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Termites

• What are termites?

• Difference between flying ants and termites?

• Termite facts

• Are they dangerous?

• How do you get rid of termites?

• Can I do it myself?

• How soon can you get here?

• Is the treatment safe?

• How can I prevent this in the future?

What are termites?

• 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.

Difference between flying ants and termites

		Flying Ant		Flying Termite
Wings		Front pair is longer than the back pair.  Not easily broken off.		Front and back wings are the same size.  Easily broken off.
Waist		Narrow and pinched.		Thicker and less defined.
Antennae		Elbowed		Straight

Termite facts

• Termite colonies eat non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week!  Sorry, no break folks!

• Termite colonies can live with no problem for many generations of worker termites, which can be as long as 50-70 years.

• In the USA, an average termite colony has about 500,000 insects.

• Termites provide a valuable service by breaking down dead wood in forests into soil. They are one of the earth's first recyclers.

• 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.  

• Termites’ main predator is the ant.  Ants can attack termite colonies or termite workers looking for food.

• It is possible to get rid of termites completely.

• There are over 2,000 species of termites, with most living in tropical and subtropical parts of the world.

• About 40 termite species live in the United States, most in the southeast.

• Subterranean termites are found in every state but Alaska.

• More than 90% of all termite damage in the US is caused by subterranean termites.

• Termites can’t eat their way through concrete, but their soft bodies are really good at maneuvering through tiny cracks.

• The total weight of all of the termites in the world is more than the weight of all the humans in the world.

• Only worker termites can chew and digest cellulose. So, along with gathering food, they have to digest and regurgitate it for everyone else.

• A queen termite can live over 20 years and can lay thousands of eggs a day.

• Those round metal circles you see on the sidewalk in the French Quarter of New Orleans are not secret stashes for beads. They’re Sentricon station covers.

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 and 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 as 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. Rose Pest Solutions Termite program has been specifically designed to get rid of termites in Detroit, Columbus, and Cleveland homes, 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 Rose Pest Solutions' Termite program.

How soon can you get here?

Rose Pest Solutions is thoroughly committed to helping you as soon as possible and in most cases, we can respond within 24-48 hours.

Is the treatment safe?

Rose Pest Solutions 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?

Termite problems can be very difficult to prevent. The best method to prevent damage to your property and ensure its’ continued safety is to call in the professionals at Rose Pest Solutions.