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Termites

Termites. Termites. 45 species of termites in US Only 2 species are native. Termites. Gut symbionts help digest cellulose (wood) Bacteria and protozoans. Termites. Mature queen lays up to 10,000 eggs per week She can live 10 years or more That’s 60 million eggs. Termites and Ants.

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Termites

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  1. Termites

  2. Termites • 45 species of termites in US • Only 2 species are native

  3. Termites • Gut symbionts help digest cellulose (wood) • Bacteria and protozoans

  4. Termites • Mature queen lays up to 10,000 eggs per week • She can live 10 years or more • That’s 60 million eggs

  5. Termites and Ants • Both swarm same time of year • When reproductive take flight • Start new colony

  6. Termites and Ants • Ants have constricted “waist” • Between thorax and abdomen

  7. Termites • Spread chemical messages through frequent grooming • Anal trophallaxis • Fluids exchange anus to mouth • Also transfers gut symbionts through colony

  8. Caste System • Reproductive Castes • Produce a queen

  9. Caste System • Worker Caste • Food, grooming

  10. Caste System • Soldier Caste • Enlarged mandibles

  11. Moisture • Carry moist soil above ground • Mud tubes • Keep termites moist

  12. Moisture • Cemented with saliva and fecal matter • Mud left behind in wood

  13. Moisture • Leaky pipes • Wet areas • Shrubs against house

  14. Food • Radial paths spreading from colony in search of food • Spokes on wheel • Can’t find food, likely bump into it

  15. Food • Cellulose is food source • Untreated wood • Trees, stumps, firewood, • Attracted to partially decomposed wood

  16. Food • Eat softer spring wood in growth rings • Leave harder summer wood • Only eat 20% of total wood • Lattice symptom

  17. Food • Mud left in tunnels • Carpenter ants leave clean tunnels

  18. Inspection • Shed wings or dead swarmer termites • Window sills • Mud tubes • Tiny holes in baseboards • Hollow thump

  19. Prevention • Eliminate wood to ground contact • 90% of infestations • Firewood away from house • Untreated wood 6” above ground • Use treated wood for ground contact

  20. Control Termiticide Treatments • Chemical barrier around house • Trenching and rodding • Slabs are drilled and injected

  21. Control Bait Stations • A non-lethal food source around house • Stations every 10’ to 15’ • 12” to 18” from house • Frequently monitored

  22. Control Bait Stations • If termites are present, non-lethal food source replaced with poison bait • Slow-acting poison taken back to colony

  23. Prevention • Keep vegetation and mulch away from house • Mulch serves as a moisture conduit • Mulch not a food source • Even pea gravel

  24. Prevention • Gutters and downspouts away from house

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