Randomly Relinquishing the “Queen”!

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.

Be Aware of the Attack of Termites

One of the problems happening in many homes is pest infestation. There are many different types of pest and each gives different threats. These threats are harmful to the health of people or the structure of the houses.  The attack of pest becomes so extensive and causes millions of money loss. Termites, bugs and rodents are few of the many examples of pest.

Termites attack many homes leading them to destruction. It is very important to have knowledge on these kinds of pest to avoid loss.

The attack of termite is one of the causes of million - worth damage per year among houses and other infrastructures. Termites are social insects and raise their young as a group. Colonies of termites eat non-stop a day. Flying termites are often mistaken for flying ants. Insects like termites in Florida have only two body segments, a straight antenna and two sets of wings in equal length while flying ants have three body segments, a bent antenna and two sets of wings that differ in length. Here are the different kinds of termites.

        Subterranean termites can eat a lot of wood and can cause a lot of damage to a house. This kind of termite is considered as the most destructive since they can destroy foundations of the buildings, wooden support beams, plastic plumbing pipes, sub-flooring and even swimming pool liners and filtration systems. This kind of termite has 0.13 inch to 1 inch in size with long, narrow and oval shape. Creamy brown is the color for this kind of termite. Subterranean termites eat wood, wallpaper, plastics and fabric made from plants. Colonies of Subterranean termites can have up to 2 million members and divided into three groups: workers, soldiers and reproductive.

    Another kind of termite is dry wood termites which form their colonies of up to 2,500 members. They have 0.38 inch to 1 inch size with long, narrow and oval shape. Dry wood termites are light brown in color. They build their nests and dig tunnels in buildings. The tunnels cause major damage because wooden support beams can weaken that makes a building lean or fall down.


  Formosan termites live in huge underground colonies and build mud nests inside the walls of buildings. Colonies can be made up to ten thousands of termites in single colony. Formosan termite is the largest kind of termite.  They have 0.5 inch in size with long, narrow and oval shape and yellowish brown color.

 Damp wood termite is another kind of termite that likes to live and feed in very moist wood. There have 0.5 inch to 0.7 in size with a long, narrow and oval shape and brownish in color. This kind of termite usually live in damp, dying wood or in houses with leaking plumbing that keeps the wood wet.

Being knowledgeable about these kinds of termites will help prevent homes from destruction. Proper prevention is greatly needed. It is very important to make sure water drains away from houses. Also, firewood and other scrap wood should also be stored away from the house to avoid any of these termites. There are also organizations that give quality services for pest control like pest control services in Florida. From these organizations proper pest control can be implemented.

Facts: Fungi Versus Pest

Our physical world is a result of unbelievable number of transactions between all the factors that belong to the environment. These interactions or relationships are established by the living and the non living components of the ecosystem. In a more scientific way of discussing this, we call the living organisms in the ecosystem as biotic components while non living things as abiotic components. The biotic components of the ecosystem consist of producers and consumers in which producers are the plants. There are some organisms that act or look like plants when, in reality, they are not. These are called fungi. Fungi share some characteristics with plants but definitely they are two different things. I started having a very particular interest about fungi after watching a YouTube video about a certain type of fungi killing insects.

One of the concerns of companies that provide pest control services in Florida is a new approach in eliminating pests using more modified and safer method. I believe that what I have watched is not new in the world of science and discovery; however, I am not sure if such discovery has already been applied to pest control.

The Cordyceps, which is a genus of ascomycetes or commonly known as sac fungi, can gradually kill and inhabit the body of an organism particularly insects. According to www.webmd.com, these fungi live on certain caterpillars in the high mountain regions of China. Fungi are parasitic in nature and once other predatory insects that are also considered as pests got contaminated with this type of fungi, it will feed on their nutrients until they die. This seems to be a great advantage against pests at home and even on gardens. With studies and experimentation, the laboratory can also come up with products for termite treatment in Florida. This doesn't sound easy but surely it can be an effective pest eliminator.

In medicine, Cordyceps are commonly used in treating respiratory complications like as coughs, chronic bronchitis, and respiratory disorders. They are also used to cure kidney disorders, nighttime urination, male sexual problems, anemia, irregular heartbeat, high cholesterol, liver disorders, dizziness, weakness, ringing in the ears, unwanted weight loss, and opium addiction. This type of fungi works by strengthening the immune cells and certain chemicals in the immune system. It was found out that they can also fight against cancer.

The knowledge on the attributes of the different organisms that are present in our surroundings has a purpose. Why would we have to deal with extremely harmful chemicals when we have a choice of a safer solution?

Focusing the Spotlight to Cockroaches

If you often at home and is tasked to do most of the cleaning, you might have been annoyed by some tiny creatures that you see more often than you clean. I am referring to cockroaches. Along with the termite treatment in Florida are also treatments to eliminate these pests.

But why does it seem like they are immortals? And aside from being pests, do they have other roles in the community. Here are some facts that you should know so as not to wonder about their survival and what is the sense of having them in the society. Cockroaches, though in the form of different species, have been with us since mankind has started. In fact, they came first.

Not all cockroaches are pests. Some are kept and cultured for certain purposes. Depending on their species, these insects are considered harmful to our health. The way they survive predators and harsh environmental condition are a key why they still exist.

Survival of the Fittest. Of all insects, cockroaches can be considered as the most adaptive insects in the whole kingdom. Females are able to reproduce without having sexual intercourse with the opposite sex. Some can stay pregnant for the rest of their life after having mated with a male once. They lay an egg in the form of a capsule containing around 40 offspring, thus giving birth to around 300 new cockroaches in their lifetime. These insects can live up to one week even without head. They can stay alive for almost a month without food or two weeks without water. And in case that there will be a nuclear explosion, most of them will remain unharmed by radiation. Amazing, is it not?

Weird but True. Though we have been used to subjecting cockroaches to pest control here in Florida, you should not neglect how some of these insects play important roles in different fields, including medicine and culture. They thrive in all conditions and live in the deserts as well as the Arctic. In some places, crushed cockroaches when applied to a wound can help ease the sting. In Cambodia, Fried Cockroaches are common snacks, as are spiders and rats. Some people would eat these insects believing that they can be cure for asthma.

Roaches exists everywhere – clean or unclean. Like all other creatures known to man, they need basic needs to survive and wherever the supply is available, cockroaches would thrive.