Many business owners have put years of blood, sweat and tears into their business. Because of this, they seek to protect these businesses at all cost. The day-to-day workload takes up most business owners’ time. The one thing that’s not thought of, in many cases, is the role that wood boring pests may take on buildings that are owned by a business. Your restaurant, warehouse or office building are all susceptible to these kinds of insects. And out of those insects the most prominent in Oklahoma is the termite. It’s important to protect your business from these wood destroying insects. This article will explore the business aspects of dealing with termites and other wood boring insects.
TERMITES UNDERGROUND
Termites in Oklahoma predominately fall into one species. This species is the eastern subterranean termite. Eastern subterranean termites, as its name implies, are found underground. These termites are very susceptible to drying out. Because of this, subterranean termites remain underground where the air is much damper. Even when they forage above ground, they must use mud tubes to keep damp air around them at all times. These mud tubes are constructed out of mud and feces from the termites themselves. They use these tubes to crawl up the side of buildings, trees and other structures in order to find food. Your Tulsa exterminator can help you with that.
As is well known, the primary food source of termites is wood. This is a little deceptive because it’s not the actual wood they are looking for. It’s actually the cellulose found in wood. They have special enzymes inside the digestive system they can break down cellulose into a usable energy. Termite colonies divide the work up amongst different casts of insects. Each of these castes has a specific purpose, and provides workforce for the colony. The worker termites are the most populous. They do most of the menial work that is required for the survival of the colony. They will find food, build nests and mud tubes, retrieve food, feed other insects in the colony, and take care of the young. The worker caste is all made up of sterile females. These insects will spend their entire lives working for the colony.
MORE TERMITE CASTES
In addition to the working class, there are also soldiers. Soldiers are easily noted by their large heads and jaws. These insects remain docile until the colony is attacked. It’s at this point that they spring into action. Soldiers will immediately rushed to wherever the invasion is occurring and engage the enemy. In most cases, soldier termites are very formidable, but also very expendable. They will rush into the fray and hold off the enemy but just long enough for the workers to seal off the tube behind them. In this way, they sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the colony. These insects, because of their size, take up a lot of the food resources that are necessary for the colony to survive. Therefore their numbers are limited. For more information, contact your Tulsa pest control company.
REPRODUCING THE COLONY
Then there is the queen. Her job is simply to lay eggs all day every day. Queens can live for years, sometimes decades. Lastly, we have the reproductives. These aelates, as they are known, are the only winged individuals in the entire colony. These swarmers will emerge from swarm tubes build above the surface in late spring and early summer. They will search out a swarm of reproductives from all sorts of colonies in the area. In the swarm, reproductives will pair up, each finding a mate of the opposite sex. Once a male and female find one another, they will search for a place to start a new colony and then lose their wings. The pair will dig underground and begin to create what’s known as a royal chamber.
This is the beginning of the colony. As the king is clearing out the royal chamber, the queen begins to start laying eggs. Once the eggs hatch, they will be taken care of by the king, initially. As these first individuals become adults, the king will die off and the new adults will emerge and become the working class. They will continue to work until the colony has grown large. Most Swarmers don’t ever make it to the colony stage. The truth is, once the reproductive termites begin to fly, they are easy targets for birds and other predators.
TERMITE WARNING SIGNS
In your business, there are common signs that you could have an issue with termites. Most people think that they’ll find a place where one could see the termites galley ways, but this is not true. Remember, these insects must stay underground. The most prominent sign that you have a termite issue are mud tubes. If you’re seeing mud tubes of the side of your building, on your piping, or anywhere else, then you have an issue with termites. Your Broken Arrow exterminator can help!
Another sign that you may have termites are if you find the reproductives. Sometimes, when colonies are underneath buildings, they will have built their swarm tubes inside the building, and the aelates will exit there, inside the building. They will go to the nearest window attempting to find a swarm. Because they can’t get out of the building, they will die there. You will often see wings or the entire insect in windowsills and in front of doors. Both of these signs are telltale issues they can tell you if you have a termite problem. Also, if you have wood decking or other such things, and you see a large number of small holes in the wood, you may have termites. Workers will create frass holes, that they will use the push frass, or waste out of the colony.
ELIMINATING TERMITES FROM YOUR BUSINESS
If you’re having an issue with termites, it’s time to give TermMax Pest Control a call. We are the best Broken Arrow pest control company in the state. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Sand Springs, Broken Arrow, Prattville, Turley, Sapulpa, Jenks, Bixby, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa and much more. Call us today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!
