They're Not All The Same: 4 Things You Might Not Know About Winged Termites

Posted on: 17 September 2020

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When you own a home, you need to worry about protecting your investment. One way to protect your investment is to keep the bugs away. If your home was inspected for termites at the time of purchase, you might think you're still protected. But, that might not be the case. Termites can invade your home at any time. If you are worried about termites, you may inspect your home for signs of infestation. That inspection may include things like checking the window sills for signs of frass - droppings left behind by termites. Unfortunately, that might not be enough to protect you against invasion. If you're just checking your window sills for signs of termite trouble, here are some things you need to know. 

Some Termites Fly

If you're like most people, you think that all termites are land pests. That's not the case. Some termites actually fly. Termite colonies consist of four different types of termites. Those are the king and queen, workers, soldiers, and alates. The alates will eventually become kings and queens of their own colonies. They're the termites that can fly. In fact, they'll have wings until they fly away to form their own colonies. 

They Tend to Swarm

If you thought termites stay in one location throughout their life-cycle, you were partially incorrect. Soldiers and workers will stay right where they are until they eventually die. Alates will leave the colony as soon as they reach sexual maturity. That's when the swarms happen. Alates from different colonies all reach sexual maturity at about the same time. As the alates leave their colonies, they merge with other alates to form large swarms of flying termites. While they're swarming, they'll mate with termites from other colonies. Once they've mated, they'll lose their wings and start their own new colonies. If the newly mated king and queen land in your yard, that's where they'll begin their colony. 

They're Not Flying Ants

If you think you've seen flying ants around your house, you need to take a closer look. Flying ants are a nuisance to have around, but they won't destroy your home. Unfortunately, many homeowners mistake flying termites for flying ants. Luckily, there are some ways to tell the two apart. Flying termites are tan or beige while flying ants are usually red or black. Flying termites have two sets of wings that are the same size and shape. Flying ants also have two sets of wings. But, the back wings are shorter than the front wings. 

They Need to Be Terminated

Finally, if you've discovered flying termites on your property, you need to have them removed as soon as possible. The newly created colonies can destroy your home from the inside out. For effective termite removal, contact a pest control service near you right away. There are several treatment options for removing termites from your property. Those include baiting, termiticide, and monitoring.

To learn more, reach out to a local flying termite removal service.