Termites
Termites are often confused with ants due to their anatomy, but a sure fire way to tell a termite from an ant is:
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termites do not have a pinched waist. Their bodies are similar to a pencil where as an ants body is is shapely like a pear. Below are some more images for termite identification.
If you see a swarm that means that the termites that have been living in your house have grown their family too much and need to expand. The swarmers are looking for a new place to start a colony since there is no more room!
Don't fret, A1 Home Pest Control can assure you that if you have termites we can take care of them for you, whether it is drywood termites or subterranean termites, A1 can handle it. There is no termite job too big or too small that we can't handle. A1 Home Pest Control offers monitoring, pretreats and curative treatments for termites.
A1 Home Pest Control uses only the BEST termiticide on the market, we will not use cheap products for prevention or curative treatments on your structure.
Click on images to enlarge
What you need to know about termites :
Formosan Subterranean Termites
Termites can do a lot of damage to a structure, eventually rendering it unsafe to be in. To get to this point, it take years and years of termites working hard and most aggressive termite is the formosan termite. The queens can lay anywhere from 2,000- 3,000 eggs a day, making the colony conatain several millions.Formosan Termites do not consume more wood then Subterranean termites do, it's their sheer numbers in the colonies that allows them to do more damage in a shorter period of time.
Why is my neighbor digging a moat?
Formosan Termites forage up to 300 feet away from the nest (in the soil) making them very difficult to eliminate. So, if your neighbor has them, there is a good chance you do as well. Formosans use mud tubes to travel in when outside of the soil, they build them from the soil up the side of the structure and in they go. They only need a crack to get in and start getting comfortable!
The best defense for Subterranean Termites is monitors, baiting and trenching; depending on how you want to approach the issue. But for a curative treatment, trenching is best bet.
Drywood Termites, unlike Subterranean Termites, have the highest swarm rate in the fall but have been known to do it all year in Florida. They are attracted to light (This is why you see them swarm at windows) and ususally come out when the temperature is between 80- 100 degrees.
The queens only lay 5-10 eggs in the first year and 9-15 eggs in the years after, making them very slow to build a colony. It will take a colony anywhere from five to seven years for their damage to start being noticed.
Why does it have to look like a circus tent?
So, people do not just walk into a fumigated house. (gets their attention)
There is no real preventive for Drywood Termites but for curative you have some options depending on the level of infestation. If the infestation is large enough and wide spread then a fumigation or heat treatment is needed. But if the colony can be located to one accessible part of the structure, then spot treatments can be done to eliminate them.
A1 Home pest control uses thermal heat for drywood termite treatments.
~Why does A1 use thermal heat?
*Only one day down time
*Same results with no chemicals
*Very little prep, no need to bag all the food, beds, etc.
*Year service warranty
*MORE AFFORDABLE
Either way, when you need to trench or use thermal heat treatments for termites: A1 Home Pest Control has you covered from beginning to end. We go over all the treatment options, pricing, preperations, and what to expect after treatment!