Termite Identification
Workers – Workers are the members of the colony that cause the most damage to the home that the colony is invading. They work to create tunnels within the wood, gathering food for their colony. Worker termites grow to between 1/4 and 1/2 of an inch in length; they are wingless, have a cream colored, soft body, and are blind.
Soldiers - As their name suggests soldiers are the members of the colony that defend their colony from danger. They use their large mandibles to defend the colony against threats. Except for their large mandibles and brownish colored head they look very similar to the workers.
Reproductives - The reproductive members of the colony are the largest in size-growing up to 1/2 an inch in length, they are dark brown to black in color and have two pairs of wings that are equal in length; they are also the member of the colony that you are most likely to get a glimpse of. Reproductives swarm from their mature colony in order to find a mate, shed their wings, and start a new colony of their own. During this time they can often be seen crawling up walls or their shed wings can be found in piles on decks, walkways, and underneath of windows or doors.
Termite Signs/Damages
Termites enter into homes silently, and usually, it is only when they have done enough damage to cause a physical change in the home that their presence is discovered by the homeowner. This can take weeks, months, or even years. If you ever notice signs of termites or their damages, a professional pest control expert needs to be immediately called. Getting help as quickly as possible for a termite infestation will help to minimize damages and cost of repair.
- Discovering mud tubes near, in or on your Turks and Caicos home is a sure sign that termites may be nesting in or near your home. Termites create their mud tubes to travel through in order to keep out of the sun and other elements; these pencil-width mud tubes can be found on the ground running toward your home, running up your home’s foundation and exterior walls, or even running up your home’s basement walls.
- Finding small holes in the structural wood or walls that are located in your home. They use these holes to push their waste out of.
- Their fecal pellets can create a noticeable odor in your home and can even cause discoloration or blisters to form on walls.
- Noticing that your home’s floors are sagging or that they feel more spongy than normal when you walk across them.
- Walls in your home that have unexplained cracks or that look splintered or blistered.
- Finding that windows and/or doors in your home are no longer opening or closing properly.
To protect your home and property from highly damaging termites turn to the Turks and Caicos pest control experts at Parkway Pest Solutions. To protect homes from termites we recommend installing the Sentricon® System with Always Active™. At Parkway Pest Solutions we are an authorized operator of Sentricon® with Always Active™ technology, an eco-friendly, non-invasive termite baiting system. This system works to quickly eliminate a termite colony from your property and then remains in place to prevent future problems with these destructive pests. To learn more about protecting your Turks and Caicos home from termites by partnering with Parkway Pest Solutions, give us a call today and speak with one of our friendly professionals!