Know your pests

Subterranean Termites

Termites (sometimes mistakenly called "white ants", or "flying ants" while swarming) are small, delicate insects that live in colonies in the soil or in wood. Termites are social insects whose colonies are organized into castes (right) with large "reproductives" and smaller workers and soldiers. Workers feed the colony and tend to the needs of the queen while soldiers defend the colony from invaders such as ants. These highly organized colonies allow termites to be efficient and very destructive when they attack our structures.

Termites eat wood and convert wood fiber, or cellulose, into sugar. A large termite colony can do extensive damage to structures made of wood. Since termites often consume wood from the inside out internally damaged wood can appear perfectly normal