Termite exterminator

Three main types of termites concern homeowners: Drywood, Formosan, and Eastern Subterranean. The latter two are commonly found in Virginia and can wreak havoc on the homes they invade. Formosan and Eastern Subterranean are similar in appearance, though the former has egg-shaped heads rather than rectangular ones. The EPA says termites do billions of dollars in structural damage yearly. That number jumps to $40 billion when you extend it worldwide.  

Researchers estimate Americans spend about $2 billion annually controlling or preventing infestations. Termites feed on just about anything that includes cellulose, ranging from the wood in your home or office to paper products like documents and cardboard boxes, sheetrock, carpet, and more. If they encounter something they aren't interested in eating, like plastic or insulation, tunneling through it is an option.

Rather than going out in the open and risking death by sunlight, they tunnel through soil or into the wood they eat, sometimes building mud tubes to hide from the surface. Those tubes are often the first warning sign of an infestation, noticeable along walls, floor joists, or sticking out from cracks between beams and baseboards.

Termites live in colonies with vast numbers of members. Nests have been found to contain as many as two million members, though most have between 50,000 and 200,000. Colonies start when males and females come together in a swarm. Mated pairs lose their wings and search for a place in the soil to call home.  As more nymphs are born, they'll work as foragers seeking out cellulose material like decaying wood, mulch, and pine needles; the latter is a favorite among Formosan.

These pests have assigned jobs, similar to how ants operate. And although ants and termites are often confused, in actuality, termites were recently re-classified into the same order as cockroaches. Some serve as soldiers, protecting the colony from invaders or attackers, often including their fiercest enemy, ants. Others, classified as workers, have jobs foraging for food, maintaining the nesting site, or serving as nurses for the queen and larvae. Workers make up about 98% of the colony, and there is a good reason for it. Queens can live up to twenty years, and egg production is continuous. 

The foragers can venture across a third of an acre looking for food and sometimes develop other colonies across an acre or so of land. Termites are blind but sense moisture and vibrations to seek out the wood they're after.

Getting rid of an infestation using DIY methods is incredibly difficult. Professionals apply special chemicals inside and outside the home, on walls and floors, and lay out traps. If you're up against a foe so fearsome as termites, you cannot leave anything to chance. Contact the company you know you can trust: Tonys Pest Killers. We are the most trusted pest control service in Chicago and Hampton Roads, Virginia.