Termite control services in Perth
Learn the dangerous difference between ants and termites!
If you see winged ant-like insects around your property, you must know if they are ants or subterranean termites. If they are swarming termites, there is an established colony nearby looking for new nesting areas...and that means your home is in danger.
Call us in Perth immediately, we'll eliminate the old colony and protect you from these home-damaging insects.
The facts are...
Ant or Termite?
Winged termites are usually, but not always, smaller (about 5mm in length). They appear to have two body segments, straight antennae, and two pairs of equally long wings. Ants have three body segments with a narrow waist, elbowed antennae, and a longer pair of front wings.
Do you have a termite problem?
It is estimated that termites cause over $100 million damage in Australia every year. Subterranean termites have a caste system with each member performing a particular function: the queen lays her eggs, the king fertilizes them, the workers care for the eggs and feed the young, and the soldiers guard against attack.
If you supsect you have a termite problem, contact our Perth-based team immediately.
Subterranean termites travel between their humid nests in the soil and their food which is wood. Workers feed on and destroy the wood and then feed other castes in the community.
Termites travel through tunnels and then through mud tubes, ingeniously constructed to protect them from the dry atmosphere outside.
These tubes are sometimes visible on masonry or foundation walls and stumps. They are extremely difficult to detect as sometimes only a few centimetres of the tubes are visible.
Any area where wood touches soil, or comes close to it, is potential food for termites.
Other damage
Termites are social insects, the most persistent and destructive insect in nature. The termite which attacks more homes than any other is Coptotermes. Since termites are a social insect they live in large colonies that can grow into the millions, and this can lead to huge amounts of money in repair bills.
Another material termites can destroy in your home is electrical wiring. Damage to your electrical wires could lead to large amounts of damage including faulty electrical works. This could turn fatal when there are people operating these electrical appliances.
Types of termites
The Queen
The Queen occupies a "royal cell" with the King. She may live up to 25 years, laying many thousands of eggs annually.
Soldiers
With armoured heads and strong jaws, Soldiers protect the colony from enemies, most commonly ants.
Winged reproductives
Winged reproductives are the termites you may see when they "swarm", usually in Spring, signalling a well-developed colony. After shedding their wings, reproductives pair off, burrow into the soil and begin a new colony.
Workers
Workers represent most of the termites in a colony. Blind and sterile, they forage for the colony's food. Most damage is caused by worker termites.
Eggs and nymphs
Eggs are cared for by the workers during a two-week incubation period before passing into nymph stage. Nymphs mature into one of the four termites castes shown above.
Supplementary reproductives
Supplementary reproductives act as replacements for the Queen if she should die. Even if the Queen is healthy, they may also produce eggs to help increase colony size.
Termite nest
This is a termite nest which stands at about 12 feet in the air. It may be an obvious mound or it may be concealed in the earth fill under a concrete slab floor or hearth. The nest may be at the base of a stump, pole, fence, post, or tree. All likely places should therefore be examined carefully and probed to determine their soundness. No matter what the external shape, location, or covering of the nest, it's inner zones centered on the nursery always consist of concentric layers of cells with thin, fragile walls of organic matter and soil.
