What do you really know about termites? Yes, they eat wood, cause damage, and appear in colonies. Other than these basic facts not many people know a lot about these destructive pests. Knowing more about your enemy will help the attempt at defeating them an easier battle to fight.
- Unorthodox Diets – Before termites can start consuming wood they must line their stomachs with microorganisms. To prepare their digestive tracts they will actually eat each other’s feces. They continue to do this throughout their lives each time after they molt.
- Dinosaurs – Termites and cockroaches are both predecessors of a common ancestor that lived in the Cretaceous period, 300 million years ago. The oldest known termite on record was preserved in amber and dates back 100 million years.
- Blind as a Bat – There are termites that fly and reproduce in a colony and then there are the workers and soldiers. Since the workers and soldiers are either underground or within a wooden structure their whole lives they never develop functional eyesight.
- Morse Code – When worker and soldier termites need to communicate with the rest of the colony they will bang their heads against the tunnel walls. This vibration will warn the colony that danger is present. Talk about using your head!
- Scent of a Termite – In order to communicate with each other and control their behaviors, termites will use their pheromones. They will also leave behind scent trails to help the other workers navigate. Who needs sight when you can leave a scented map?
Termites are fascinating creatures that seem more intelligent and dangerous as you learn more about them. Protecting your home from termites should always be a top priority so if you want to keep termites away, contact the pest management professionals at Knockout Pest Control. To learn more about termites, or to schedule an inspection of your property, give us a call at (800) 244-7378.
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