Many insects die or hibernate during the cold winter months, but the Eastern subterranean termites that plague Monmouth County, New Jersey homes and businesses are a year-round problem, warn NJ pest control experts. If these wood-eating insects invade your home or business, they will be munching on your foundation 24/7/365!
Underground Protection
Subterranean termites build their nests underground where colonies are unaffected by winter’s frigid cold or summer’s broiling heat. In the band of earth below the frost line and above the water table, the ground temperature in Monmouth County and Ocean County, New Jersey remains a comfortable 55 degrees year round. At this temperature termites can easily dig through the soil, tunneling through the ground to find new food sources.
Voracious Appetite
To keep their huge colonies fed, New Jersey termites never stop eating. A mature colony of 60,000 termites can consume one lineal foot of 2-by-4 wood every 120 days. Termite colonies that number in the hundreds of thousands can significantly increasing damage rates. Because termites do their feeding out of sight, significant damage can occur before their presence is discovered. If untreated by an experienced NJ pest control expert, eventual structural collapse can occur.
Winter Damage
During the winter, termite activity in New Jersey homes and commercial buildings can actually increase. The structural timbers of heated basements provide an accessible food source when frost prevents termites from tunneling through the frozen ground to reach surface food sources such as wood piles and fallen trees.
One in five New Jersey homes will suffer termite damage. Make sure yours isn’t one of them; contact Allison Pest Control’s termite exterminators for a free pest inspection.