What are The Different Types of Termites and How They Affect Us?
Posted by Techsquad team on July 16th, 2019
Termites can be a huge menace to households and even many business owners dealing with anything that is wood. In a place as industrious as Bangalore, any kind of pest infestation might result in a huge loss both to the person and property. Termites attack in large numbers and are impossible to detect at first which makes it all the more harder to destroy them. It can be very helpful to understand these pesky creatures in order to know how to eradicate them.
Termites also are known as ‘wood ants’ or ‘white ants’ can be found all over the world, in every continent except Antarctica. Termites are contemplated as the most destructive pests in the world. They are the major sources of huge financial losses due to their extensive damage to structures, furniture, buildings, or anything that is made of wood.
There are mainly around 435 species of termites alone in Asia and even within a certain colony, termites have their own hierarchy. The worker termites are responsible for digestion of cellulose for the whole colony and they get that from wood. Most of the termite infection that we see is mostly done by these worker termites. Apart from the workers, we have the solider termites that defend their nests and secrete lethal sprays at enemies and we have the king and queen termites that are mainly responsible only for procreation.
Termites are ‘detritivores’, which means they mainly feed on dead plants at any level of decomposition, making them the primary consumers in any food chain. Some of the termite species inhabit the wood that they feed on while most of the other species like subterranean termites construct tunnels or runways in search of food.
There are over 220 different species of termites only in India. All these species are further classified into 3 primary sub-groups such as subterranean, drywood and dampwood termites. Let’s discuss each one for a better understanding.
- Subterranean termites – These termites normally nest underground, so, whatever wood they feed on has an accumulation of soil and dirt.
- They only feed on the softwood and leave out the hardwood so the damaged wood looks layered.
- These termites enter the buildings and houses through the wood that touches the ground or by the construction of channels of mud from the ground to the infesting wood.
- They can also infest homes for many years without detection and can populate in hundreds and thousands as these pests grow faster as these colonies consist of more than one queen who lays eggs.
- So responding to early signs of infestation and calling up a professional termite control service in Bangalore is recommended to prevent serious damage.
- Drywood Termites – These termites are ‘swarmers’ and can be differentiated from the subterranean termites because of their wings.
- They need a lot of moisture to exist and develop from humidity. Hence, they appear in damp areas more often.
- They can survive without soil and do not construct nests in the ground. Rather they build it on the dry wood that they infest.
- They enter the house through unprotected wood or infested furniture.
- There can be widespread infestation or the infiltration can be limited to one area as they chew on the wood from the inside and make tunnels to travel around.
- This can also make the structure or furniture weak from inside.
- It is recommended to search and assign a reliable termite control service in Bangalore area to prevent this problem as soon as it is identified otherwise it might become a costly affair.
- Dampwood Termites – These termites are generally, attracted towards the wood that is mostly outside and has direct contact with the ground.
- They are also sometimes seen to be infesting drainpipes and roof leaks or cracks.
- These termites mainly weaken homes by operating silently and secretively and make it very difficult to recognize the infestation until it’s too late which can lead to major financial costs.
- Hence, it is advised to call an expert termite control service in Bangalore as soon as you face with any kind of termite even if it is just one.
- To remain hidden they cover the entrance of their nests with their own feces which has high moisture and result in dampening the wood more and interest fungus to attack it. Just call up one of the many termite control services in Bangalore to sort out the issue as soon as possible.
