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Guide to NC Pests

Termites

Termites are the major wood-destroying structural pests in the southern United States. According to some estimates, over $2 billion are spent annually in the U.S. controlling or preventing termite infestations. In North Carolina, our main problem is with subterranean termites, i.e., termites that normally live below ground and may move up into a structure where they cause damage.

termitesTermites are "social insects", i.e., they live in a nest or colony which is typically found underground, often near a tree, stump, wood pile or other source of 'food'. Each colony contains a king and queen who are brown in color. The queen is able to lay thousands of eggs each year. There are also soldier termites which have large heads equipped with large mandibles ("jaws"). The soldiers protect the colony from invaders (such as ants). The majority of the colony consists of thousands of whitish workers who have various jobs within the colony. Some workers take care of the queen and the newly hatching immatures (sometimes called "larvae"). Other workers forage (search) for food. The foraging workers are the ones that we find infesting wood. As the colony grows, the workers expand the nest and their feeding area. A mature colony will contain 200,000 to 2,000,000 workers, although many colonies contain as few as 50,000-60,000. Studies have also shown that termites from a single colony may forage across an area of one-third acre and travel over 200 feet from their nest. One acre of land may support several termite colonies (although this doesn't mean that all of them are invading your home!). A large termite colony does not usually occupy a single underground nest. As the foraging area expands the colony actually splits to form several smaller "nesting sites".

SIGNS OF TERMITE ACTIVITY [ TOP ]

Without a periodic inspection of your home, termite activity can remain undetected for years. Some signs of their activity show up unexpectedly, while others are discovered by accident or during renovations. Here are some key signs of a termite infestation:

Swarming -
A termite colony matures in 3-5 years and begins to produce swarmers (winged adults). In North Carolina, we have at least three species of termites that begin swarming in late winter and continue into September or October. Swarming usually occurs during the day, particularly on warm days following rain. Swarmers found outdoors near tree stumps, landscape timbers, etc., are not an indication that your house is infested, but they serve as a reminder that termites live around us. When swarming occurs indoors, it usually means that you have an infestation somewhere within your house. Several species of ants also swarm at the same times of the year as termites. Winged termites and ants look somewhat similar, but you can tell them apart by certain features. If you're not sure whether you have termites or ants, contact us for identification.

Mud tubes [ TOP ]
Unlike ants, termites do not roam around out in the open. They will either tunnel through wood (or other material) or else travel inside pencil-size (or larger) mud tubes that they build from soil, wood particles and other materials. You will find these tubes on foundation walls, floor joists or other parts of the house. Tubes may also hang from the floor system or may be found protruding from cracks between boards and beams and even through holes termites have chewed through sheet rock on walls and ceilings. Break open the tubes to see if termites are still active. An empty tube doesn't necessarily mean that termites are gone; they may have simply abandoned this particular tunnel. Termites often rebuild damaged tubes, which is another indication of current activity. 'Old' tubes are dry and crumble easily, leaving behind "etching" on the surface that may be visible for years (an indication that a house had termite activity at some time). Without knowing the inspection history of the house, it is impossible to tell or guess at the age of tunnels or etching.

Termite nestTubes that are found on ceilings or on the second floor of buildings may indicate that you have a "secondary" or aboveground ("aerial") infestation, i.e., the termite colony actually lives in the building and the termites are traveling up from the soil. Mud tubes built by an aboveground colony usually contain materials other than soil, e.g., wood and sheet rock or whatever the termites are feeding on. Secondary infestations occur when there is a serious moisture problem or leak somewhere within the structure. In such situations, a thorough inspection may require removal of siding or interior wallboards, etc. More importantly for you, secondary infestations cannot be controlled with the usual soil treatments alone. Finding and correcting the moisture problem is the first step to eliminating the termites.

Termite Damage [ TOP  ]

Atlanta Termite Control - DamageWe tend to think of termites as feeding/injuring wood only. Termites actually feed on almost anything that contains cellulose, the main component of wood, including wood paneling, paper products, cardboard boxes, art canvases, the paper covering of sheet rock, carpeting, etc. While foraging and feeding, they may tunnel through non-cellulosic materials, such as plastic and foamboard. According to some research, a colony containing 60,000 workers could consume the equivalent of one foot of a 2" x 4" piece of lumber in slightly over 5 months. In reality, the amount of damage that termites cause depends on many factors. In areas with cold winter temperatures, termite activity (and feeding) often declines, but does not necessarily stop. If the termites are well-protected from colder temperatures (e.g., underneath a slab), then activity may continue year-round. From a practical perspective, serious termite damage usually takes about 3-8 years.

Look for these signs of termite feeding:

  • Wood that sounds "hollow" when it is tapped with the handle of a screwdriver.
  • Soft wood that is easily probed with a knife or screwdriver.
  • A thin gritty gray-brown film on the surface of damaged material.

There is no accurate method for determining the age of recently discovered damage. You need some reference point, i.e., some point in time when it was known that there was no damage to this particular wood. This is one reason why annual inspections (and keeping your records of these inspections) are invaluable.
NOTE: These inspections are not a guarantee that you do not have termites or damage in visually-inaccessible areas, such as inside walls. However, the inspections can reveal conditions that might suggest that damage does exist and further investigation is needed

 

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