Termites are actually a form of insect that eats wood. Their food is made up of the cellulose usually found in wood. While they eat and chew wood, it forms hollow tubes inside the wood which they use to deposit and spread their food around. Most subterranean termites will enter your house from beneath, while drywood termites will enter your house from above. However, drywood termites are the most destructive of all.
When you see termites in the house, it can be very scary. Usually, when you first notice them, they will be small yellow ants. However, once they start to build their nest, they become winged and can fly around your house. If you notice these signs, you should take immediate action before the colony grows and damages your belongings. Here are some tips on how to identify whether or not you have an infestation and what to do to treat it. This information can save you lots of time and money!
The first step is to check for termites in your Phoenix, Arizona home or business, in general. There are different types of termites that can attack homeowners, so you want to catch them as early as possible in order to prevent serious damage from occurring. The first thing you want to look for are red ants and worker ants. Keep a flashlight handy to inspect your furniture, walls, carpeting, siding, and other places for signs of a termite problem.
You will also find desert subterranean termites in Arizona. These species of termites can live for up to five years in the desert, but only one year in a wetland area. This makes desert termites unique. They actually migrate to moist areas in order to mate, so if you find mud tunnels or wetland areas, you may have an infestation and should be concerned.
To get rid of desert ants and other termites, you should call on the services of a Phoenix pest control company like ACTION Termite & Pest Control. In Arizona, homeowners can help themselves by investing in an inexpensive and easy to use termite bait. When homeowners apply this bait to the areas where they think termites may be living, the ants will die within two weeks due to starvation.
The last type of subterranean termites in Arizona that need to be concerned about are dark brown flightless termites. These insects have wings that are dark brown with three dark brown lines along the edge of the wing. It is called “flightless” because they do not fly when moving around. Homeowners need to be wary of brown flightless termites because they can do serious damage to structures and people.
Call our Termite Experts to learn what type of Termites you might have and how we can get rid of them for you!
