Spokane Termite Control
Termites are unpleasant little creatures that share a lot in common with ants. Like ants, their society is divided into three castes: The warrior caste, the reproductive caste, and the worker caste. And, of course, there’s a queen. The workers make up the bulk of termite society and they’re very good at their jobs. Unlike humans, they don’t need sleep, so they can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. While the workers aren’t represented by a union, the majority of their work involves chewing up your home. The workers need to be able to feed the warriors, reproductive termites, and their queen. They extract moisture from wood pulp and other substances to feed the other castes. And this is how the bulk of the damage is done.
Termites Attack from Below
Most folks think of termites in their walls, but the fact is, termite control has more to do with what’s under your walls. Termites will begin their attack on your home from the foundation.
Subterranean termites are the most common type found in Spokane and throughout Washington. They survive on moisture and cellulose found in plants and in the soil. That’s why they’ll spend most of their time underground. But it’s only a matter of time before they run into somebody’s home and begin attacking their foundation as a source of food. From there, they exploit cracks in the foundation to find their way up into your walls and that’s when you tend to first notice them.
Managing Termite Infestations
Those who recognize that they have a termite problem need to act quickly. Before long, the amount of damage they will do to your home will be more costly to repair the longer you wait. While there are some treatments that you can purchase at Home Depot or other locations, the best way to deal with a termite infestation is to ensure the problem is handled by professionals.
Identifying Termites
Termites share a lot in common with ants. It’s similar to the difference between humans and chimpanzees. We share a lot of the same DNA, but we’re still two different species. For that reason, termites get misidentified as ants.
How can you tell the difference?
The first method is by taking a look at their body. Termites tend to be lighter in color than ants, but can still be confused with white ants. The surest way to tell the difference is by taking a look at the structure of their body. Ants have a clearly defined thorax and abdomen. If you slept through that lecture in biology, insects are divided into three parts: The head, thorax, and abdomen. The three parts are ordered such that the head goes first. The midsection is called the thorax, and for insects, the abdomen is the last in the line.
Ants have very clearly defined thoraxes and abdomens. Termites, on the other hand, don’t. Termites have bodies in which it is difficult to tell the thorax apart from the abdomen (unless you’re a termite).
Identifying Termite Activity
The first way to identify termites is to look for the mud tubes that they create to go from place to place. These are thin mud structures that connect from your home to the ground.
Next, you’ll want to check out your wood, especially in exposed areas like your garage. Termites eat wood from the inside out, so if you find a piece of wood that is hollow, you might have a termite problem.
Termites may not nap, but they do poop. You can identify an infestation from termite poop, which is small and white and bears a resemblance to salt.
