Living in Southwest Florida provides many challenges for homeowners. Termites can be the the most destructive insect you may be likely to encounter. these guys cause millions of dollars in damage to Florida homes each year by chewing away at your home and most of the time you don't even know it is happening. Bug Off Pest is here to help and educate you on what types of termites you may find in you home. if you are buying a home here in Port Charlotte Florida give us a call for an inspection of the home before you buy it on many occasions when an inspection is not requested pre sale of a home people buy the problem and then it is too late. Homeowners should also protect their investments and have preventive termite treatments applied to their homes on average every 5-7 years it is not only cheaper than repairs from the damage termites can cause, it is a peace of mind. Florida laws dictate the need to have homes pre-treated during the various construction phases. So why not keep the process up and protect it for years to come? Rather you have a new home or an older home you will benefit by having preventive termite treatments applied. you buy insurance to protect the most expensive asset you own this usually being your home but in a majority of the policies you may find they will not cover damages caused by termites. So it is highly recommended you have a regular annual inspection performed to your home and protect your investment.
Now lets talk about what happens when you go to sell your home and the new prospective buyer requests the inspection and termite damages are found. Well I think this is an obvious outcome you will either have to have the damage repaired at your expense or loose the sale. Neither option is a good one.
Termites Necessities for survival
For cockroaches survival is dependent on food water and harborages. For termites it is much of the same but dependent on food water and warmth. Food for subterranean termites consist of anything made of or containing cellulose materials, as well the Sub termite requires moisture unlike the drywood termite the sub needs the mud tubes to protect them from the outside environment. Drywood termites get the small amount of moisture needed from the dry woods they consume therefore not having any need to leave the nesting area until the source of food has depleted and the colony will die but not before the swarmers have broken away and formed new colonies as the nest grows over time preventing over population of the nest and thus creating longevity for the nest as well.
Communication within a colony
Termites have a similar way as many social insects of communicating within their nest termites share a division of labor such as humans do. They communicate this by passing pheromones and each colony has its own distinct pheromone thus allowing them to know if termites from another colony or their enemy the ant may be attempting to mix within their own colony. by banging their heads against he mud-tube or galleries to create an alert the colony dispatches the soldier cast to defend the nest killing the intruder and walling it off within the nest with fecal matter. If a breach is attempted some termites will plug the hole with mud and saliva or even their heads
Colony Formation (Swarming)
Understanding termite activities is an important aspect to identifying what type of termite is present. The sudden, dramatic appearance of alate termites is commonly referred to as swarming. Termites swarm in an attempt to indicate new colonies at new locations. The success rate of colony establishment via swarming is extremely low, because most alates die shortly after swarming due to predators such as birds and other animals eating them along with other environmental factors at the time of the swarm.Swarming generally occurs when outside temperatures are warm and usually only from mature colonies.After the short fluttering flight the termites wings breat off and they mate up with a male and female to begin excavation of the new site to form the new colony.
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