Carrying on from my last post here Termite Protection Information 1, I want to do a brief one right now as time is short to just look at a strange thing I noticed a while ago to do with termites and ants.
Now we've all seen the film Ants, where they have a war with the termites and all, but I watched something on a much smaller scale happen right here! I hap an old piece of kitchen furniture - an old chipboard cabinet that I'd had stored in an old shed for a few months and never realized there were termites in there. Well, when I brought it out and set it down on the ground and then upended it, I noticed the tell-tale signs of termite damage at the base.
Well, I moved it onto some hard bare ground and worked at the damage with a penknife when some of the critters came out to see what all the commotion was about. What I didn't know was I was right next to an ants nest and they were medium size brown ants about 5mm long, so about the same size as the termites.
Well the ants came out of that nest like crazy things and started attacking the termites, but I mean really going for them. And just like in the film, as an ant got too close to a termite it squirted some stuff that made the ant jerk back, but more kept coming and they even went into the drill holes in the wood to flush out more. Well within a few minutes they'd killed every single damn termite!
Now I wouldn't have believed it when I saw it with my own eyes! Ants are the best natural anti-termite weapon we've got - we just have to get the right ants and get the termites out in the open and its game, set and match to the ants!
Termite Protection
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Termite Protection Information 1
Following on from my initial post welcoming you to this blog all about termite protection, which I simply entitled Termite Protection, I'd like to now impart some knowledge about termites and the reasons why you'll need termite protection.
Termites are known to cause billions of dollars in damage to property each year, so termite protection can be a great cost saving measure.
Termites primarily feed on wood, but can also damage paper, including books, insulation materials and even swimming pool liners and filtration systems! Termites are also capable of injuring living trees and shrubs, although they are more often a secondary invader of woody plants that are already in decline.
While buildings with wooden structures may become infested at any time, termite protection is of particular importance when buying or selling a home. That's because a termite inspection and infestation report is normally a condition of sale in the US. Besides the potential monetary impact, seeing thousands of winged termites emerging inside your home can be an emotionally trying experience. That's not to mention the thought of millions of termites silently feasting away on your largest investment - your home!
Spring is typically the time when huge numbers of winged termites (known as "swarmers") can emerge inside homes. In their natural habitat, termites swarm to disperse in order to start new colonies. Their swarming instinct is triggered by the warmer temperatures and rainfall that occurs in spring. Winged termites then emerge from their colony and fly into the air.
After a while of flight, the swarmers will drop to the ground and shed their wings. They will then pair off with a mate,and attempt to begin new colonies in the soil.
Its interesting to note that a few swarmers emerging outdoors will survive to start new colonies. However, swarmers emerging indoors are incapable of eating wood, so they seldom survive and can easily be removed with a vacuum cleaner. This does however, indicate that an infestation is present in your home, where you'll need to employ some form of termite protection to halt the spread.
Termite protection is often necessary to rid your home of an infestation and to save it from being ruined in a few short seasons.
Termite Protection
Termites are known to cause billions of dollars in damage to property each year, so termite protection can be a great cost saving measure.
Termites primarily feed on wood, but can also damage paper, including books, insulation materials and even swimming pool liners and filtration systems! Termites are also capable of injuring living trees and shrubs, although they are more often a secondary invader of woody plants that are already in decline.
While buildings with wooden structures may become infested at any time, termite protection is of particular importance when buying or selling a home. That's because a termite inspection and infestation report is normally a condition of sale in the US. Besides the potential monetary impact, seeing thousands of winged termites emerging inside your home can be an emotionally trying experience. That's not to mention the thought of millions of termites silently feasting away on your largest investment - your home!
Spring is typically the time when huge numbers of winged termites (known as "swarmers") can emerge inside homes. In their natural habitat, termites swarm to disperse in order to start new colonies. Their swarming instinct is triggered by the warmer temperatures and rainfall that occurs in spring. Winged termites then emerge from their colony and fly into the air.
After a while of flight, the swarmers will drop to the ground and shed their wings. They will then pair off with a mate,and attempt to begin new colonies in the soil.
Its interesting to note that a few swarmers emerging outdoors will survive to start new colonies. However, swarmers emerging indoors are incapable of eating wood, so they seldom survive and can easily be removed with a vacuum cleaner. This does however, indicate that an infestation is present in your home, where you'll need to employ some form of termite protection to halt the spread.
Termite protection is often necessary to rid your home of an infestation and to save it from being ruined in a few short seasons.
Termite Protection
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Termite Protection
Welcome to Termite Protection, the blog all about, well, termite protection!
We'll be looking at the various ways you can protect your property from termite infestation and the damage it can do to the wooden structures of your home. There are several ways in which you can initiate termite protection for your home and we'll be covering them one by one over the course of the coming weeks.
Sometimes, its too late to initiate termite protection methods and techniques as the little rascals may already be there and causing a lot of damage as they chomp through the wooden supports and structures of your home, so we'll also take a look at some termite control and termite treatment procedures that are available to you.
When all else fails, you have no choice but to call in the termite control experts, so we'll feature what to do in those circumstances too.
So keep an eye on this blog if you're worried about termite protection for your home and we'll try to help where we can!
Termite Protection
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We'll be looking at the various ways you can protect your property from termite infestation and the damage it can do to the wooden structures of your home. There are several ways in which you can initiate termite protection for your home and we'll be covering them one by one over the course of the coming weeks.
Sometimes, its too late to initiate termite protection methods and techniques as the little rascals may already be there and causing a lot of damage as they chomp through the wooden supports and structures of your home, so we'll also take a look at some termite control and termite treatment procedures that are available to you.
When all else fails, you have no choice but to call in the termite control experts, so we'll feature what to do in those circumstances too.
So keep an eye on this blog if you're worried about termite protection for your home and we'll try to help where we can!
Termite Protection
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