Termites

• The Queen occupies a “royal cell” with the King. She may live up to 25 years, laying many thousands of eggs annually.
• Supplementary Reproductives act as replacements for the Queen if she should die. They may also produce eggs even if the Queen is healthy to help increase colony size.
• Eggs are cared for by workers during a two-week incubation period before passing into the nymph stage.

• Winged Reproductives are the termites you may see when they “swarm,” usually in the spring, signaling a well-developed colony. After shedding their wings, reproductives pair off, burrow into the soil and begin a new colony.
• Soldiers, with armored heads and strong jaws, protect the colony from enemies, most commonly ants.
• Workers represent most of the termites in the colony. Blind and sterile, they forage for the colony’s food. Most damage is caused by worker termites.

How termites make themselves at home in your home.

• By building ingenious mud tubes, termites can cross many feet of concrete, brick, cinder block, treated wood, or metal termite shields, making it possible to reach the upper floors of a structure.
• Termites eat wood from the inside out, defying detection for years while doing extensive damage.

Typical Termite Damage

• Damage to interior closet door frame and adjacent 2×4 stud.
• Damage to two 2×4 studs in the wall behind the kitchen sink.
• Damage to bottom of wall studs, sill and subfloor in upstairs bathroom.
• Damage to floor joist beneath living room.
• Damage to section of a 2×6 sill-plate attached to the foundation.

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