We do not welcome termites to
come into our house. One reason is that they possess a bad habit (wood-eating)
and the second reason is there are too many of them (in colonies) when they
come. Feeding them is an outright big
problem! Humans do not entertain guests
who do not behave properly inside our house, so to speak. In this case, we speak of termites as unwanted
‘royal guests’ that need pest control.
The termites are ‘royal’ in a
sense that they have’ a reigning queen. The mature termite queen (with a life
span of 25 to 45 years) can produce 20,000 to 30,000 eggs
a day. Can you imagine their population
in just a span of one year? As the queen
increases her size and cannot move freely, attendant workers provide assistance.
The queen aside from being a ‘reproductive’ is also responsible for colony
integration while the termite ‘king’ (unlike male ants that die after mating) can
mate with the termite queen for life. If the queen dies, the winged also a
reproductive caste, can replace the queen. Undertaking the labors of foraging,
food storage, brood and nest maintenance are worker termites, the main caste in
the colony for the digestion of cellulose in food found in infested wood while
the Soldier caste, the elite class, is principally a defense against predation
by ants. As a result of their wood-eating habits, the termites can severely damage
unprotected buildings and other wooden structures inside the house, such as the
cabinet, tables, wooden chairs and the like. Since “wood” is their main menu,
they also go for other ‘side-dishes’ as
carpets, cloth, paper and other cellulosic materials. Just imagine the ‘wastes’ incurred in welcoming
termites into our very own properties as follows:
§ Money - the large amount of money spent in building
the house
§ Time - the precious long period of time spent in
erecting the house
§ Effort - the
number of people engaged in the building work
§ Property - the
damaged house, inside and out, and the yard
We should never underestimate the
“teeth” of these ‘royal guests’ as they can ruin the whole house in no time once
neglected by the homeowner. Likewise, we should never underestimate too, the pest
control companies which offer effective methods in dealing with them because as
experts in the trade, they are in the best position to eradicate unwanted
guests in our whole property. They
survey the whole area first then stage a ‘coup’ to ‘overthrow’ the queen
termite from her throne before the appropriate termite treatment is applied to
all corners of the infested area. Thus,
knowing the termite treatment cost from them will enable you to provide the
much needed protection for your property.
Act quickly to save the wooden structures in your house. Houses
should be treated with dignity because our abode provides our family the
shelter we need so we have all the reasons to love, care, and protect it.