5 Known Facts About Termites

Did you know termites cause more damage to property in the United Kingdom each year than all other causes combined?

Termites are among the most destructive insects on the planet and can cause havoc in your home. If you don’t keep an eye out for them and know the telltale signs, then termites can do a lot of damage to your home and even eat away the wood in the sill plate.

The damage caused by these pests will cost you a lot of money to repair. They are common pests that can damage both commercial and residential properties. To prevent them from doing so, one has to inspect their property for signs of termite infestation with a proper pest control company in London.

5 Facts You Need To Know About Termites

Termites are an enormous concern for any homeowner. They don’t just eat up your home, they also make a big mess when they move from one place to another. You need to make sure that your home is termite-free at all times.

They have damaged a lot of homes and buildings to where they need to be razed to the ground. Here we will look at a few known facts about termites that you may not have been aware of.

  1. Termites are social insects with a caste system- workers, soldiers, and reproductive. There are groups called castes inside all colonies of termites, each with different responsibilities for the colony’s survival.
  2. There are around 2,000 different species of termites in the world. They survive by eating wood and other dead plant material. They get the nutrients and moisture they need from their food.
  3. Termites eat cellulose, which is the primary component of wood and paper, that they use their saliva to soften before they digest it through a process known as trophallaxis (mouth-to-mouth).
  4. A single colony can contain up to 10 million termites at any time.
  5. Termites have been around for over 200 million years and have diversified during this time. We can find them in environments from deserts to rainforests, from tropical regions to grasslands, and every place in between.

There are thousands of different species of termites in the world and each species is unique in its appearance, including size and coloration. Sometimes, one may see differences in beige or grey structures or structures with wrinkles on them.

Conclusion

Termites may be the least talked about pests, but they can cause a lot of damage. They can cause thousands of euros worth of damage to homes and businesses alike without you even knowing that they are there.

They recycle and break down wood and other plant material. Termites eat wood and cellulose and produce soil and tunnels for other animals.

We often think them of as just tiny pests that destroy homes and wooden furniture. However, they are amazing creatures that build gigantic mounds and live in huge colonies.

You can stay ahead of this termite problem by knowing more about termites, the damage they do, and the way they differ from other pests.

Header image by Jean Hort. Used under license CC BY 2.0

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