PEST OF THE MONTH
TERMITES
WARNING THE VIDEO IMAGES ARE SLOW TO DOWNLOAD BUT WORTH IT
(
if you have a high speed connection. )
Click here to view the swarm video
Click here to view the worker video
Note: The UC Davis IPM site offers
an excellent source for information about termites. I recommend that you
Click here for the UC
Davis IPM termite site
I believe that you will find it very informative.
PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Termites are one of our most ancient insects and are related to roaches.
Fossilized termites have been found, aged at some 55 million years old.
They
actually eat wood and do more damage to wood structures in the United States
than fires and windstorms combined.
The
Romans referred to these insects as "Termes" which aptly means woodworm.
The
reproductive termites are winged.
Termites are sensitive to touch, odor, taste, and pressure due to tactile
sensory hairs and specialized sense organs.
Termites live in colonies, are social insects and divide their work among
specialized members. They have a rigid caste system which are the reproductive,
the worker and the soldier.
Queens
are believed to live up to 25 years and can lay up to 8,460 eggs a day.
A
queen weighs at least 100 times as much as a worker or soldier.
Termites live in darkness, in narrow passageways, where the temperature, the
moisture and probably the oxygen pressure to some extent are under their
control.
Each
colony is distinct from any other colony of termites, and when two colonies meet
the members will slaughter each other.
Termites can be distinguished from ants by noting that they do not have a
narrowly pinched waist as ants do.
Termites can detect vibrations through their legs and when alarmed, the soldier
termites rattle their heads against the tube walls, thereby initiating
vibrations which instantaneously warn the entire colony.
There
are three main types of termites that we control. They are dampwoods, drywoods,
and subterranean.
DAMPWOODS
The
dampwood termite is the largest of the three. It requires damp wood to feed on.
They
are usually found in logs and damp or decaying wood.
These
termites are found in the West and are most widespread on the Pacific Coast.
Although swarming may occur throughout the year, the dampwood usually swarm from
July through October.
DRYWOODS
Drywood termites can live in dry wood as their name suggests. They are mainly
found in the southern regions of Northern California. They are usually found in
the Bay Area, however they seem to be “blowing into the interior valley areas
closest to the Bay area.
Drywood termites are usually detected by the piles of pellets that collect below
holes in walls and or windows.
They
are smaller than dampwoods and larger than subterranean termites.
Swarming occurs in June and July in Northern California and September through
October in Southern California.
SUBTERRANEAN
Subterranean termites are the most common termites that we deal with. 1 in 20
homes is infested every year by them.
Subterranean termite colonies are usually located in the soil from which the
workers build mud tubes to the wood in structures on which they feed. However,
on occasion an above ground colony is found.
Subterranean termites can be identified by seeing their swarmer (winged
termites), or by seeing mud tubes attached to the wood.
TREATMENT
Soil
treatment with long residual insecticides to provide a chemical barrier is the
most commonly used control or prevention method for subterranean termites.
Also you may choose to utilize Baiting and detection stations as a control
measure.
Drywood termites are usually controlled by whole house fumigation or local
treatment such as microwave.
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