What do termite swarmers look like? It’s been unusually warm the last few days and at night we’ve noticed a large number of winged insects sitting on the outside wall of the front porch. They look like flies except they are slender with longer wings. We had a termite problem a couple of years ago,
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Q: My wife found several hundred insects with wings in our attached green house. We did notice a few ants last summer on the patio. We are not sure if these are ants or termites, how can we tell? A: This is a common question at Colonial Pest Control. Ants and termites both produce winged
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Last spring we had termites swarming in our house. There were just a few so we weren’t sure where they were coming from. I want to be on the lookout for them this year to get a better idea of what’s going on. When can I expect them to swarm in the Portsmouth area of
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It is a big topic but maybe I can get you started. We keep termites away from a new home by (1) using good construction practices, and by (2) applying a pesticide barrier as an early step in the construction process. This is called a preconstruction termite treatment or a pretreat. Don’t Let Wood Touch
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For much of the 20th century, the standard termite treatment involved hundreds of gallons of liquid pesticide injected into a trench around a home’s foundation, and sometimes through drill holes inside as well. With raised environmental concerns, termite baits were a welcome new technology. The earliest bait, Sentricon, was introduced in 1994 and has been in use ever since by IPM-oriented pest management professionals like Colonial Pest.
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By law, a pest control company cannot automatically retreat your home for termites, even at your request. According to EPA, retreatment for subterranean termites is only allowed if there is clear evidence of termite reinfestation or disruption of the barrier due to construction, excavation, or landscaping and/or evidence of the breakdown of the termiticide barrier in the soil.
VIEW MORETermites like two things: wood and moisture, and they especially like it when the two are found together. Wood that is in direct contact with soil is especially susceptible to termite attack. Anything that you can do around your home to make things tough for termites is a good thing.
VIEW MOREike termites, ants swarm to start new colonies (see Why Do Termites Swarm?). When the colony is of a certain size and age (at least two years old) or is under stress, winged reproductive ants are produced. These kings and queens are larger than the worker ants in the colony. They fly off and mate (or sometimes mate first within the colony), the male dies shortly after, and the female sheds her wings and looks for a ground nest site where she will lay eggs.
VIEW MOREHere in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, our only serious termite pest is the eastern subterranean termite… and it can be plenty serious! It’s called a subterranean termite because it has a mandatory association with the soil. These termites live in underground nests where they can maintain a high level of humidity. They forage from these
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