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Agriculture & Urban Forestry |
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Termites - Beginning to Swarm
With the recent cool and warm weather fluctuations going on, we are beginning to see a lot of insect activity. We are starting to see the small black-brown winged insects flying around outside with some found inside the home. These insects may be termite swarmers.
Swarming is a means by which sexually mature adult termites move out of a colony that has become overcrowded and/or lacks adequate food. During this season, the insects become "swarmers" by developing wings and taking flight. Swarmers themselves do not cause damage to structures. Their offspring are responsible for this. The swarmers have been actively flying about all over.
If you find a few swarmers in your home, this does not necessarily mean that you have termites in your home, but if you find large numbers of them in your home, you may have a termite infestation.
Generally, if you find a few to a couple of dozen in your home, they may have been attracted to light and came in through small cracks. If you begin to see several dozen and lots of wings and you clean them up and the next day they are back, this should send up a red flag. If the latter occurs, you probably should inspect frequently for three signs of termite infestation -- swarmers (termites with wings), mud tubes and damaged wood.
Most importantly - have a pest control operator do a thorough inspection of your home.
As a general rule, the native subterranean termites usually swarm from January through April and fly during the day.
The drywood and Formosan termites swarm from early April through June and usually begin flying at dusk and are attracted to lights
If you have questions about termites and want them identified, we can do this or you can call a pest control operator to ID and make and inspection for you.
I have attached some pictures to the right:
The Formosan soldier picture show's the tear-shaped head.
The Formosan pictures show 1. Alate, 2. & 3. Wing with hair, 4. Soldier, 5. Head capsule, 6. Mature Queen.
Termite evidence signs. G. Mud tubes inside, H. Drywood termite evidence, I. Mud tube outside, J. Drywood six-sided frass pellets, K. Subterranean damage along grain of wood, L. Drywood damage across grain of wood.
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| Last Updated: 3/10/2009 9:25:20 AM |
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