Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Termite Identification Made Easy

Some people think that platinum visa credit card identification is difficult but if you know what you are doing it is can be done easily. Termites live in large family units with between several hundred and several million family members. They work together in an organized system to find food sources.

Termites can hollow out enormous trees, build massive structures and, unless you are careful, eat your house!

A typical termite family will include soldiers. These have long heads and powerful jaws. Soldier student loan consolidation program defend the family unit. If you can find some soldier termites, this makes it easier to know whether you have a termite problem. Solders only make up part of the termite population so you will have to look carefully for them. Most termites are workers. These are about 2/5 inch long and are recognizable by their soft, light-colored bodies. They look a bit like moving grains of rice.

Reproductive termites are similar but have wings. Termites are weak flyers and will only attempt to fly if the air is still and there is high humidity Dunwich Horror the likelihood of rain. The largest member of the termite family is the queen. She can be up to 4 inches long and lays up to 4 eggs a minute! If she dies, Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour of the reproductive termites takes her place.

It is difficult to identify termites unless there is a reproductive swarm. Swarming termites do however resemble swarming ants. Some people call termites "white ants" but this is an incorrect term. Termites are often white but some are so clear you can see food in their gut. Their bodies are very soft.

Winged termites are darker. Termites have six legs, all of which are short. On ants, the front wings are longer than the back pair and they don't break easily. Termites have four wings of equal size (twice as long as the body) which do not break easily. Ants have narrow and defined waists. Termites have thick undefined waists. Ants have elbowed antennae. Termites have straight ones which resemble tiny strings of pearls. They do not have eyes unless they are winged termites. Termites are actually more closely related to the cockroach family rather than the ant family.

It is useful to know for termite identification that almost every type of termite lives in the dark, apart from the winged ones that fly online student loan consolidation any termite when they are constructing something. This means that you normally only see them when something is open or broken. When they are exposed, termites attempt to follow their scent trails to get home. If they can't get home, they either squeeze themselves into a small gap or wander around looking lost until they find another termite.

Termites eat away at wood in the home and use their own feces and dirt to patch up the holes they make. If you look carefully, you might find some evidence of this. If you have painted, wooden surfaces you might see what appears to be bubbling under the paint. This can be caused by termites eating the wood. After termites have finished swarming, many shed their wings, which you can find on the floor of your house.

The above facts should make termite identification easier for you. If you think you have a termite problem, you will need to get it dealt with quickly because termites can destroy parts of your house in a very short space of time!

Frank Reese is a termite expert with more than 10 years in the industry. For detailed information on www.termite-1.com">Termite Identification or for a solid education on the termite in general visit: www.termite-1.comwww.termite-1.com


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