Some Basic Facts about the Different Types of Termites

Although they might all look alike, and they certainly seem to do about the same amount of damage, there are actually different types of termites. Basically, there are three major types of termites that live and survive in the United States. Understanding what they are and how they live can help you when it comes to getting rid of them.

Types of Termites

Termites are hardy creatures. They have been around for about 250 million years. They probably aren\’t going anywhere soon. However, you can get rid of them if they are causing your wooden structures damage.

Drywood Termites

The most common types of termites in the United States are the drywood termites. These termites like to live above the soil. You can typically find them in wooden structures like furniture, trees, and houses. Once they have gotten situated and taken up home, they can cause damage to the wooden structures that they live in by eating at the wood and weakening it.
Unfortunately, you might not notice the damage for several years. Sometimes, too much damage has already been done to the structure once you find out and it might be difficult to repair.

Formosan Termites

Formosan termites are fairly new to the United States. They originated from Eastern Asia and therefore prefer subterranean climates. You can mostly find them in the southern states, where they like to cause damage to forests. They were first brought over from Asia in military supplies after World War II. For the past decade, workers have been trying hard to control the termite population in the southern states so that forests do not suffer as much damage.

Ground Termites

Lastly, ground termites like to actually live inside the soil. They can make tunnels up to the surface of the ground so that they can eat on nearby pieces of wood. Sometimes, the colony can reach to about 130 feet in order to get wood pieces.
Ground termites are one of the most aggressive types of termites. They can eat up to 15 pounds of food a week. Most of the damage done to wood in the United States are done by the ground termites, pest control experts say.
All of the different types of termites live in social communities that are very structured. These social units, or colonies, usually have:

• soldiers;
• kings;
• queens;
• workers.

The worker termites take care of the young termites and see to the general maintenance of their living quarters.
The soldiers, on the other hand, are responsible for defending the colony from threats.
The king and queen are both needed in order to start the colony. They scope out the new surroundings and help produce the workers and soldiers.

On A Positive Note

Even though the various types of termites can cause a lot of damage, they are also needed for the earth\’s ecological system. Termites break down dead wood and dying trees and provide nourishment for different insects and small animals. They also assist in ventilating the soil so that the soil is able to regenerate itself and so that foliage is able to grow on it in the future.