Do It Yourself Provider "The Pest Control Store" Discusses Termite Control Offerings

Oct. 22, 2008 - PRLog -- Even in cold climates, termites remain active in cold weather if the structure they are infesting is heated.  The Pest Control Store offers many products to help you win your battle with termites.

TERMITES - Also known as wood bugs, wood eaters, wood ants, and wood worms. Termites are a very important economic pest in most parts of the country. They eat the cellulose material in wood causing enough damage that the wood becomes unstable thus causing the structure to become unstable. Lets face it, if termites eat your floor joists then your floor becomes unsafe and could collapse. Buildings have been condemned due to termite damage. They can also damage other materials looking for food such as paper, pallets, crates, tool handles, furniture, storage boxes, books, and other wood products. Depending on where you live in the country, your main termite threat is usually the subterranean termite which ranges from the east coast to California depending on the specie, or the dry-wood termite which is primarily in the west and along the southern parts of the country up to Virginia but again can be found almost anywhere due to the shipment of goods.

BIOLOGY- They belong to the order Isoptera. Termites undergo gradual metamorphosis: egg, nymph, and adult. This is a primitive insect closely related to cockroaches. In nature they help to breakdown deadwood and other materials containing cellulose to humus. So in nature they are actually beneficial. But of course as man started to make his dwellings out of wood it became a destructive pest. The digestive tracts of termites have certain one-cell organisms that convert the cellulose into simple substances the termites can digest. Termites are social insects like ants and bees. They have castes or divisions of labor that make up the colony.

Subterranean termites are called that due to the fact that they need to return to the ground for moisture, unless from a water leak or roof leak there is sufficient moisture in the wood then they can have an aerial or sub colony. These are the most destructive and most wide spread termite. They travel from the ground to the above ground wood by mud tubes they construct to keep them sheltered and moist. They are small cream colored ant like insects except they dont have the ants pinched waist. From the subterranean termite nymphs you can have four different castes that can develop: workers, soldiers, primary (winged) reproductives, these are the ones most people see usually during the spring and fall, their swarming seasons, commonly calling them flying ants, and then you have the supplementary reproductives, which actually lay most of the eggs for the colony, again depending upon the specie. When you disturb one of their mud tubes or probe into wood that they are in you will also see the soldier termites. They have a larger and darker head with large mandibles that they use to protect the colony. A lot of times you wont even know the wood is being eaten unless you probe it because they eat it from the inside out so you could literally have a hollow piece of wood but yet it looks fine.

The dry-wood termite is quite a bit different than the subterranean termite. First, it does not to go back to the ground for moisture; it actually bores into and makes their nest in wood with low moisture content. They damage just about any type of wood but are usually less serious a pest than the subterranean termite because they are less widespread. These guys can seriously damage furniture. The first nymphs that hatch are the workers of the colony then soldiers and reproductives develop from those nymphs so there is no worker caste. Wood damage is distinguishable because they cut across the grain of wood, excavating large chambers connected by small tunnels. Their tunnels are relatively clean. The excreta are disposed of through small round holes in the wood. The excreta look like small pellets. They are hard and have 6 distinct concave (rounded inward) surfaces on the sides while the ends are rounded. These pellets are easily noticeable and are commonly called frass. But this frass is different than powder post beetle frass as theirs is powder like or if the specie does have pellets they have rounded convex (rounded outward) surfaces. Damp-wood termite pellets are also similar but they will be in wet decaying wood. During the swarming season, the nymphs will make round holes in the wood about 1/16 to 1/8 inch in diameter for the reproductive forms to leave the wood. Then when swarming is done they seal the holes with cement.

CONTROL - To control termites it is advised to consult with professional pest controllers. Not only is it hard work with special equipment but that way you should have the option to get some sort of bond or warranty for your structure. Plus, if the structure is severely infested with dry-wood termites it will probably have to be fumigated. But if you prefer to do it yourself then we offer Termidor, Tengard, Timbor, Boracare, and Talstar Pro concentrates. Termidor is a newer chemical that works differently. Its a non repellent insecticide so the termites tunnel and walk right through it not knowing it is there. It gets on them and they take it back to the colony where it gets shared through grooming and contact, thus wiping out the colony. We also offer the Firstline Termite Baiting System. This you put in the ground around your home and monitor for activity. When you discover activity you change out the wood bait with a poison bait that they take back to their colony for total colony eradication. We also offer crack and crevice aerosols for when they swarm and to spot treat termites such as PT Cy-Kick, PT-221L, EcoPCO AR-X, EcoPCO ACU, D-Force HPX, Invader HPX, and Borid Turbo.

Geographic Location(s): Depending on species, can be everywhere.

Peachtree Pest Control (http://www.peachtreepestcontrol.com) has been Protecting Health and Environment since 1976. Founded by Mr. Stephen M. Arnold, Peachtree has remained family owned and operated, with all of the customer care you would expect from a friend and neighbor.

From those humble beginnings, Peachtree Pest Control has constantly improved and expanded. They now have five offices in North Georgia (Norcross, Roswell, Morrow, Oconee, and Warner Robins) and two offices in South Georgia (Savannah and Brunswick). Over the years, they have expanded their base of services to include Pest Control, Termite Control, Mosquito Control, Lawn and Ornamental Service, Moisture and Fungus Control, Mold Treatment for New Construction, and Bioremediation Service.

The Pest Control Store (http://www.thepestcontrolstore.com) has been an integral part of their Georgia operation since 1985. Their team of experts, all Pest Control Operators, have provided "Professional Products and Professional Advice" to homeowners and do-it-yourself customers from their stores ever since. Now, through the power of the Internet, they can offer their products and advice outside the confines of a physical location.

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Peachtree Pest Control (www.peachtreepestcontrol.com) has been Protecting Health and Environment since 1976. The Pest Control Store (http://www.thepestcontrolstore.com) has been an integral part of their Georgia operation since 1985. Their team of experts, all Pest Control Operators, have provided "Professional Products and Professional Advice" to homeowners and do-it-yourself customers from their stores ever since. Now, through the power of the Internet, they can offer their products and advice outside the confines of a physical location.