A Comprehensive Termite Identification Guide For Greenville, SC Homeowners

May 15, 2022

When identifying termites in your Greenville home, you might run into problems with finding them at all. Although the damage they do is costly, it might be a long time before you ever discover them. You must be proactive when looking for termites – frequently inspecting your property for signs of termite activity will prevent expensive repairs down the road. Learn about the signs of a termite infestation and why they’re so hard to notice.

What Termite Activity Looks Like

Termites live in moist, damp areas with access to wood (which contains the cellulose they eat). Their colonies live underground – they burrow into the ground and come up to eat. Therefore, you’re unlikely to spot most of them directly. What you must look for are the flying ones.

Termite colonies have a hierarchy that utilizes certain termites for specific purposes. Most termites are workers, who gather food and take care of the young. Above them are soldiers that do the same but also protect the queen, who creates every termite in the colony. The flying ones are the alates, or swarmers, which are the only termites that can reproduce. Swarmers fly away to become the kings/queens of new colonies.

It’s easy to mistake a flying termite for a flying ant, which are also common in the Greenville area. The only way to identify which one it is, is to get close and notice their specific differences: same-sized wings vs. different-sized wings, straight vs. bent antennae, and thicker vs. thinner midsections. Regardless, you should immediately contact a Greenville pest control company if you see any flying ant or termite on your property. That could be a carpenter ant, which does just as much damage as a termite.

Termites can also live in multiple other places, including stumps, rotted trees, and mulch beds. Anything with wood will attract termites, especially if there’s water damage. Remember, termites love damp, moist environments – if you have an area with access to wood that meets these conditions, it’s important to inspect for signs of termites.

Why Identifying Termites In Greenville Is Difficult

Most people who have termite problems don’t think they have them. Swarmers are often mistaken for ants or a harmless flying insect, and workers – on the rare occasion they’re spotted outside the nest – are so small that they get mistaken for regular wear-and-tear or water damage. Termites very rarely leave the nest in a noticeable way – you must look for tiny holes in the ground to see where they’re coming out, which are incredibly hard to spot.

Another big problem is that most problems that attract termites are hard to notice or almost impossible to ignore. Dirt contact with your house or clogged gutters creating water damage are so easy to miss that you might not even think about them as potential issues, but they can easily attract termites, especially in a damp area like Greenville.

What To Do If You Have Termites

Don’t try to handle termite infestations on your own. Attacking the nest directly is insanely difficult, and the queen will only replace the ones you kill outside of the nest. You’ll waste tons of money on DIY termite control to no avail, which will lead to more expensive repairs after the termites deal extensive damage to your home.

Contact Greenville Pest Control to handle your termite infestation instead. We use a state-of-the-art baiting system that delivers bait to the termite colony that is scientifically proven to kill the queen and then the rest of the colony. Call us today to put a permanent stop to termites on your Greenville property today.

Tags: termite activity identifying termites greenville termite control

What Termite Activity Looks Like

Termites live in moist, damp areas with access to wood (which contains the cellulose they eat). Their colonies live underground – they burrow into the ground and come up to eat. Therefore, you’re unlikely to spot most of them directly. What you must look for are the flying ones.

Termite colonies have a hierarchy that utilizes certain termites for specific purposes. Most termites are workers, who gather food and take care of the young. Above them are soldiers that do the same but also protect the queen, who creates every termite in the colony. The flying ones are the alates, or swarmers, which are the only termites that can reproduce. Swarmers fly away to become the kings/queens of new colonies.

It’s easy to mistake a flying termite for a flying ant, which are also common in the Greenville area. The only way to identify which one it is, is to get close and notice their specific differences: same-sized wings vs. different-sized wings, straight vs. bent antennae, and thicker vs. thinner midsections. Regardless, you should immediately contact a Greenville pest control company if you see any flying ant or termite on your property. That could be a carpenter ant, which does just as much damage as a termite.

Termites can also live in multiple other places, including stumps, rotted trees, and mulch beds. Anything with wood will attract termites, especially if there’s water damage. Remember, termites love damp, moist environments – if you have an area with access to wood that meets these conditions, it’s important to inspect for signs of termites.

Why Identifying Termites In Greenville Is Difficult

Most people who have termite problems don’t think they have them. Swarmers are often mistaken for ants or a harmless flying insect, and workers – on the rare occasion they’re spotted outside the nest – are so small that they get mistaken for regular wear-and-tear or water damage. Termites very rarely leave the nest in a noticeable way – you must look for tiny holes in the ground to see where they’re coming out, which are incredibly hard to spot.

Another big problem is that most problems that attract termites are hard to notice or almost impossible to ignore. Dirt contact with your house or clogged gutters creating water damage are so easy to miss that you might not even think about them as potential issues, but they can easily attract termites, especially in a damp area like Greenville.

What To Do If You Have Termites

Don’t try to handle termite infestations on your own. Attacking the nest directly is insanely difficult, and the queen will only replace the ones you kill outside of the nest. You’ll waste tons of money on DIY termite control to no avail, which will lead to more expensive repairs after the termites deal extensive damage to your home.

Contact Greenville Pest Control to handle your termite infestation instead. We use a state-of-the-art baiting system that delivers bait to the termite colony that is scientifically proven to kill the queen and then the rest of the colony. Call us today to put a permanent stop to termites on your Greenville property today.