If you have any problems with termites or any other pests, then it’s time to call a Broken Arrow pest control company that you can trust. Your home is one of the largest investments that you will most likely pay for in your lifetime. It’s important to protect this investment from all sorts of forces that would try to damage your home. One of those forces are pests. Specifically, let’s talk about termites. These wood destroying insects can wreck havoc on your home. In this article, let’s take a good hard look at termites, their life cycle, and what we can do to protect our homes with the help of our Broken Arrow pest control company.
WOOD DESTROYING TERMITES AND BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL
Termites are wood destroying insects. They are one of the few insects that can actually consume wood and make it into energy. Termites do this with a special enzyme in their gut that can break down the cellulose in wood particles and create energy. Essentially, wood is made up of two parts, cellulose and lignin. The majority of the wood’s cells are made up of cellulose. This enzyme will break down cellulose and make it into energy for the insect. In order for young termites to be able to break down cellulose, they must get this enzyme in their gut. The process of trophallaxis is the process by which worker termites feed young droppings from adult termites. By doing this, the young termites obtain the necessary enzymes in their guts to break down wood into food.
Termites are eusocial insects. This means that they live in a large colony with millions of individuals. They use a caste system in order to divvy up the work between the individuals in the colony. At the top of the cast system are the reproductives. The queen lays all the eggs to populate the Colony. In a large termite colony, the individuals can number in the millions. This means the queen will lay a lot of eggs. Once a queen becomes reproductive, she will lay eggs 24 hours a day until the day she dies. Your Broken Arrow pest control company will have more information.
REPRODUCTIVES AND BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL
Also in the reproductives are the alates. These are the winged termites. Also known swarmers, in the late spring, the swarmers will leave the nest and find a swarm of reproductive termites from other colonies in the area. The swarmers will pair up, male and female, mate in mid air, and then go to find a place to create a new colony. Once they land, they will lose their wings and dig out a chamber where they will start their new colony.
The next caste in the cast system are the soldiers. These are large, headed termites with large mandibles. If a termite colony is invaded, then these individuals come to life. They’ll run straight into the fray to fight off whatever is trying to take over the colony. Their large heads will often clog up the tubes to make up the interior of the colony. As they fight, the workers will come in behind and close off the tunnels behind them. The soldiers will give their life for the survival of the colony. Call your Broken Arrow pest control company today!
WORKER TERMITES AND BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL
The last caste in the colony is the worker caste. These individuals are the most numerous. They are tasked with doing all the menial jobs of the colony. They will forage for food, feed the young, bring food back to the colony, take out the trash, tend of the young, tend to the queen and the soldiers, and much more. Anything that needs to be done the worker termites will do.
Protecting your home from termites is really a job for your Broken Arrow pest control company. There are essentially two ways to protect your home from termites. The first way of dealing with termites is to have your house treated with a liquid treatment. The process includes creating a trench all the way around your house filling it with pesticide treated dirt. Anywhere that there’s cement up against the house, holes will be drilled every foot and pesticide will be injected underneath the foundation of the house. By doing this, we create a barrier of pesticide all the way around the house. Termites will forage for food in the top 6 inches of the dirt. So when they get to your house, they will have to go through the pesticide first. This eliminates the colony before it ever begins.
TERMITE PROTECTION AND BROKEN ARROW PEST CONTROL
The second way by which we protect our homes from termites are through termite bait stations. These are stations that are buried in the ground every 20 feet around your home. Inside are blocks of pesticide laced cellulose, which the termites love. Because its pure cellulose, they actually prefer these blocks to real wood. They’ll take the food from these blocks and bring it back to colony feeding it to the young. This will wipe off the colony before it can get big enough to attack your home.
Termites are subterranean in Oklahoma. They are very fragile and can dry out very easily. Because of this, they have to build mud tubes in order to come above the surface to forage for food. By doing this, they carry the humid air up from the ground up above through the tunnels. This protects them from drying out. If you see tunnels built at the side of your house, then you know you have an issue with termites.
If you have an issue with termites or any other pest, then time to call and professional Broken Arrow pest control company. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we’re the best of the business when it comes to dealing with termites or any other insects. We service greater Tulsa area, including Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Prattville, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, Owasso, Turley, and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!
