Termite Identification - How To Properly Identify A Termite
Termite identification can sometimes be very hard for the average person. They are often mixed of with ants. Formosan termite identification can be done by looking at the colors on them, because unlike the others they are a yellowish brown. They usually come out after the sun has set, and usually on warm and humid evenings in the months from April to July.
These critters usually go after old tree stumps, poles, or other wood structures in contact with the dirt. They have even constructed galleries to second stories in buildings in order to feed on the wood. The termite identification is easiest to see when they are in their swarming and or mating flight, though believe it or not they tend to cause more damage during the times after the swarm is over.
The Dry wood termite must be identified in a different way. They are seen on most continents in the world and differ from subterranean termites in their appearance mostly due to their color difference. Dry wood termite swarmers look red and have black or dark brown wings. They are most commonly confused by people with the carpenter ant.
Wood termites can also thrive in dead branches or logs. Though once most of the dead wood has been eaten, the termites will either move onto greener pastures (more wood) or the colony will die. People use impregnated wood slabs with toxic chemicals and set them out to control termite foragers. The termite will feed on bait and bring it back to the nest. They then share the toxic chemical with other termites in the colony, and eventually the king and queen if all things go as planned. For the termite wood is a precious commodity because without this source they would have no place to live, eat or thrive. So they will live off of your deck, tree stumps, fencing or other visible food.
The termite is able to digest the wood as food because they the flagellates for digestion and nutrition. If the termite did not have the flagellates in their body or stomach passage, the termite could still eat wood but it would slowly die in the process. The termite is an active forest preserver because they eat dead wood and digest it into new soil making for new growth in the forest where they live.
The Formosan termite colonies can be as large as 300 square feet. They have no problems digging through soil as well as eating your wood. The termite colonies swarm yearly in the months from April through July. The LSU Agricultural Center has maintained records of the daily flights and records of how many of the termites in the process were caught in light traps in New Orleans since 1989.
The Queen termites entire purpose is to reproduce for the termite colonies. Typically the average termite queen will lay termite eggs every year into the thousands and live up to as many as 30 years. The queen termite directs the other termites in the colony for their certain activities by excreting a chemical out of her body. I know I went into more specifics about the different termites themselves, but to find out more about termite identification and how to identify a termite itself. You can check out the site below.
Frank Reese is a termite industry professional. For more information on href="http://www.termite-1.com/Termites/Termites.php">Termite Identification. or for more information on termites in general visit the site below:
http://www.termite-1.com/Termites/Termites.php
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