25 Facts About Termites

Lake Norman Pest Control is the most popular and the most competent pest control provider in North Carolina. With the help of their high-quality methods and treatments for pest control, they can detect and eliminate early infestation of termites. In addition, Lake Norman Pest Control offers a service plan that prevents any further pest assaults. 

Facts About Termites

To get to know more about termites, here are several facts that you need to know: 

1. There are three levels of the termite caste system. Caste system or the social hierarchy of termites consists of the "reproductives," the soldiers, and the workers. Worker termites are at the bottom of the caste system. They are reproductively immature and cannot reproduce. The worker termites are responsible for finding food sources, building nests, and taking good care of the young termites. On the other hand, soldier termites are a step higher than worker termites as per social hierarchy. They possess underdeveloped sexual organs but have mandibles which they use during combat. Lastly, the reproductives or Alates are the highest in the social hierarchy. They are born with wings which is an indication of maturity. These termites swarm during the warm weather wherein the male and female Alates will mate. After this process, the Alates will lose their wings as they reproduce to form new colonies. In turn, they will become the kings and queens of the new termite colonies.

2. Worker and soldier termites are blind. They use their sense of touch to identify food, distinguish enemies, and determine their fellow termites. They spend their lives in dark places and damps so they do not need to develop functional eyes.

3. Termites are good for ecosystems. They break down plant fibers and decaying trees to be a part of the soil and fertilize it. The termites are also responsible for the aeration of the soil by building tunnels which improve soil health. 

4. Termites Don't Sleep - They work for 24 hours every day to build their colonies. They don't stop working until they die. This explains how fast they can tear a whole building down. Imagine having more or less 100,000 termites infesting your home. In a matter of days or weeks, the effects could be overwhelming. 

5. Termites are more active when and where it’s warm. Pests are very active during the summertime because of the abundance of warmth, light, and food. This gives termites more time to look for food and shelter to fend for themselves and their young.

6. Termites fart (more than humans). Shocking as this might be, this is one of the facts that termites don't want us to know. This explains the putrid smell inside our house when it is infested by termites. 

7. Termites build the largest nests. These creatures can build bigger nests than that of ants and bees. With their powerful jaws and mandibles, they can break down obstacles that stand in the way of their expansion. 

8. Termites eat each other’s feces. During a termite's early years of life, it needs certain bacteria to for nourishment. This scarcity drives them to feed on each other's feces for compensation for the bacteria they need to survive. This process is also known as trophallaxis. 

9. Termites build their homes out of feces. Each other's feces are used as mortars by Dampwood termites to build their nests.

10. The job of the Queen termite is to produce a tremendous number of offspring.

11. Termite queens lay an egg every 15 seconds. Did you know that the termite queens can lay between 20,000 to 40,000 eggs a day? 

12. Termites can live up to 50 years old. 

13. Ants are termites' main predator. 

14. Termites use head-banging to communicate.  

15. Termites use chemical signals. These creatures use different pheromones for communication. There is a scent for food, for danger; there is even a scent to signal the colony when one of their comrades die. 

16. Termites outweigh humans. One termite colony can weigh up to 1000 pounds which are more way more than the average weight of an average human being.  

17. In Asia, termite queens are used as medicine. In some countries, the termite queen is feard and exterminated because it is the root of all colonies. However, in Asian countries, the Termite Queen is used to cure headaches and muscle pains. 

18. Termites like the Damp Wood termites need a lot of moisture. They usually live in damp places such as a dying wood, and areas in houses where there are leaks. To avoid any termite infestation at home, make sure to fix any leakage from pipes.

19. Termites cannot handle the sunlight. These creatures hate the sun. They cannot survive long in extreme heat, especially not under direct sunlight. This is the reason why they stay underground. They are used to dark and moist places where they can reproduce in peace.

20. Termites can get so big and so, even their colonies. Did you know that the biggest termite recorded is about 10 cm long? Hence, their soldiers and workers can grow as big if their queen is larger than the average termite size. Imagine having 3million termites in a colony and all of them are about 10 cm long.  

21. Termites are well-groomed. They usually spend a lot of time grooming each other because it is essential in their survival. When we think about pests, we often think of them as dirty and full of parasites and bacteria. Termites are not one of those types of pests. Proper hygiene is very important to termites because they cannot afford to be infected by other parasites and bacteria other than what they need. 

22. Pesticides don't work as effectively as we think. Did you know that the termite queen is the most protected kind of queen in the insect kingdom? Before she eats, her subordinates taste all of the food she eats before they give it to her. If in any case, the taster dies, it is a cue that anything that contains that smell is lethal to termites. Hence, the termites signal one another never to ingest that kind of substance. 

23. There are more than 2,300 species of termites worldwide. 

24. Termites have temporary wings. The wings of these creatures grow only when it is a necessity. For example, if they need to swarm and mate, they reach their full sexual maturity and develop their wings. But once the swarm is over, they eventually lose it and feed it to their offspring as a primary source of food.

25. Some termites are used for fuel. These creatures have bacteria in their digestive tract that breaks down cellulose and produce hydrogen. According to scientists, this particular bacteria is effective in cultivating enough energy to produce fuel.

Eliminate Termites On Your Own

There are several ways to eliminate termites on your own. However, it is not as effective as calling for an expert exterminator. Termites cannot survive the cold temperature which is why they infest homes for warmth during the winter. However, they cannot survive extreme heat either. You can use this weakness to eliminate these creatures inside your house. Turn the heat up or extremely down on your regulator to shoo them away. Leave it for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour so the temperature sinks into your walls, floors, and ceilings. Soon enough, they will be crawling away from your home.

After this process, start spraying a generous amount of insecticide around your house to kill the termites for good. Remember to follow the instructions from the manufacturer. Better yet, ask for help from professionals on its proper usage.

Another way to eliminate termites from home is by creating a termite trap. Did you know that termites are also attracted to wet cardboard? Place wet cardboard in around infested areas and leave it overnight. In the morning, you can find hundreds or thousands of termites attached on the cardboard. Burn the cardboard to exterminate the termites for good. This method works to lessen the population of termites inside the house. But it does not fully eliminate the threat.

Always be careful in using DIY methods in eliminating termites at home. When executed poorly, it could do more damage to your home and it could pose a bigger threat to your health. To exterminate termites for good, call Lake Norman Pest Control in Denver, NC.