Each termite colony contains three castes; workers, soldiers, and reproductives. These castes are physically distinct and perform different tasks in the termite society.
Workers are about 1/8 inch long and are blind, wingless, soft-bodied, creamy white to grayish-white with a round head. Workers are the most numerous individuals in a termite colony, and they are the termite caste that actually eats the wood. These sterile individuals forage for food and water, construct and repair shelter tubes, feed and groom other termites, care for eggs and young, and participate in colony defense.
Soldiers are the defenders of the colony and are also wingless. They resemble workers except that they have a large, rectangular, yellowish-brown head with large black mandibles (jaws).
Winged primary reproductives are sometimes called alates or swarmers. They shed their wings soon after flight. Their primary duty is to start new colonies. In Oklahoma their body color is usually a dark brown or black with silver or white wings being about twice the length of the body. The pair of primary reproductives that heads a colony is called the king and queen.
Termite bait monitors
Traditional methods have involved placing chemical barriers around the property. These chemical barriers are designed to deter termites from entry into the building structure. They deteriorate over time and if not replenished every 3-5 years, result in gaps appearing in the barrier that will be found by the termites, thus rendering it useless. Chemical barriers also do not get to the heart of the threat, the nest, hence ensuring colony survival and constant threat to your property continues. Furthermore, chemical barriers do not provide the opportunity for ongoing monitoring.
DIY Termites bait monitors are a unique method that doesn’t entail spraying chemicals or involve extensive digging. They and are a bit like traps and contain timber pieces surrounding polystyrene foam as the attractant. They are set up in places of likely infestation to alert homeowners and inspectors of termite presence. They provide a method of determining the presence of termites and an easy identification of the species, and sites where termite activity is present so that an eradication treatment may be carried out.
Termites bait monitors are strategically installed around your property to help detect termite activity, then checked periodically. Wherever termite activity is found, the monitoring devices in the stations should be replaced with termite bait or treated with chemical foaming or chemically dusted. Termites ingest the bait/ chemical foaming and carry it to the colony where they share it with other termites, which may lead to its eventual destruction. Once a colony is eliminated or controlled, monitoring should continue to protect your building against new termite activity.
Inspections of the termite bait monitors should be carried out once a month. If termite activity is discovered in the termite bait monitors, then ring your local pest manager to inspect the termite bait monitors and treat as necessary. If any activity is found within the house, then specific Above Ground Stations must be placed at the site of the activity. Your local pest manager can install these for you.
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