As a Broken Arrow pest control technician, I have found that pests each have a season. Every year that we go through, there are different pests that attack during different seasons. We find many rodents in the winter trying to find warmth in homes when it gets cold. We find ants come out in the spring looking for places to forage for food in like your pantry. Then there are bugs like cockroaches they have no specific time frame, but need to be dealt with year round. There is one insect that is particularly interesting, and yes it is seasonal. This insect is the termite. And here we are again at termite season. This article will deal with termites and how to deal with them through this hectic season.
TERMITE SEASONS AND BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL
As every Broken Arrow pest control technician knows, termites have a mating season. In the business we call this the swarming season. Termites are a eusocial insect. These insects have a caste system that they use in order to take care of all of the situations in their life. The colony must have workers. These workers will forage for food, retrieve the food, build the nest, eliminate waste, feed other termites and the young and much more. There are also soldier termites who are very adept at protecting the colony. And then you have your reproductive‘s. The most well known of these reproductives is the queen.
The queen is tasked with laying all the eggs necessary to keep the colony populated. Many termite colonies in Oklahoma number easily in the millions of individuals. That’s a lot of egg laying for one insect. In addition to the queen, we have other reproductions as well. These reproductives are known as alates. These alates are the only termites with wings. Because they have wings, they are known as swarmers. At the end of spring to the beginning of summer, these swarmers will exit the colony. The workers will build swarm tubes, which are specialized tubes that open out the open air. Call your Broken Arrow pest control company for more details.
ASK BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL, WHERE DO TERMITES LIVE?
As stated before, termites are underground insects. They require a lot of moisture in their environment to survive. If they are above ground too long, they will dry out and die. In order to continue to forage for food above ground, termites will build mud tubes. These tubes carry the humid air from underground up walls and trees, in order that workers can find more food. Your Broken Arrow pest control company can help.
Out of the entire colony, only two individuals can stay above ground for any length of time. These individuals are called reproductives. In order to reproduce, they must be able to come in contact with reproductives from other colonies in order to reproduce. If the male and female reproductives are successful, they will become king and queen of a new colony.
SWARMING TERMITES ACCORDING TO BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL
Colonies must develop for many years before they’re at the point where they can release alates. These reproductives come in both male and female. They will leave the nest from these swarm tubes, and search for a swarm of reproductives. This swarm will be filled with reproductive from other colonies in the nearby area. Scientist have looked deeply into how colonies know when other colonies are going to send out swarmers, but at this point, how they synchronize with each other is unknown. More information is available from your Broken Arrow pest control company.
The swarmers will find themselves in a cloud of reproductives. They will pair up male and female and then mate in mid air. Once the alates have paired up and mated, then they will search for a place that looks like a good place for a new termite colony. Here they lose their wings and then burrow into the ground. Once they get underground, they will dig out a chamber known as the royal chamber.
Once that is done, the female will begin to lay her eggs. She has now become the new queen of the new colony that they are creating. The male, or king, now will continue the process of building out the colony. He will search for food and tend to the new lava as they’re born. Once these larva become full grown adults, they will be workers. And once these workers come to full grown adulthood, the king will have run out of purpose and will die. From here the colony will continue to grow until it’s huge. Your Broken Arrow pest control company can stop this.
HOW TO GET PROTECTION AGAINST TERMITES
Termite treatments are labor intensive and require large equipment to complete. Because of this, it is best to leave termite treatments to an experienced Broken Arrow pest control company. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we offer free termite inspections and a wide variety of services to exterminate and protect your home from termites. Liquid treatments, bait station systems and official inspections are all available. We service the entire Tulsa area including Broken Arrow, Bixby, Sand Springs, Pratville, Sapulpa, Owasso, Catoosa, Coweta, Claremore and more. Call us today for a free estimate! We’re here to help!