infestation if you notice that paint peels from the walls, squeaky floors, or stuck windows and doors in your home.
While you may think that a termite is a termite, you could have an infestation of any of the five types of termites. In this post, we want to give you a better idea of the different types of termites that might be causing you issues. Continue reading to learn more about each type. Here are a few types of termites we know about:
Subterranean Termites
Subterranean termites are social insects that live in colonies. They have a caste system and are considered pests because they damage wood and other cellulose-containing materials.
Subterranean termites are found throughout the world, except for Antarctica. They prefer areas where there is moisture, but they can survive in arid regions as long as they have access to moisture from their host wood.
Subterranean termites live underground in colonies consisting of several thousand individuals (called workers) that build galleries in soil or rotten wood (feeder). These colonies can be quite large; some are more than 30 feet deep. They don’t need light to survive, so they can live under concrete slabs or even concrete structures such as houses and sidewalks.
The worker termites feed on the cellulose material found in wood, which they digest with special enzymes produced by their bodies. The workers also feed each other special secretions from glands located on their heads called trophallaxis: this process is used to pass nutrients from one individual to another through direct mouth-to-mouth contact. This process is also used for communication between members of the colony through chemical signals called pheromones
This type of termite is prevalent, especially for people living in hot and humid climates. Most commonly, these will be placed in the south, where the air gets heavy in the warm seasons. Based on the name, these termites live underground, just as you would suspect. Their colonies can be so large that they include millions of termites.
These termites are also one of the most destructive types you can have to invade your space. Their saw-toothed jaws make it easy for them to easily bite into wood fragments. While they may only bite a small portion at a time, it doesn’t take long to do the damage. These termites could take down an entire building in no time.
Dampwood Termites
Dampwood termites inhabit decaying wood and are known for building their nests in damp and humid areas.
These termites are the most destructive species of termite because they eat wood in a similar way as drywood termites do, but they also have another way of getting their nutrients. They can digest cellulose and lignin (two common plant cell materials) through symbiotic gut bacteria instead of digesting them by themselves. This also allows them to live in colder climates than drywood termites can survive in.
Dampwood termite colonies can grow very large and produce many winged reproductives each year. This means that if you see one or two dampwood termites flying around your home, there could be hundreds more hiding inside walls or under floorboards waiting to emerge at night when it’s warm enough for them to mate successfully!
The name of these termites also gives you a bit of a hint about where they like to reside. Dampwood termites are very attracted to any wood that is filled with moisture. If the wood is decaying, this makes it even more enticing. These termites like to create a series of different chambers in logs, stumps, trees, and even outdoor posts made of wood.
Formosan Termites
Formosan termites are one of the most destructive pests in the world. They have a highly aggressive nature, a high reproductive rate and huge colonies that can reach up to 18 million insects. Formosan termites can cause serious damage to any wooden structure.
Formosan termite workers are 0.08-0.10 inches (2-2.5 mm) long and have a dark brownish color with pale yellow antennae and legs. The soldiers are slightly smaller than the workers and have large, dark heads with two small eyespots on the forehead.
Formosan colonies contain three different types of fertile males called alates or swarmers: primary (or secondary) alates form new colonies by dispersing from existing ones; secondary alates mate with primary alates to produce secondary queens and kings; tertiary alates shed wings while still inside the nest and become replacement primary alates when needed by the colony*.
The Formosan subterranean termite feeds on many types of plants but prefers to feed on woody plants such as bamboo shoots and twigs. It also feeds on young roots or tender shoots of grasses such as paddy watergrass.
Like subterranean termites, these pests live underground in extensive colonies. They are less picky than some of the other termites we have discussed, as they will attack many things, from trees to shrubs to the home’s infrastructure.
One of their unique features is that they build their nests in mud in the soil and eat anything they come across in the process. One colony of Formosan termites can destroy up to a foot of wood in less than 30 days!
Drywood Termites
Drywood termites are a small group of termites that infest wood in a dry state.
Drywood termites are different from other types of termites because they do not require contact with soil or dampness to survive. They live within the wood that they infest, feeding on it as they go along. These insects do not produce wings, so they cannot fly or disperse from one place to another by air.
The colonies of drywood termites are small compared to other types of termite colonies. They usually consist only of one queen and several hundred workers and soldiers. The colony will grow slowly over time until it reaches its maximum size, which may take several years to achieve.
The first sign that there are drywood termites in your home is usually faecal pellets – tiny black particles that resemble coffee grounds or sawdust – which appear on windowsills or furniture in your home. Another sign is damaged or hollowed out areas within wooden objects such as furniture legs or door frames.
Quite the opposite of damp wood termites, dry wood termites, tend to have much smaller colonies that linger around 2,500 pests in one colony at a time. This doesn’t mean, however, that they are not also highly destructive. On the other hand, these termites like to eat different wooden structures like flooring and furniture.
They also do not require moisture to survive like most of their counterparts. This means they can establish several different colonies in the same home, causing extensive damage and challenging to eliminate.
Conehead Termites
Conehead termites are a common type of termite. They are also known as eastern subterranean termites because they live underground.
Conehead termites have a wide variety of foods that they eat, including cellulose, starch and lignin (a complex carbohydrate). Their bodies contain bacteria that help digest these foods.
Conehead termites build mud tubes to protect their galleries as they go back and forth between wood sources and their nest. These mud tubes can be used to find areas where you may have an infestation of conehead termites or look for signs such as dead trees or stumps that have been attacked by them.
They have a caste system, with workers being smaller than soldiers. Each caste has specific duties within the colony: workers forage for food, soldiers guard against predators and other threats, reproductives mate and lay eggs, nymphs develop from eggs into adults and kings (males) are responsible for mating with queens (females).
Conehead termites also prefer to build their nests in the mud on the ground and on trees and other wooden structures. On the other hand, these termites don’t just tunnel into the ground. Alternatively, they move and take over a space as ants do. This gives them the ability to spread and infest an area very quickly. This means that they can also do a lot of damage in no time at all.
Hire A Pest Control Expert Today
Truthfully, no one type of termite is worse than the others, as they are all pretty terrible. Regardless of the type of termite you may have infesting your home or business. You need to get the help of a pest control company.
We know how to handle every type of termite and will do everything we can to ensure they are exterminated as quickly as possible. Eliminate Pest Control is a trusted name in pest control in Sacramento, so what are you waiting for? Contact us today and learn more about having an inspection completed at your home or business.
If you are looking for pest control in Bolton and surrounding areas, get in touch with Eliminate Solutions today!
