Drywood
Termite Detection
- Swarmers flying in
autumn
-
Wings broken
off near window
-
Pellets like
coarse sawdust
-
Blistering
of paint's surface
-
Wood damage
Throughout
Southern California, the number one destroyer of homes is
not fire or
flood or earthquakes. It's termites. It is believed that
close to 75% of the buildings here in Southern California
are host to at least one minor colony - and the majority of
these are drywood termites (Incisitermes minor).
The swarming
drywood termites will generally leave the colony between Au
hs
that do most of the burrowing damage as they work around the
clock to establish the colony and aid the incubation of new
termite eggs. A typical colony of drywood termites takes
about four years to mature, eating wood and expanding
throughout the structure. During this time, a small
percentage will develop into soldiers and alates - the
reproductive swarmers that will continue the cycle, flying
off to expand the domain of the population.
The cycle then
repeats annually, with the swarmers - often hundreds of them
at a time - leaving the hidden galleries to establish their
own colonies in a beam nearby.
The drywood
termites can easily enter your home through vents or cracks
in trim, eaves, window frames, and exposed rafters. They
will eat any cellulose material they find: structural
timber, wooden furniture, even books. And since they attack
wood from the inside out, you may never know what damage
you've sustained until it's too late.
