Subterranean termites are sneaky pests. Worker termites are the ones that eat the wood of your home and they prefer to live in dark areas. When this colony attacks your home, you might not see it. These termites consume the wood inside your house up to a few millimeters from the surface without making themselves known. But, each spring, a lot of termite colonies release termite swarmers, which are drawn to light. The presence of these swarmers should tell you it is time to consider Barrier Pest Control.
Reasons Termites Swarm
Termites swarm to reproduce and create new colonies near sources of food. As with ants, termites are social creatures that thrive in a colony. Their young develop wings in the springtime to disperse from their parent colonies in swarms. Subterranean swarmers fly through mud tubes while drywood termite swarmers fly through the air. Often, the swarms are carried along on a breeze until they reach the ground. After they touch the ground, they establish new colonies. Colonies usually swarm just once every year, although multiple smaller swarms may happen.
Identifying a Termite Swarm
Termite infestation occurs suddenly, so you must know how to identify termite swarms quickly and correctly. During the swarming stage, a lot of termites are ready to establish a new colony and reproduce to fill this colony. Termite swarmers look like flying ants and do come in numbers. Termite colonies start to form right after swarmers hit the ground in a suitable spot. Also, termites can make a home anywhere with a source of cellulose and a good amount of moisture, which is the type of environment a home may have.
Termites have straight antennae while ants have bent antennae. While the length of the ant’s wing varies, the length of termite wings is identical. Also, ants tend to have a pinched waist while termites have a straighter waist.
What Does a Swarm Mean for You?
If you have identified a termite infestation on your property, you need to act quickly. Once termite swarmers land in a suitable location, they will establish a new colony and an infestation can happen before you know it. To get rid of this infestation, pest control professionals will first identify the kind of termite you have in your home. Subterranean termites live in the ground where they can start causing damage. On the other hand, dry wood termites create a significant amount of damage to the wood they infest. You can find them in your roof or attic where they tend to burrow into the wood such as small holes in wooden surfaces.