Termites-Do you know what they look like?

Termites. It’s that time of year again when most homeowners start to see termite swarmers and consider possible termite activity that might be lurking around their home. One thing to remember is termites are active the entire year, not just Spring. And with the conditions in our part of Texas being so conducive with warmer temperatures and humidity throughout the year, taking a pro-active approach can be done any time of year to protect your home from termites.

Termite Identification

Even if you don’t have termites, knowing what they look like and will arm you with basic knowledge for future issues and knowing what to look for.

Termites are considered social insects that live in colonies and feed on wood and other cellulose material. There are 3 types of termite castes:

• Worker termites remain busy searching for food to feed the colony as well as maintaining the nest. They will also build pencil sized “mud tubes”, that connect the nest to the food source. Inside these you might find whitish, wingless workers about 1/4” long, wingless and white.
• The reproductive termites are in charge of expanding the colony. Reproductive swarmers are about 1/2″ long, winged and are darker, black or brown in color. An indication of nearby swarmers are piles of wings left behind. The wings they shed usually indicate the termites have entered their next phase of development.
• The soldier termites protect the nest. They look like worker termites but have larger heads and jaws and are also darker in color than the worker termites. They also only make up about 1-3% of the foraging termite population.

Your Pest Control Inspector has had a lot of training to confidently identify whether or not your unwelcome pest is a termite. Early detection is key to locating and eliminating the threat of termite infestation. For Termite Control, we offer the Sentricon^® Always Active Baiting System. Sentricon^® offers around-the-clock protection and retains its effectiveness 100% of the time. Whether you are looking for preventative or corrective treatments, we would love to discuss further providing termite protection for your home. Call Bio-Tech Pest Control today 281-296-6022 for your no-obligation consultation.