Subterranean Termites

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Subterranean Termite In Dallas Fort-Worth

DFW has a lot of termite pressure, which keeps pest control companies very busy and homeowners on their toes.

In the Dallas Fort-Worth area, we deal exclusively with a species of termite called the Subterranean Termite. Most scientists classify the DFW area as either “Heavy to moderate” or “Very heavy” in terms of subterranean termite infestations. See map:

Different Castes of Subterranean Termites

Worker - these are the most plentiful castes and are the ones that you might mistake for maggots. If you have termite damage that you can see (e.g., they’re in your walls or in a mud tube) you are most likely to see these guys crawling around. Their job is to consume the wood or cellulose, turn it into food and distribute it throughout the colony, especially to the other castes which don’t feed themselves such as the Reproductives and the Queen

Soldier - these guys look pretty intense with the very pronounced mandible on its large head. Their primary role is, as you might guess, defense. Termites do not cause humans problems and only bite people or animals if they feel threatened. And even then, they’re so small you probably wouldn’t even feel it if they did bite you. Since they hate light and just stay close to protect the workers, you really don’t need to worry about these guys like you would mosquitoes, fleas, or ticks. They are there to guard the colony against invaders such as ants, spiders, or centipedes which are known to attack and eat. Only about 1-2% of colony members are a part of this caste

Reproductive - these are “flying termites” and can often be mistaken for flying ants - as both species have members with wings. When you have termites with wings - typically they will be exploding out of a mud tube towards light. They are flying around in order to establish a new colony. This typically happens here in Dallas Fort Worth in the springtime: April and May. If you see this in and around your house - you know a couple of things: first, you have termites nearby and second, it is a relatively mature colony (a minimum of three to four years). Their job is to go out to establish new colonies and eventually become a new queen and king. The most common places in homes that people see these tend to be inside bathrooms where the reproductives swarm in the early to late morning and go towards light sources such as windows

Queen - the Queen and King of the colony were once Reproductives from another colony that successfully set up their own colony. I personally have never seen a Queen in real life - she is going to live underground in the colony and won’t surface.

What do Termites Look Like?

People often confuse termites with ants because of their size, shape and color. They do have significant differences. The main ways to tell the difference are to look at the number of body segments and the antennae. Ants have three distinct body segments but termites appear to have only two. Ants have “elbowed”, smooth antennae but termites have straight, beaded antennae.

When you first take a look at a termite crawling around you might think it’s a white maggot with legs or even an ant. Each termite species has various “castes” which look different and serve different purposes within the colony.

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