Termites are one of the most dreaded pests that infest households. They are mostly known to particularly damage anything that is made of wood. Apart from wood, they also spoil crops, walls, books, and carpets. A single termite won’t look much dangerous, but a colony of termites can bring down the structural integrity of the house within a short period of time. Termites are considered to be “silent destroyers”, as they chew out the wood from the inside and go unnoticed until there is visible damage to the property. Every year, around $5 billion worth of property damage is caused by termites. So, if you have a termite infestation in your house, hire professional termite control services in Chennai immediately.
There are approximately 2000 species of termites found around the world. In India, you can get up to 220 types of termites, but only 5 of them are most common during an infestation. Termites are usually half an inch long and just like other social insects like ants and bees, termites also live in colonies with a queen among them. A colony of termites usually consists of 60,000 – 1 lakh termites. Here are the 4 common types of termites that infest houses:
Drywood Termites
These are the general wood termites that usually attack anything made of wood such as furniture, cupboards, doors, and parts of a wall made of wood. They do not require soil or high moisture content for their survival. They only want wood to infest for a long time and can also be found in woods that quickly decays.
They are smaller termites, not more than the size of a rice grain. They are brown or cream-coloured termites, but a swarm of flying drywood termites can appear white. You can detect their presence by scraping the surface of their infested wood.
Subterranean termites
There are the most popular termites to infest households. As the name suggests, subterranean termites usually live underground in large colonies with almost 2 million termites in a single colony. Normally they are quarter to half-inch in size and brown or black in colour. They have equal in size two pair of wings. The solder and worker termites are cream in colour with no wings.
Along with wood, these termites also eat anything that is made with cellulose like books. They travel in mud pipe-like structures to prevent themselves from open air. They create these tubes near the connection from soil to walls, to travel for food safely.
Dampwood Termites
Dampwood termites require high moisture content to survive, which is why they mostly attack decaying wood. They are the longest among all the termites with nearly 1 inch in size. By the time they are detected, the damage done to the area is irreparable. So, it is very much necessary to get regular inspections and hire professionals for anti-termite treatments.
To hide their presence, they close the entry points with their faeces. As they do not create any mud tubes, they are very hard to detect. You can detect them through their faecal signs and discarded wings. Those woods that have direct contact with moisture or water on a regular basis are more prone to be infested by dampwood termites.
Formosan Termites
These dangerous termites cause the most damage to the structure of the house than any other termites. They live in underground colonies and can create mud tubes on the walls for transport. They are often called “super termites” due to their highly aggressive nature. These termites chew through their preferred structures and cause damage to wooden fixtures and floors.
They are usually half-inch long and pale or brownish-yellow in colour. You can detect these termites through their swarms. Flying Formosan termites can be found near light sources such as tube lights and bulbs. They also leave many piles of shredded wings around the house. The wood these termites infest sound hollow when you tap on them.
Termites can cause a lot of damage to the structural integrity of the house. You can do regular inspections and hire techsquadteam for professional pest control services in Chennai when you detect them. Among the 220 species of termites found in India, these four are the most common ones that infest our house. Check for all their signs like mud tubes, shredded wings, hollow wood, etc., and have the professionals handle it.
