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Don't Be A Victim of Termites
More than 365,000 homes in the United States are involved in
a fire each year. More than 600,000 U.S. homes suffer termite
damage totaling over $1.5 billion annually. This is more damage
than is caused by all fires, storms and earthquakes combined.
More than 2 million homes require termite treatment each year.
Homeowners insurance can help recover losses from fires, storms
and earthquakes, but it is almost impossible to carry insurance
against termite infestation. Finding out that your home has termites
instills a sense of fear among most homeowners. You typically
can't see them, you can't hear them and frequently only a trained
inspector can find signs of infestation. Treatment by the homeowner
for the control of termites is virtually impossible. Specialized
equipment is used and the experts have the knowledge necessary
for control strategies.
Termites can be found in almost every state as well as Mexico
and part of Canada. They feed on wood and may also destroy paper
products such as books, cardboard boxes, furniture, and various
other items. Even buildings with steel framing and masonry walls
are targets because of the wooden door and window frames, wooden
support beams (often hidden), cabinets, or shelving within them.
How Termites Survive
There are more than 2,000 species of termites. Only about
70 species are frequent enough invaders of humans' wooden structures
to be called pests. The most damaging are roughly 20 species
we call "subterranean" termites because of their nesting
and foraging habits. Two of these, the Eastern Subterranean Termites
and the Western Subterranean Termites, are by far the most common,
widest distributed and most damaging in the U.S.. The following
description of biology refers to these two closely-related species.
Termites feed on cellulose, a complex chemical in plant cell
walls, and they are very important in the natural decomposition
of fallen trees, leaves and other plant products. Subterranean
termites build their nests in the soil or in the sides of trees
or poles, and they rely mainly on the soil for their source of
moisture.
A subterranean termite colony is large (60,000 1.5 million
termites), and made up of several "castes", each with
distinct functions and behaviors. These include reproductive
(the queen, king, and winged swarmers), soldiers, and workers.
Worker termites are small (0.1-0.25 in. long), creamy-white insects.
Soldiers are larger (0.2-0.4 in. long), about 1/20th as numerous
as workers, and have a large, dark head, with long, strong ,
sharp-pointed jaws which they use to attack intruders. Property
owners seldom see the worker or soldier termites, but in the
spring or fall they may see swarming "winged reproductives."
This form of termite can easily be confused with a winged ant
unless you look closely.
How To Tell Termites From Winged Ants
All termites have a "thick waist" where their abdomen
is joined to their middle body region (thorax); but all ants
have a "pinched-in waist" at that point.
All termites have antennae that look like a "string of
beads", but all ants have distinctly "elbowed"
antennae.
Termite swarmers have two pairs of long narrow, wings with
very few clearly visible veins, and both the front and back pair
are nearly equal in size and length. Winged ants have two pairs
of wings with several distinct cross veins, shaped like long
triangles, and the back pair and much shorter than the front
pair.
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