Drywood Termite Ninjas – What Makes Them Ninjas?
Many termite species need moist areas to survive. Their colonies can be traced directly to the ground under your home. You can observe the mud tubes they create between the ground and the wooden parts of your home they feed on. These are subterranean termites.
Drywood termite ninjas, on the other hand, are silent, hidden. They’re not tied to colonies located underground. You won’t find the tale tale mud tubes of subterranean termites. There won’t necessarily be evidence of termite colonies in wood piles and old tree stumps on your property. In fact, your property and the area under your home may be certified completely termite-free. Yet, these stealth ninjas are present.
Drywood Termite Ninjas – Where do they hide?
Hidden in places people don’t naturally look for termites are these silent drywood termite ninjas. That piece of furniture you just bought through a classified ad, that delivery of lumber for the construction of a new addition on your home, the wood flooring you purchased and are preparing to install. Any of these can contain drywood termites, and you’d never know until the wood was installed in your home. In fact, while we most often think of looking for evidence of termites in the basement or crawlspace under the home, drywood termite ninjas could have an established colony hidden in the attic–how often do you go up there and inspect for insect damage!
Drywood Termite Ninjas – What damage do they create?
Once they’re in your home, these silent drywood termite ninjas emerge at night from the wood flooring, the furniture, your new addition, and they move into other areas of your home. Their presence expands as they slowly consume your house board by board.
Drywood Termite Ninjas – What are the signs of an infestation?
The most obvious sign you have drywood termite ninjas, is their fecal hexagonal fecal pellets. These will be at least 1mm long and collecting at the base of some wooden object. Look in dry areas of your home such as the attic, areas around your windowsills, in a closet. The fecal pellets will contain very little moisture due to the fact that the drywood termites extract all the water from their feces, which helps enable them to live in areas of very low moisture.
Another sign is to tap solid looking wood and listen for a hollow sound. Drywood termite ninjas eat wood from within, so if a solid wooden table leg or solid wood flooring sounds hollow when tapped, it may in fact be hollow, being consumed from the inside out!
Imagine what paint looks like when the wood beneath it has been consumed. It begins to look bubbly. That’s another sign of the presence of these termites.
Drywood Termite Ninjas – What to do if you observe signs of an infestation?
Call a professional termite exterminator immediately. You have no way of knowing how many areas of your home have been infested. This species of termite ninjas is extremely hard to eradicate.
Call ApolloX Pest Control
(888) 499-7378
Inspiration for this article: http://killtermitesyourself.com/drywood-termites/
Recent Comments