Silent Home Destroyers
If you were to look at a single eastern subterranean termite, you wouldn't think much of it. At a distance, you might even mistake a worker termite for a maggot or a worm. Even termite swarmers, that eventually become the queen or king for a whole new termite colony, can be a fifth the size of a dime. So, why are people so afraid of termites? The answer is simple: Your home will never be attacked by a single termite.
The average Eastern subterranean termite colony can range from as low as 20,000 to as high as 5 million workers. These workers never sleep and they never stop eating. With a typical worker able to consume 5 grams of wood a day, even a colony of 20,000 can be scary, consuming 20 kilograms of your property each and every day. That is 7,300 kilograms a year or 16,093 pounds. To put that in perspective, the average new car weighs about 3,221 pounds. That is almost 4 cars worth of your house that can be devoured in one year.
Fortunately, termite colonies don't start out with this many workers. They begin with two winged reproductives. A typical queen can produce 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year. That means, if left uncontrolled, a home can be in serious danger in under three years.
What makes termites even worse is that they live in soil or inside the wood of a home or business. The only signs of termites that a property owner will typically notice are the mud tubes these wood-eating insects create on basement walls to travel in and out of a structure. This makes detecting termites a difficult task.
How difficult is it to detect termites?
These insects are so good at hiding they have been known to elude the detection of certified home inspectors. If you plan to sell or purchase a home, make sure you contact a pest management company, like Action Pest, that employs certified termite inspectors. Failing to detect these pests at the point of sale could cost you a lot in the future.
How do I protect my property from subterranean termites?
Termites cost U.S. property owners billions of dollars each year. For this reason, we set up a termite resource center to help property owners get the information they need to protect their equity from these wood-destroying organisms. Take a look and get equipped to fight these silent invaders. You can learn about termite control, signs of termites as well as see some answers to frequently asked questions about termites.
Termites are certainly something that all homeowners and business owners should be educated on and aware of. Preventing them and controlling them is something that should be left up to the termite experts here at Action Pest Control. Take action against termites and get Action. Contact us today!