The Life Span of Termites

Termites can cause an incredible amount of damage to your property in a short amount of time, but you'd be surprised how many people figure they can 'fix' the problem by themselves.

They try to fumigate on their own and then a few weeks later stumble over more termites. Which means more time has been wasted and more wooden structure damaged. Why is seeking professional help necessary to fully ensure that a damaging termite infestation has been truly ended?

Because of the problems posed by the lifespan of termites and how they reproduce. You don't get the entire colony, especially the Queen termites, they might not be visible for awhile, but they'll still be there, breeding and reproducing quickly until they make their presence know again by tunneling through the wood of your house in new areas.

A termite infestation starts with the arrival of the King and Queen termites. The male fertilizes the female constantly, who will be frequently laying eggs that hatch into pale white larvae. Over several molting stages these larvae grow and are transformed into several different types of colony termites.

Workers are sexually undeveloped and are the most numerically evident. Their job is to do all the eating away at wood to construct all the tunnels and chambers that the colony needs as well as feeding and carrying for the young larvae that just hatched. The soldier caste of termites have far bigger heads than workers and their mandibles are larger, which aids them in combat with other insect species. The nymphs, or alates, are black colored and are born with two pairs of large wings. Their job is to reproduce and aid the colony in increasing in size.

A colony is adaptable in its makeup of the three types of castes that comprise it. Depending on the need of the colony, one type of termite can actually transform itself into another. That means if there is an attempt to exterminate the colony that kills most of the workers and soldiers but misses the Queen termites and the nymphs, some of the nymphs will begin changing into workers and soldiers until the new generations of freshly hatched larvae are ready to assume those roles.

You can see why this would mean an extermination effort that wasn't professional, that only got 90% of the termites, but missed the Queen and some others, would in the end be a futile effort. Here's the last reason why you need professional help to ensure a termite infestation has been completely destroyed: While the other types of termites live just a year or two, the lifespan of the termite Queen is up to fifty years if the climate conditions are optimal. That Queen can lay up to 1,000 eggs a day if conditions are right.

With these facts about the lifespan of termites in mind, it's clear the best option when faced with a termite infestation of your home is to get experienced, professional pest control help to ensure 100% of the infestation is dealt with.