Hearing that you have termites is never going to be a good thing. However, before you react and start trying to eliminate the infestation, it is worth knowing what you are dealing with. There are slight differences between drywood and subterranean termites. Establishing which has infected your home will help you to use the best techniques to eliminate them.
Of course, it is generally best to get the experts to help you with termite management and dealing with termite issues. This will help to ensure the problem is eradicated and you take steps to prevent them from returning.
You should also note that the subterranean termite is worse than the drywood one. A subterranean termite lives in a large colony and can consume a significant amount of wood ina surprisingly short space of time.
Appearance
Drywood and subterranean termites look similar, it can be hard to tell which you are dealing with just by looking at them. Instead, you should be looking at their behavior to establish which type you are dealing with.
Nesting Habits
The key difference between a drywood termite and the subterranean termite is that drywood termites don’t need to be moist all the time, subterranean ones do. That’s why they tend to live under your home. They have access to plenty of wood to eat but can live in the ground which is moist to their bodies.
Subterranean termites live in large colonies with a king and queen. The queen is as long as 10cm and lives for 15 years. That means she can reign over millions of termites. The large colony is well structured and has different types of termites.
In contrast, drywood termites don’t need to stay moist and live in much smaller colonies. They usually set up home in the wood, just below the surface and you can get more than one colony in one piece of wood. You’ll often find drywood termites around windows and other wooden elements of your home.
Of course, both types of termites eat wood and need to be eradicated.
Telling The Difference
One of the easiest ways to tell the difference is to look at the excrement they leave behind. Subterranean termites tend to leave cardboard looking excrement, while drywood termites leave small piles of sawdust on the floor.
Of course, once you realize you have termites, you’ll want to identify where their home is. If it is in drywood away from a source of water you are dealing with drywood termites.
But, if it is under your home with lots of tube-like passages through the soil, you are more likely to be dealing with subterranean termites.
Regardless of which type of termites you have, the sooner you take action to eradicate them the better.
You can then focus on making your home less attractive and harder to enter, this should help prevent you from having to tell which type of termite you have in the future.
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