At Safe Pro Pest Control, we know that the last thing you want to think about with summer cookouts, baseball games and family reunions is having to call an exterminator. Unfortunately, in Frisco, TX – and everywhere else in North Texas – summer is never just about fun, it’s also about biting, buzzing, stinging pests whose sole purpose in life seems to be to make you miserable. There is one pest that can make you really miserable when the weather heats up and that’s the one that doesn’t bite, buzz or sting – the termite.
Termites can and will, literally, eat you out of house and home and you won’t even know it’s happening unless you get the help of a professional exterminator to inspect your Frisco, TX home for the signs of an infestation. But did you know that termites aren’t the only wood-devouring insects you should worry about Carpenter ants also eat wood structures but they don’t get the press that termites get because they don’t do as much damage. Here are some of the differences between termites and carpenter ants that your exterminator knows about and you should, too:
WOOD DAMAGE
Termites – Termites eat wood and other cellulose-based materials so damaged wood is a sign of termite infestation. Termites may leave obvious tunnels in wood or a structural member may simply look like it’s crumbling. Opening up damaged wood will expose tunnels that are messy and filled with soil, chewed wood and fecal matter. Because termites need to eat wood to survive – and because they are voracious eaters – they cause billions of dollars in damage every year to wooden structures.
Carpenter Ants – Carpenter ants, like termites, chew tunnels into wood that can weaken structural members; but unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat the wood so their tunnels, or galleries, are smooth and free of wood debris. Carpenter ants bore holes in wood to nest so extensive damage from carpenter ants is unusual.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Termites – Live termites are easily identified by a knowledgeable inspector.Unlike ants, they have straight antennae, a straight waist, and two wings on each side that are the same length. Reproductive termites (kings and queens) are long and are brown or black. Worker termites are smaller and are wingless and white.
Carpenter Ants – Carpenter ants are black or brown and measure up to 1″ long. They have pinched waists, bent (or elbowed) antennae and wings that are different lengths.
SIGNS OF AN INFESTATION :
Termites – Termites create mud tubes that connect the nest to the food source (wood). Tubes are Pencil-thick and are made of digested wood and soil. They are usually found running vertically up exposed foundations. Also, termite swarmers shed their wings. Piles of wings mean the termites have entered the next phase of their development in which they seek a mate and attempt to establish a new colony.
Carpenter Ants – Sawdust falling from the ceiling or from cracks in the wall is an indication that you have a carpenter ant infestation. Carpenter ants sometimes make an audible crunching sound as they chew. This sound can come from a wall, a ceiling or around a window. A noticeable number of ants -usually more than 10 a day – in any room other than the kitchen could mean carpenter ant activity.
To get help with any type of summer pest, call the best exterminator in North Texas, Safe Pro Pest Control, at (972) 435-0700 or visit www.safepropest.com.
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