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Research on termites has greatly accelerated in recent years, allowing us to better understand and control these pests.
Although termites are active all year, they tend to be more active in their search for new food sources in the spring and early summer, with another smaller peak of activity in the fall. They are most active when the soil is moist and the air temperature is moderate, or after a shower and rising temperature. One or two swarmers may fly in through an open door or window, but if you find more than that indoors or on a porch, it is a sign of a potential problem, as termite colonies do not usually start producing swarmers until their fourth year or later. Finding swarmers indicates that the colony is mature and has been around for awhile. However, sometimes a mature colony moves into a home and starts producing swarmers right away.
Termites have poor eyesight and do not know they are near wood until they practically bump into it. But they do utilize environmental clues to help direct their search, such as odors emitted by decaying wood and ingredients in soil moisture. Termites tunnel to new food sources. Tunnels are dug somewhat like spokes of a wheel in what might seem like a random pattern, but termites are in fact extremely efficient at finding new food sources. They also have a tendency to follow along objects like roots, pipes, and cracks in their search for food.
No wood is immune to a termite attack if food sources are limited, but they do show a strong preference for moist, soft wood such as sapwood and heartwood. They often, but not always, avoid cedar, cypress and redwood.
Subterranean Termites normally span the distance between the earth and the first wood members of the substructure of a building by working their way up through wood, or by building shelter tubes over concrete foundation walls. The principal function of shelter tubes, normally found in the crawl space of a structure, is to protect against natural enemies, and to allow movement to flow between the nest and the wood structure. During the rainy season, flights of Subterranean Termites take place on warm, sunny days following a shower.
Subterranean Termites are dark brown to brownish-black and have brownish-gray wings. Their bodies are about 5 mm long, 8 to 9 mm including wingspan).
Drywood Termites establish their colony and live in non-decayed wood requiring little moisture; unlike Subterranean Termites, they never require contact with the ground. They generally enter houses through attic vents or shingled roofs. Drywood Termites attack rafters, ridgepoles and sheathing in the attic, window frames and sills, door and window jambs, floor joists and adjoining structural timbers. They may also infest wooden furniture or other wood materials within the home.
Drywood termites produce brown fecal pellets, which they remove from the galleries through “kick holes”. Pellets tend to accumulate on surfaces located below the kick holes and are usually the first evidence of a drywood termite infestation. The primary reproductives, also called swarmers or alates, vary in body color from dark brown to light yellowish tan. Their wings may be almost clear to smoke gray, and have few distinct veins in them. Swarmer drywood termites are about 7/16 inch long, including the wings.
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