termites Archives - Page 9 of 23 - Arizona Pest Control - Pest Management Services

Access granted, into your home.

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access

Your home is your castle

Access into your home is your decision and seems to be in your court, right? Every home has penetrations from either the slab or flooring, I can’t think of a single exception. So if you have an example let me know about it. Every time a pipe comes through your slab or flooring there is a chance that termites might exploit the opportunity.

On top of this, there are often issues at the time of the pretreat. Construction proceeds and after we do that pretreat we never know what happens to that hole where the pipe comes up. Often times there is soil piled up and sometimes it is removed and guess where the termiticide is? Gone and there is no protection. So those are the areas where we all need to be vigilant and pay attention to walls and other fixtures.

How do termites get into home?

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Any break or protrusion into the structure can be an avenue for termites, so any pipe or other object that extends past the concrete can be their entrance.

This was an easy entrance for the termites and once in they usually don’t leave without taking a bit of your home for food. So what do you look for:

Any mud tube/tunnel on the outside foundation wall.
Any suspicious dirt on the ceiling, small hole with dirt around it.
Drop Tubes inside the homes.
Baseboard that looks crinkled, subterranean termites usually run with the grain of the wood.

What’s up with those crazy little termites?

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Enlarge the picture and notice the down tube (in the middle of the left hand basket). Our Arizona termites make these tubes to reach the ground and often times they can be in the strangest places.

The termites find wood and then focus on taking it back home, they are smart and they are attempting to find a quicker and easier, way back to the ground. Yep, amazing.

Well the weirdness continues, doesn’t it?

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“Screw succession: termite queen found to be genetically immortal.”

It’s all about the Queen, long may she reign! Right? It is kind of interesting when she technically can create an exact replica of herself by cloning.

Photo by PPMA

Could we learn a few things from the bug world?

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You bet we could and here is one right from the architects their little homes “Climate control in termite mounds.”

We often think of termites as home wreckers, or pests who frequently get into our homes. But these termites have come up with a way to regulate the temperatures within their castles. There are even termites in Australia that build north and south to take advantage of the sun and wind.

AZ termite tunnel

Termidor HE – the choice of Pest Professionals

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I’ve noticed a trend lately, a few Pest/Termite companies are switching to bait systems. Not really sure why they would do this when Termidor /Termidor HE is by far the fastest way to stop termites in their tracks.

Most of my termite experience comes from Florida and I see the advantages of bait but the desert affects them differently. The extreme heat and the space between stations affords the termites the ability to gain access into structures. I still believe that bait plays a role in stopping termites and occasionally use it in my toolbox of techniques. Baits have come a long way since the early 2000’s and BASF now has an active compressed bait station Trelona^™ ATBS (Advance^® Termite Bait System) with the active ingredient Novaluron.

New termite technology continues…. stay tuned.

Down tubes and termites

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Desert termites – yep these little gals are a bit on the weird side. They look for food 24/7/365 and they build tubes up and down. Instead of having to go back the same route, they go down possibly to save time on getting back to the ground and their source of water or moisture.

Termites are not generally a Do It Yourself pest issue, so call a Pest Management Professional for the best plan to keep them out.

Grass eating termites

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Termites eat dead wood and often they can find it on live trees. They can eat the bark or sometimes a tree limb will die and they can eat that.

Here is Arizona they consume dead grass, dead cactus and anything that contains cellulose.

Don’t panic, they are just doing what they are supposed to do – consume dead wood.

I often recommend just keeping any eye out for the termites, it isn’t always necessary to treat especially since they are just eating the dead wood.

A word of caution – Don’t stack wood against your foundation.

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I know you want to party but these are not the guests you want at your party. Termites will seek every opportunity to gain access into your home or business. Why then would you give them an invitation in?

A few tips:

Don’t stack firewood against the structure, pallets or wood of any kind.
If you must the put on blocks but don’t let it touch the house.
Firewood may attract more than termites, like carpenter bees and ants.
Cover the wood if possible, let it have a chance to dry.
When needing the firewood, bring in only what you need and if you don’t use it take it out. PowerPost beetles and other insects love to overwinter in the logs and if it get warm they think its Spring.

1st picture mud tube on foundation slab, 2nd picture the corner of pallet as it came into contact with foundation slab, 3rd entire pallet has termites.

It’s wet and the termites are loving it

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Grass eating termites love old decaying wood or cellulose. This can be cactus or just plain grass .

Normally speaking these seldom make their way into structures but keep an eye out for mud tubes on your foundations wall on inside on the drywall.

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Your home is your castle