Termites are probably the last insect that you want infesting your home, but the unfortunate truth is that termites are a reality that New Yorkers have to deal with. Understanding which types of termites are common in New York State and how they behave is important, especially when you consider the kinds of problems they can cause for homeowners. This is our guide to New York termites.
New York is luckily the home of only one type of termite: Subterranean Termites Within this type there are 2 sub-types:
These two types are largely similar in behavior, but they do have a few differences -- specifically in their times of peak activity and what they look like.
Eastern Subterranean Termites are:
Dark Southeastern Termites are:
("Angkor Termites" by Thomas Brown is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Like many other species of termite, these creatures live in colonies. This means that if they arrive at your home, they’re going to come in large numbers. They can be categorized as falling into 3 main types, or “castes”: workers, soldiers, and reproductives. These termites feed on all sorts of wood, including the wood from trees in yards and the wood fixtures that make up the structures of homes.
Subterranean termite queens are able to lay up to 2,000 eggs daily, which makes an infestation of these destructive insects a serious problem.
Subterranean termites are tied to the mud tubes that they construct. Without the safety of these mud tubes, they quickly become dehydrated and die. Because of this dependence on mud tubes, subterranean termites need a ground-level entry point to get into a structure -- but that doesn’t mean that they can’t work their way through any home or building once they’re in.
If a colony gets the opportunity to grow large enough, they can slowly begin to creep their way upward, sometimes colonizing a home or building as far up as multiple stories high. Because exterior walls are the location where the ground and soil most often come into contact, wall voids or spaces inside of walls are most susceptible to termite invasion.
There are a number of signs that your home is dealing with a subterranean termite problem:
Once they’re in, termites will start chewing away at whatever wood and cellulose material they can get their teeth on. Termites are conventionally known as wood-eaters, but what they actually go after is cellulose; cellulose is a main component of wood, but it can also be found in other non-wood objects, such as carpeting and sheetrock covering.
So how bad can subterranean termite damage get? According to NC State, a colony containing 60,000 workers can consume the equivalent of one foot of a 2" x 4" piece of lumber in slightly over 5 months. This might not seem like a lot of damage, but termite infestations can last for years without ever being noticed. A years-long termite infestation can cause significant damage.
At Thomas Pest Services, we have comprehensive termite control to make your New York home safe and sound -- and termite-free. Here’s how it works:
Looking for termite control today? Click here to get started.
.jpg){kind=link}