If you’re having termites its usually either Drywood termites or Subterranean termites. Let’s take a look at some noticeable differences between the two, so if you ever have this problem you know what you’re dealing with.
Wings:
- Subterranean termites have a single thick, dark vein that runs parallel to the top of the wing.
- Drywood termites have a complex system of veins, usually at least three or four in each wing.
Most termites shed their wings within minutes of landing.
Nesting Habits:
- Subterranean termites’ nest in the ground. They make mud tubes to tunnel through the ground and invade your home. These tubes protect them from predators and dehydration.
- Drywood termites’ nest in the wood they’re infesting. This leads to varying points of attack on your property. Drywoods don’t dig mud tubes, needing no contact with the soil. They infest your home by air and require less moisture.
Excrement:
Excrement is one of the most common secondary signs of any pest infestation. Each species of termites has different eating and traveling habits, that you can detect in the droppings that they leave behind.
- Subterranean termites leave behind a non-ridged, cardboard-like excrement called a “carton”, which is used as the lining in the mud tubes.
- Drywood termites make “kick out” holes to push their excrement through the wood, called “frass”, which resembles fine grains of sand or coffee gatherings in small piles on the floor.
Eating Habits:
- Subterranean termites are voracious feeders but are somewhat picky. They will only chew on the softest part of the wood found between the grains. If you have neat, lined patterns of destruction that appears to include mud or dirt, subterranean termites are more likely the culprit.
- Drywood termites eat across the grains, leaving galleries that don’t follow the grain of wood. If you have erratic, smooth galleries that contain fecal pellets, that is more likely the work of drywood termites.
Whether you’re having subterranean or drywood termites, the war against termites can only be won with the help of a professional pest control service.
