Termites are small social insects that live underground in large colonies, and that cause a tremendous amount of damage to wooden structures worldwide. Termites feed on dead plant material and cause damage by in wood feeding on the cellulose. They can have an extensive range of tunnels extending tens or hundreds of feet.
Termites are primarily a problem for homes and other structures comprised of wood. Their presence means that many thousands of homes must be treated for the control and prevention of these wood-eating insects. But they have a beneficial side in nature. They help to recycle dead wood and plants, and they add to the health of the soil as they tunnel through it.
These social insects form large nests containing many individuals. Termite colonies are made up of a variety of different types of individuals. These are the queen, the soldier, the worker and the swarmer.
The queen lays the eggs for the nest. She is the largest of the termites and can lay thousands in a day. The soldiers have large heads and powerful jaws: its job is to defend the colony. The most numerous colony members are the workers. They do most of the work in the colony including foraging for food, tunneling, feeding other colony members and constructing and repairing tunnels. Also, these are the termites that actual eat and digest the wood. Swarmers are the winged colony members that leave the nest in numbers to start new ones. Soon after they land they drop their wings. These are reproductive termites, led by primary members called the queen and king.
In order to control them and prevent damage, it's important for homeowners to be able to detect the presence of termites in and around their homes. They are usually discovered by the presence of swarmers, damaged wood, or seeing their mud tubes. For many homeowners, the shock of seeing perhaps thousands of winged termites emerging the soil, or from some part of their home, is the first sign of termites. These male and female swarmers leave the nest and fly off to pair up and start new nests. They usually emerge when temperature and moisture conditions are right. If you see swarmers inside your home it's a pretty strong indication of an infestation.
Seeing the termites mud tubes also indicates their presence. They build these tubes to reach wood and to protect them from enemies. The termites use them as above ground, sheltered passages between the soil and wood.
Probing into wood to detect hollowed out sections is another method of detecting termites. Use a sharp instrument to poke inside to find the areas in structural wood that have been excavated. Tapping a wooden structural member to listen for a hollow sound is another possible ways of determining if wood has been invaded.
Controlling termites usually requires the involvement of a professional termite specialist. If termites are detected in your home, locating a reputable termite professional is the best course of action. But finding termites should not be a panic-inducing situation. They work very slowly, so there will likely be more than enough time to employ the use of termite control. There is time to do some research and shop around to be sure that you get comprehensive service from a licensed and certified termite specialist. They should have good professional standing and be free from without complaints lodged against them with your states licensing board.
1. "Electronic pest control systems actually work". This is one of the biggest myths of the industry and lots of people still believe it without any valid scientific evidence. The only ones that work are the ones that emit a spark, barbequing the unfortunate cockroach. How could you place a solitary ultrasonic device in one room of a house, pointing in one direction and expect it to protect your whole home from pests? Even if it did annoy a rat when it crossed through the rays, wouldn't it just hide somewhere else in the house, close to the food and shelter? Why on Earth would it run outside the house?
2. "Make the poison a bit stronger so that it will work better." This is just dangerous and a waste of chemical. You can't kill a cockroach twice by doubling the strength or make the residue last longer. All you do is make the residue more dangerous to humans/environment and waste money on something that isn't necessary.
3. "Black widow spiders eat their male companions after mating." Female black widow spiders rarely eat their male companions after mating. But females are the most treacherous of the black widow spiders. Typically black, the body of female black widows is approximately one and one-half inches long, including the legs. The female back widow spider can be identified by the red hourglass shaped marking on the abdomen. Male back widows are one-half the size of the females and lack the red hourglass marking. The Black Widow is a close relative of the Australian Red Back Spider.
4. "Rat poison is "secret stuff" that keeps rats from smelling in your home". The truth? There is no such rodenticide. If you are baiting rodents, you can rest assured that they will die in areas where they normally frequent: their nesting site, their food source, or in between. Most rat and mouse baits are simply anti-coagulants, blood thinners. Any mammal's blood clots naturally. An anti-coagulant (Talon, Bromakil etc.) stops the clotting to an extreme, causing the rodent to die from internal bleeding. This is why you sometimes find a dead rodent that has blood showing in its nostrils or ears. The first commercial anti-coagulant rodent baits contained Warfarin, which is still in use today by medical professionals to help prevent unwanted blood clots. Rat and mouse baits being used today are mainly third and fourth generation anti-coagulants. These newer materials kill rodents faster, requiring less bait to kill targeted rodent pests. To lessen the chances (or amount) of odour, incorporate glue traps or snap traps into your baiting program. You will then have dead rodents that can be removed before there is an odour.
5. "If you see one cockroach there are always 100 more where it came from." myth. But it is true sometimes. If you see cockroaches in your kitchen every day, or every night when you turn on the light, you have a real problem.
6. "Cockroaches clean themselves; therefore they are one of the cleanest animals on Earth." Try eating one........only kidding! They inhabit the dirtiest places such as sewers and rubbish bins. They also urinate and defecate on your food. Still think they are clean?
7. "If your neighbour gets their cockroaches sprayed, they will all run into your house." Cockroaches don't crawl up to an invisible barrier and back up and go elsewhere. They run over it and pick up poison then die.
8. "Only dirty houses need pest control or being very clean will stop you having pests" Hygiene is a very important factor in pest control as it reduces the food supply of pests and increase the hiding places. Pests can be introduced to your environment via cardboard boxes from stores or by having them fly in on hot days from the street or other buildings close by (especially food preparation sites). Places like MacDonalds which clean everwhere on the hour are less likely to have them, but there are lots of ways cockroaches can come in. The key is to make sure they killed or are put back outside quickly!
9. "Termites are white-ants" They are more closely related to cockroaches biologically speaking, although they look a little like "white ants." In Australia sometimes they are commonly called "white-ants," but they are really termites.
10. "If you surround your home with timber, termites will eat this and stay out of your home." Termites will love plenty of food supplies, and if they are stacked around your home they will breed like crazy. This will result in lots of termites and new colonies foraging around the perimeter of your home. Think that they will be satisfied with staying outside?
Outright Pest Control Lies
1. "Without pesticides the world would be a better place." Love the idea, but up to a third of the world's population would starve to death if pesticides didn't exist. In saying this, I would like pest control managers to be more informed and better trained than what they are right now. Way too much pesticide is used and a lot of it ends up where it shouldn't be, like in waterways and killing non-target pests. ALWAYS ask for accreditation and license details before committing to getting any treatment done at your place.
2. "Twelve monthly termite control treatments are necessary to protect my home against termites." This is just a con job and used to be a normal practice years ago, before people woke up to the fact that termiticides (insecticides that kill termites) last for years. Twelve to six monthly inspections are necessary in high risk termite areas, but treatments aren't required yearly.
3. "All pest control firms/treatment/protection are the same." Do your homework before committing to a company or treatment and ask for references from happy customers. Remember: "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of the low price is forgotten." In Australia, call the Termite Experts on 1300 131 449 or visit our sites for more information on Termte Control at www.termiteexperts.com.au or go to www.bestpest.com.au for Pest Control advice.
Both Stephanie Mcintyre Mcintyre & Bruce Gow are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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