Termites are barely 1/8 inch long, or about the size of a sesame seed on your burger bun. How can something so tiny be so destructive and pose such a danger to your Monmouth County, New Jersey home? One of the things that make termites such formidable insect foes is that termite infestations are hard to spot if you’re not a trained termite exterminator NJ.
These tiny insects live and do their damage out of sight of prying human eyes. Termites live in massive nests deep underground, not in the wood they feed on. When termites invade your Ocean County, NJ home only workers and their soldier guards attack. The rest of the colony remains hidden in the underground nest which may be some distance from the feeding site.
Termites are soft-bodied insects that require significant moisture to survive which is why they stay underground, feeding primarily on damp or damaged wood. If they have to travel above ground, termites build protective mud tubes to travel through. Occasionally, Monmouth County homeowners will spot these tunnels running up a cement basement or foundation wall, but mud tunnels aren’t usually found in New Jersey. Our American preference for surrounding buildings with mulched gardens and grassy lawns provides termites with easy access to New Jersey homes and businesses.
Termites feed first on wood’s soft inner fibers, gradually eating their way out through the tougher surface fibers. They may leave a thin “shell” which hides the hollowed out wood beneath. Unless you inadvertently break through the shell, a termite infested baseboard or window frame or foundation strut may look perfectly normal to the untrained eye. Experienced termite exterminators NJ are trained to spot termite damage that may be invisible to home and business owners.