Termites fly to create new nests

www.pestec.com.au
Yes those things that look like moths that you see around your lights on a very balmy Summer afternoon/evening are actually termites. When a termite nest is mature, each year the Queen sends out a flight of termites to start new colonies. They could be as many as 100,000 termites that fly from the nest within an hour period. Often the only evidence that we have, that there has been a termite flight is that there are a whole lot of wings left in cobwebs and under lights around the outside of our homes. This short video shows what those termites look like when they are flying, and after they have dropped their wings.

What do termites look like?

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What do termites look like?

Not all termites look the same, in fact within one species of termite there are five different looking types of termite.

• The Queen
• The King
• Soldiers
• Workers (which can appear in varying sizes)
• Alates (winged reproductives)

In the photograph below we have three representatives of one species, a worker on the left, a soldier in the middle and an alate on the right.

To the untrained eye when happening upon termites it is rare that the termites can be identified to the level above let alone to species level. A termite specialist can identify the termites and recommend appropriate treatment for that species. Not all termites are able to be treated with the same product. Consult an expert instead of potentially making your problem worse.

Termites attack fences regularly

www.pestec.com.au Termite attack in fences is very common. In this video I show some damage that was done to a timber post and rail fence in Cobbity outside of Sydney. There are ways to treat the termite colony to kill all of the termites and there are ways to treat the fence in an effort to keep them out. Fences are very hard to treat retrospectively as it is almost impossible to treat the soil under the bottom of the post.

Three different castes of termites in Sydney

www.pestec.com.au Here we have three termites all of the same species but different castes. In any termite Colony there will be a queen and king, alates or winged reproductives, then there will be soldiers workers and nymphs. In this photograph we have captured a soldier a worker and a winged reproductive all in the same shot, which is quite unusual. Soldiers and workers are the most numerous inhabitants of any termite colony, whilst there is usually only one king or Queen. Winged reproductive are only present for short times each year before they fly off to set up new colonies. The workers are the ones that do the most damage, as the name implies they are the ones that go and carry out most of the work eating timbers bight by bight often destroying entire houses bight by bight. A termites work is never done, they do not sleep, therefore they work 24 hours per day. Soldiers spend all day every day protecting the rest of the castes in the colony.

Nasutitermes spp termites, nasty looking little creatures

www.pestec.com.au Often homeowners do not get to look at termites up close. When you do get a chance to look closely at a termite just take note of what shape the head of the termite is. Is it round? is it teardrop shaped? or is it pear shaped? In the photograph above this is probably one of the most easy termites to identify in the world. The very dark almost black head with its teardrop shape is easily discerned from some of its cousins. These guys squirt long streams of exudate to ward off their enemies.

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How do you control termites?

How do you control termites? It’s a pretty tough question, Well, there is no short answer but let me just give it a quick go.

 1.     If you can find the termite nest, then you can destroy it. If you can actively destroy the nest, that could well solve your problem.

2.     You can use a pesticide dust that can be introduced to the termite workings to get rid of them that way. They’ll carry it back to the nest, completely eradicating the nest.

3.     Use a termite bait so wherever the termites are working, feed them a bait they really love to eat, it’s much easier to eat than timber.  They will take that bait back to the nest and will destroy it.

            So, there you have it. If you can find the nest, you can destroy it. You can use a termite dust. You can use termite bait. I would always recommend that you have any termite treatment carried out by an expert. Don’t risk your house.