Termites are very social insects with high social organization and hierarchy. They live in colonies and flourish throughout the world in tropical and subtropical climates. About 2600 species of termites have been identified worldwide out of which many abound in the US. To protect your home or commercial structure, call the 5 star rated Breda Atlanta Termite Control team at 770-872-0535 today.

Generally grouped according to their food-habits, the common kinds of termites are subterranean, drywood, dampwood, and grass. Subterranean termites are the most common and cause most of the damage caused by termites in the USA. Subterranean termites are a major cause of worry to property owners across the US, except perhaps Alaska.

The Mechanism of Termite Social Life

The number of termites in a mature subterranean colony may vary significantly. A colony generally contains semi-mature young known as nymphs, workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals, sometimes also containing numerous egg-laying queens.

Role of a Termite Queen

A queen, at maturity, develops a greatly distended abdomen and enhanced fertility that helps her spawning hundreds of eggs per day. Her size increases and mobility decreases manifold, and this unwieldy ruler is almost fully dependent on workers for transport and food. Then there is a class of prospective queens, called supplementaries. Supplementaries not only help in producing more eggs, one of them also replaces the primary queen upon her death.

Role of Termite Workers

While workers constitute the bulk of the colony and care for all other residents, soldiers protect the colony from predators. Workers are entirely responsible to keep the entire colony well fed, as soldiers and other residents do not hunt their own food. These workers survive, and gorge, on cellulose-rich matter like wood, paper, plants, trees, leaves, etc. Microorganisms inside the body of a worker termite help in digestion of cellulose and convert it into essential nutrients which is then carried back to the colony and fed to the passive residents. Biologically, this process is called Tropholaxis, and is quite common among insects.

Role of Termite Soldiers

Soldiers, basically martyr termites, are not really effective in keeping off at ants. They simply block the entry of ants to the colony with their heads and jaws, sometimes at the cost of their life. While ants feast on easy prey, the termite colony remains unharmed.

A termite colony starts when winged, fertile reproductives, also known as alates, are released from another mature colony nearby. As alates are poor fliers, very few of them survive to adulthood and must locate a mate, a suitable food source and burrow into the soil while they are alive in order to survive. Termite colonies generally have surprisingly long lives, and the queen sometimes lives up to 30 years. Once a colony is about five years old, more alates are released, and another colony would soon start.

Subterranean Termite Extermination

Extermination of subterranean termites should be done with the help of pest control team. These people are highly skilled in their job and can give you customized plan as per the specific requirements. In case of mild infestation, chemical methods can be used along with application of pesticides; however, they should be able to locate the nest of these termites.

Another popular approach adopted by Atlanta pest exterminator is fumigation; however, you have to understand that along with its quick results of extermination it also results in harming nearby plant life.