Termites are considered to be an economically important pest in the United States because they cause billions of dollars of damage to structures each year as people seek ways to prevent and treat the pests. Like other living plants and animals, termites need three things to survive…food (cellulose), moisture, and shelter.
Subterranean termites are the most common type of termites that infest homes. Of those, there are two types of subterranean termites that cause 95% of the damage in the US report termite exterminators in Monmouth County, NJ. Subterranean termites must stay away from the airs current in order to keep their skin from drying out. They live underground and construct and travel through a series of tunnels that interconnect the various nests that they have constructed. Subterranean termites are known to travel great distances, up to 250 feet from a nesting site, to reach a source of wood. Termites will use soil from underground as well as choice bits of soil from above the ground.
The soil that termites collect is also used to create “shelter tubes”. These tubes are made by termites so that they can easily move in and out of the galleries so that their predators (lizards, birds, and enemy ants) will not be able to detect their presence. Termites pack the soil around wood feeding galleries. One of the reasons that termites are so successful is that the worker termites work twenty four hours a day, seven days per week.
Their never ending quest for food and the seemingly never ending supply of food that is available in a home in the United States is why the subterranean termite continues to be successful. Monmouth County termite exterminators recommend that home and business owners have a termite inspection to determine if their home is being gobbled up by the pesky insects.