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Little Known Termite Facts, Part 1

Termites are truly fascinating insects and extremely resilient. After all, some species of termite have crawled this earth for over 250 million years, outliving most other species. While we regard these tiny bugs as pests, the truth is they form a huge part of this world and play an integral role in the food chain.

Arizona Termite Specialists in Mesa agrees that termites are fascinating creatures. We truly admire their abilities and their fortitude. That being said, once termites enter your home or business, all bets are off, and termites become public enemy number one. This is because they unwittingly have entered our domain and are causing thousands of dollars of damage to building structures — all because they primarily love to eat wood. Below, we’ll share with you some little known termite facts that are just downright cool to know. Contact our termite exterminators for an inspection today!

LITTLE KNOWN TERMITE FACTS

Termites Eat More Than Wood

Most people think that termites only eat wood. In fact, termites will eat anything that contains cellulose, which is an indigestible carbohydrate found in plants, such as corn, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Cellulose make up the cell walls of plants, and trees are plants. This means every piece of wood in your home or office is made from cellulose, which means they are ripe for termites to eat. Many other products in your home contain cellulose as well, such as sheetrock, paper, cardboard boxes, clothing, wallpaper, and more. Termites will eat these as well. Arizona Termite Specialists recommends that if you spot termites anywhere near your home to give us a call for an inspection today!

Termites Have a Very Complicated Social Structure

Termites are eusocial, meaning they live in a very controlled caste system where different types of insects have very specific roles to fill. Termites have a queen and a king, workers, soldiers, and alates. The alates are sexually mature males and females that will eventually develop wings, leave the colony, mate, and start new colonies. The workers care for the king, the queen, and the babies, known as termite nymphs. The soldiers defend the colony. Arizona Termite Specialists note that some of the most successful creatures on this planet in terms of longevity exist in these types of class systems where cooperation is key.

Termite Workers Are The Only Termite Class That Eats

All animals have to eat to survive, so you’d expect that all termites would have to eat as well. However, in the termite world, only the workers physically eat food. The workers then share their food by regurgitating it for the others to eat in what is technically called trophallaxis. During this process, termites groom each other. They are looking for any suspicious odors so that if an odor is determined to be dangerous, they know what area that termite was in and then avoid it. This is also how Termidor®, the preferred termiticide by Arizona Termite Specialists in Mesa, works.

Termidor® gets on a termite’s body when it happens to walk through it. This termiticide does not kill its victims right away. The odor is undetectable to termites. This termiticide is then ingested by those that groom him, which is then shared by trophallaxis with others. Slowly, this poison is spread throughout the entire colony until it eventually reaches the queen. If the queen dies and all of the other reproductives have died, then the colony dies as well.

CHOOSE ARIZONA TERMITE SPECIALISTS IN MESA TODAY

Arizona Termite Specialists in Mesa admire the tenacity and longevity of the termites as much as the next guy. They have developed a sophisticated class system that works, as termites are one of the most numerous insects on the planet. That being said, we will strike if termites colonize in areas they shouldn’t like your home or office space.

Our termite exterminators will do a thorough inspection when you call us for a free estimate. We’ll check both inside and out to make sure we have a thorough understanding of where these pesky bugs are hiding. Then we’ll treat your home with Termidor®, which will eventually kill off your colony in about three months. Our mission is to eradicate your termites for good. We’ll treat the entire perimeter of your home, erecting a termite barrier to prevent future infestations. We are able to use less water and fuel, helping to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment with this termiticide.

Since termites live underground, they are incredibly difficult to spot, which means they could be causing damage to your building unbeknownst to you. If you suspect a termite problem in your Mesa home or office, call the trusted name in termite control, Arizona Termite Specialists. Our termite exterminators will declare war on your termites for good. Call now!

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