What are Termites?
If you live in areas where termite infestations are common, it’s important to inspect your home (or have it inspected by a professional) regularly for possible infestation. Catching termites early can save you costly home repairs. Termites are considered to be one of the most destructive pests in the world. Termites are insects, which mostly feed on dead plant matter like woodchip, decayed wood (logs), leaf litter and soil. They are sometimes called “white ants” but they are only distantly related to ants. This article will go over the most common types of termites in Texas.
What do they Look Like?
Termites are distantly related to ants and are often referred to as “white ants”. Termites have wings that are proportional to their bodies, straight antennae, wide waists, and are white or translucent in color.
What Termites are in Texas?
Texas is home to two main types of termites: Subterranean termites and Southeastern Drywood termites.
Subterranean Termites
These termites are responsible for the majority of termite damage in the United States. Subterranean termites live in the soil, building large nests around your home and then connecting them to food sources like trees, wooden fences, and the timbers of your home. They are the most aggressive when it comes to termites in Texas and cause majority of termite damage with their colonies of millions that can tunnel through the soil into your home.
Southeastern Drywood Termites
Unlike Subterranean termites, Drywood termites set up nests directly inside dry wood materials inside your walls, roof, and foundation. Drywood termite colonies usually contain a few thousand members instead of millions, and they aren’t only attracted to rotting wood around your home but they can infest and eat healthy wood within your structures as well.
How to Look for Termites
There are over 50 species of termites in the US. The most common types that can be found around your home are the subterranean termite, damp wood termite, and the dry wood termite. Typical things to look out for when trying to identify if you have a termite infestation are:
- Flooring is damaged. They may have blisters and some affected flooring are sagging.
- Unexplained cracks in your walls.
- Ceiling beams and cornices have cracks.
- Foundation damage may occur even if you’re using concrete. Termites in Texas do not eat concrete but they can get in to any cracks and floor joists that are made of wood.
- Windows and doors are hard to open as if their frames are irregularly shaped.
- Branches of the trees in your backyard have fallen off.
- Roof tiles are broken, exposing them to moisture and termites.
- Grass or termite droppings are in your property.
- There are mud tubs on the exteriors of your wall.
- Wood sounds hollow when you tap or knock on them.
If you suspect you have a termite infestation call City Pest Control Today!
