A Bit About Termites

Termite control is something that we regularly need in order to rid ourselves of this unpleasant infestation.

However while most of us know when we need termite control, we do not tend to know much about termites themselves. As they say in Sun Tsu’s ‘Art of War’ it’s important to ‘know thy enemy’ so here we will look at termites and what they actually are.

Termites are insects that are ‘eusocial’ and ispotera. Like ants, bees and wasps they have a complex social system and will divide their labour throughout their genders, produce lots of overlapping generations (like humans) and will look after their young as a collective. This means then that the enemy is organised and that they come in large numbers, meaning you rarely get just one termite and will often need termite control in Mesa.

Termites feed on dead plant material. This means that you can lessen your chances of an infestation by not keeping dead plants in your premises and disposing of them as soon as they perish.

As well as dead plants themselves, termites will also feed on wood, litter from leaves, soil or manure from animals.

Dead plant material obviously also includes vegetables and compost.

Amazingly there are over 4,000 species of termites, and about 10% of these (400) are significant risks as infestations. This is why termite control is so regularly necessary. Once you get a termite infestation it is highly important to get termite control as they can have many bad effects on your property. For instance they can cause structural damage to your buildings (and particularly sheds and log cabins), can kill crops and plantation forests, and can cause other problems. They are major detrivores and it is important to recycle wood and other plant matter.

Termites live in colonies and in maturity these colonies will be made up of several hundred or even several million individual termites. It is very easy then to see that termites spread incredibly quickly and why termite control is so important for any business or home.

These termite colonies involve a decentralised and self organised system guided by ’swarm intelligence’ that allows them to exploit food sources and environments that would not be available to just one insect on its own.

Termites understand the value of having strength in numbers. Their colonies will include nymphs (which are semi-mature young termites), soldiers, workers and those designated for reproduction of termites (male and female) and sometimes egg laying queens. Termites are sometimes known as white ants though this is something of a misnomer as they are not very closely related to ants.

Termites will also build and look after nests which houses their colonies. These structures are formed of soil, mud, wood, saliva and faeces and again it is something that would not be possible for a single termite. This has multiple functions and provides living space, collects water, provides reproductive ‘chambers’, gardens and more. Their maze like tunnels are designed that they also provide air conditioning and maintain the temperature of the colony.

As you can see then termites are a highly organised and intelligent enemy, and it is important to use termite control in order to fight them with a service that truly understands them.

Published By:

Varsity Termite and Pest Control – Tony Kaufman

Office: 602-757-8252
Website: https://staging.varsitytermiteandpestcontrol.com