This might be alarming to read, but lots of insects and creatures can quietly invade your Salt Lake City home or business. On top of that, they might come in droves or multiply with speed. You may not even know they’re around until significant wreckage is visible. This is why preventative protocols must be prioritized. Otherwise, you could be injured or attacked by a critter. Many harbor impactful bacteria or spread disease. As for your space itself, it could be ruined. Termites and carpenter ants are especially disastrous.
Termites and carpenter ants are wood-destroying insects who have a reputation for being “silent killers.” Termites generate $5 billion in deterrence and recuperation costs in America every year. While carpenter ants don’t work as fast, they can still rack up quite the bill. Find out how to tell these bugs apart and what Pest Pro Pest Control can do to stop them.
Termites: Appearance, Behavior, And Risks
Workers, soldiers, and swarmers are the three components of a colony. In this area, workers are 0.12 of an inch long and white or grayish-white. As you might guess, they deal with wood the most. Soldiers are slightly larger and guard their family members with their sizable mandibles. The often yellow-brown bugs also have rectangular heads. Swarmers are winged, and they fly from nests when they’re full during the mating season. Soon after, they’ll start another colony. These brown, black, or yellow critters are 0.50 of an inch long. Possibly, you’ll see them by windows and fixtures as they are attracted to lights. Since swarmers are the only visible termites, they’re a sign of infestation. Further pointers are:
- Finding the discarded wings of swarmers
- Discovering fecal frass
- Hollow sounding walls that have pin-point holes, maze patterns, and mud tubes in them
- Chipping and bloating paint
- Sagging and discolored drywall
- Loose tiles
- Weak or creaking floorboards
- Tight-fitting window frames and doors
- Hearing soft rustling and clicking noises from inside walls
Whether the wood is injured or not, termites will find it suitable to go after. The age and grade of the material don’t matter either. Keep in mind that these pests procreate and operate swiftly. Affected zones tend to appear soiled and not very smooth.
Carpenter Ants: Appearance, Behavior, And Risks
Carpenter ants are bigger than most of their kind, being 0.25 to 0.50 of an inch long. The majority are black, but you might see orange, red, reddish-black, yellow, brown, or tan insects. Workers are distinguished by their bulky mandibles. Winged carpenter swarmers are challenging to separate from termite ones.
Termites devour wood, but carpenter ants grind it down to form nests and tunnels. Outside of their refined entry points will be stacks of wood shavings; these pests don’t create mud tubes. Decaying, moist, and water-spoiled wood is what they gravitate to. You’re more likely to catch them out and about because they penetrate through rooflines and holes in foundations. Regarding infestation indicators, those between carpenter ants and termites are similar. This is particularly true with shed swarmer wings, hollow walls, and gentle noises.
Pest Pro Pest Control Termite And Carpenter Ant Extermination
Termite infestations cannot be rectified with commercial insecticides or other store goods. These potentially noxious options aren’t wide-ranging enough. The same goes for carpenter ants.
We at Pest Pro Pest Control have safe termite control solutions. Our industrial-grade avenues include trenching and perimeter treatments. This involves drilling and is designed to eradicate colonies. Future intrusions will be protected against. Follow-up visits, pre-construction approaches, and Wood-Destroying Insect/Organism Reports are available. You’ll have access to all of this after a thorough inspection is conducted. Call or email today for a free consultation!