Drywood termites are responsible for 10% of termite issues and wood destruction in US homes. You usually will not know you have an infestation until you see signs that they are present. Once you see these silent destroyers, you need to act quickly as an infestation can be extremely damaging to your home structure.
It’s crucial to know how to get rid of drywood termites so when you discover an infestation, you can act as soon as possible.
What Are Drywood Termites?
Drywood termites are like regular termites, except they live in the wood they eat and do not create underground nests. They create smaller colonies than subterranean termites, but that means they often are overlooked and end up causing more damage than their underground cousins.
Each colony of drywood termites has soldiers, workers, and reproducers. They will not build mud tubes for transportation corridors and will nest in quiet, secluded locations around where they are infesting. They will get into cracks or crevices, lay eggs and start infesting your world. Worse, you will not likely notice they are there until they have a foothold.
Drywood termites work fast. They can cause major structural damage before you notice them. A mature colony will produce winged alates, and they will swarm, looking for places to start new colonies. If you do not catch them before this, you can have several different colony infestations before you know it.
How To Identify Drywood Termites
Swarming is the first and most obvious sign you have a drywood termite infestation. A colony swarms when a nest matures, and the termites look for a new place to colonize. They are attracted to light and will shed their wings, so gathering around light and piles of wings are two clues of a swarm.
Appearance-wise, drywood termites are a quarter-inch to an inch long, cream-white colored to a reddish brown. They have two pairs of wings that are the same size. Each colony has a king and queen that will stay in the colony for their entire lives. You may never see them, but the kings are about a half inch long, and the queens are slightly longer.
Soldier termites are about a quarter-inch long and cream-colored. Their head is rectangular and has a light shade of orange. They have noticeably long mandibles with serrated edges. Workers are less than a quarter inch in length and are also cream-colored. These are the truly destructive members of a colony and make up the majority of a colony.
If you are having trouble with drywood termites, contact a pest control professional to help you correctly identify what you have and pinpoint a strategy to get rid of them before they do any further damage.
How To Get Rid of Drywood Termites
To get rid of a drywood termite colony, professionals inject a termite control product directly into and around their property. You will not need to vacate your house for fumigation. No underground treatments are necessary because drywood termites do not live underground.
The insects come in contact with the treatment and transfer it to other colony members. The treatment kills any termites it contacts. Eventually, a colony will reduce in size and die off once initial contact has been made. When the queen is destroyed, the colony will cease to populate.
Termite professionals will also be able to assess how much damage has already been done. That can help you decide the next steps in restoring your home. Additionally, they will recommend actions to ensure that termites cannot access your home again.
Recommended steps might include sealing cracks and crevices or injecting additional treatments into other areas that might be infested.
They will also inspect the exterior of your home and seal any cracks or holes that might give the insects access to the interior of your home. Finally, they will be able to inspect the exterior property around your home and determine if your property has a drywood termite issue.
Final Thoughts
If you think you have termites, call Stampeded Pest Control for an inspection. Do not waste time, as drywood termites are incredibly destructive. Call today and get a pest control professional out to your property within hours so you can start to rid yourself of this destructive pest.