Termites are notorious with the destruction they cause. They cost homeowners and businesses billions of dollars a year in damages. As they chew through and consume the wood throughout your home, the integrity of the wood is weakened with the hollowed galleries or tunnels they erect. Where there are many different types of termites, throughout Texas, the most common termite is subterranean termites. Today, we at A Five Star Termite & Pest Control would like to briefly elaborate on subterranean termites.
Do Subterranean Termites Eat Hardwood or Only Soft Wood?
The softer areas of wood are the favored spots, and these termites will often leave the hard wood in lieu of the softer wood; but keep in mind they will devour and tunnel through the harder wood if necessary. Brought in by the subterranean termites is damp soil that they compacted in the infested timber that is left behind resembles a thin shell with honey-comb like layers of hollow sections. Being that they require moist environments and live in dark, damp soil, only Makes sense they require the soil in the wood galleries. Subterranean termites often make their way inside through the soil next to the home or business’s foundations.
Subterranean Termite Social Worker Colony Caste
Subterranean termites are social insects living in a colony inside their nest. There are three castes which are subject to a queen, who mates with her king to produce the 2,000 fertile eggs she lays a day. Once the eggs hatch, they become nymph termites and once they reach adulthood, they become workers, soldiers, or swarmers (future kings and queens). The young king and queens drop their wings when they find a new nest to start their own colonies, as the swarmers are the only termites that have wings, which they then shed after they have established a new location to start a separate colony. The swarmers are generally active through the spring and early summer. Keeping the colony operating, the worker termites are the soft bodied, and creamy-translucent colored termites. The excavate the tunnels, harvest and forage food, they make repairs on damaged tunnels, groom each other, ensure the royals and soldiers are fed and care for the nymphs until maturity. Generally fighting their 250-million-year-old feuds with ants, soldier termites are the defenders of the colony. Soldiers are orange in color and have developed a hard-shell helmet around their heads and are armed with mandible pinchers they use in combat. These fighters first secrete a sticky latex resin to ensnare their victims and then use their pinchers to crush them. People may catch a glimpse of the soldier termites in rare instances when a breech was made and they we will stay on guard while the workers make the repairs.
Termite Inspections, Exclusion, Control, Removal, Management & More in Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Bulverde, Timberwood Park, Leon Valley, Alamo Heights, New Braunfels, Selma, Live Oak, Converse, Universal City, Cibolo, Seguin, New Berlin, St Hedwig, Adkins, La Vernia, Elmendorf, Losoya, Von Ormy, Macdona & San Antonio, Texas
A sign your greater San Antonio, Texas home has subterranean termites is the mud tubes they construct to reach higher levels; where they closely connected or nearby damaged wood. Should the infestation grow and the colony multiple, the results could be costly. If you believe you have termites or hear a neighbor has had an infestation, call A Five Star Termite & Pest Control and let our skilled professionals inspect your home or business.
