Our "Friends" The Termites


by Frank Reece - Date: 2007-01-14 - Word Count: 469 Share This!

About 6 months ago our deck here at our house started sagging. After assuming dry-rot boy was I surprised to notice that over half of the structural damage was caused by termites. I had no idea. To stop this from happening again I had to figure out how to defend my house against these little hungry bugs. This is a snippet of my little drive through the termite knowledge base and I'm happy to share it with you all.

Termites are responsible for millions of dollars of damage each year. Everyone should be aware of the damage that termites cause and what the tactics are that can be used to prevent them from destroying property.

Termites also knows as white ants generally feed on dead bio-material like wood lead leaves and the like. Of the 4000 odd species only 10% are considered pests due to the economic turmoil they can cause to property such as structural damage and decay to farmlands and forest orchards.

Termites can be lumped into 4 different categories: dampwood, drywood, subterranean and mound builders. Dampwood termites are only found in California and the pacific northwest and get their name because they live in very damp wood especially in fallen trees on the forest floor. Drywood termites are common most everywhere and can survive in very dry places they do not need any exposure to moisture or the soil to thrive. Subterranean termites are numerous the world over. They live and breed in the soil. And finally the mound building termites live in South America, Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia. They live in trees and on the ground and are very remarkable because they build mounds sometimes 25 feet tall. The 2 types of termites that cause the most damage to property are the drywood and the subterranean.

Drywood termites are common in homes and furniture and they can really cause property damage if not dealt with swiftly.

The termites that belong to the subterranean classification are able to tunnel there way into the soil. This lets them find more then one place to eat wood. These termites also have the ability rapidly grow their colonies in no time at all.

The subterraneans are much harder to detect in homes because they leave very little evidence compared to wood termites. You can generally find this evidence by finding mud shelter mounds on the side of the walls of the house.

Termites are largely known as very beneficial to the ecology of the world because they take fallen wood and leaves and turn it into food for many other species of the world. Though the constant damage of property of that hungry 10% is very troublesome.

So be aware of the termites in your neck of the woods and you unlike me can stop this before it gets out of control. Good luck out there!


Related Tags: termite, termites, termite control, termite spieces, termite defence, termite habbits, termite help

Frank Reece has been in the termite control industry for 25 years and he uses this expirience to manage a website on a Termites. So hop on over to www.termite-1.com and check it out.

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