Drywood Termite
Many residents owning property in Florida especially those that live in counties along the coast and those that live in southern communities will have the likelihood of experiencing a dry wood termite infestation at one point in their home or business, this according to the University of Florida. Dry wood termites are different than subterranean termites in that they do not need moister to live and they do not live in the ground.
Dry wood termites are secretive insects and are
difficult to detect. They live deep inside wood and, except during periods when
they come out and swarm or when repair work is being done on infested homes,
they are seldom seen. Too find these wood destroying insects you should look
for winged adults or "swarmer’s", shed wings, ejected fecal pellets,
and galleries inside wood. These are some typical signs of a dry wood termite
infestation. Swarming ants are sometimes confused with termites, but their
differences are easy to recognize.
Visual inspections by a termite licensed inspector are the
best way to locate an infestation. Inspectors look for feeding damage, wings
from swarming termites, kick out holes which are about the size of a BB and
fecal matter. During an inspection the
inspector will look for piles of fecal pellets near infested wood. The pellets
are generally the color of the wood on which the termites feed. These pellets
are about 1⁄32 inch long and modest magnification will show long dimples or
flutes down each surface. The pellets appear to be six sided, blunt at one end
and pointed at the other. Another way to identify termite galleries if
you do not find fecal pellets or kick out holes is too search for surface blistering in
paint or warping wood is a good sign of an advanced infestation. Blistering
occurs many times because of the termites are tunneling right under the outer
surface of the wood, which gives a blistered appearance.
There are
many types of treatments for dry wood termites. Make sure that you have a
thorough inspection done by a qualified inspector first. Then ask about the type
of treatment they would recommend. Some companies will jump right to having a
fumigation job done to the house, but there are many times that a spot
treatment is all you will need. The difference in cost between a spot treatment
and a fumigation job can be thousands of dollars. So just like getting a second
and third opinion on surgery, do the same here and get two or three opinions on
termite treatments.
