What Everyone Needs to Know About Termites
Most everyone in Florida probably knows the basics about termites. They are insects that fly and settle in homes where they eat wood and lay eggs. Termites are a massive and potentially expensive headache but they are also common and not altogether harmful.
Termites and Ants
Termites look a little bit like ants. Looking at a few online images of winged termites and winged ants will confirm this. Termites and flying ants have two pairs of wings, but the back pair of wings on a termite is smaller. So, if they look like ants but don’t have wings they are probably termites. In fact, a collection of insect wings on the windowsill or by the front door can be a giveaway that you have termites.
Termite Lifecycle
Those wings represent the end of one part of a termite’s lifecycle. Like all insects, termites lay eggs. Those eggs produce three types of termite when they hatch. The workers and soldiers tend to stay at home, but the swarmers, the winged third variety of termite head out in the spring to create new colonies. The colony will grow, either underground or in wood, for a few years. Then a new genertion of swarmers will set out to repeat the cycle.
One Termite Benefit
Termites tend to summon visions of tents over houses and massive bills, but termites are actually good for the environment. Because termites eat wood, they provide a useful service by attacking dead trees and recycling the wood pulp.
Homeowners who find evidence of termites should consider termite treatments Fort Myers FL to take care of the problem. Termites typically start doing damage long before the homeowner notices a possible termite infestation. This only makes sense because termites are secretive. You often will only see the wings they drop or the holes they created when burrowing into wood framing, beams, and so on.
