Eastern Subterranean Termite Control
According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) eastern subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) cause over 5 billion dollars in damage each year. If your home does not have termite protection, you are risking structural damage to your home or business. Your traditional home insurance programs do not cover termite damage, making it essential that you contact a pest control professional to properly treat for termites.
At Grace Valley Pest Control, we recognize the potential damage eastern subterranean termites can cause and the importance of properly protecting your investment. As a result, we only use Trelona ATBS Annual Termite Bait Stations to help protect your investment. Click here to visit the manufacturer’s website.
Why should you trust Trelona ATBS?
- Trelona ATBS has been shown to be faster at eliminating eastern subterranean termites when compared to Sentricon (Corteva).
- Trelona ATBS has the active ingredient needed for eliminating termite colonies from the moment it is installed around your home or structure. The active ingredient is Novaluron.
- Trelona ATBS can be installed in a fraction of the time it would take to do a liquid termite treatment, resulting in less disruption to your home or business.
Eastern Subterranean Termite Facts
- Eastern subterranean termites have a caste system which is regulated via pheromones. In simple terms, the caste system includes the king and queen, alates (winged reproductives that leave to start a new colony), nymphs, workers, soldiers, and supplementary reproductives.
- Eastern subterranean termites need constant contact with the ground to maintain their need for constant humidity, or in some cases above-ground access to moisture due to a hidden water leak. A proper termite inspection is needed to try and identify potential activity.
- Eastern subterranean termites feed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Eastern subterranean termites create mud tubes as they travel from the ground to their food source (your home, for example). Mud tubes help them maintain humidity so they do not dry up and die.
- Eastern subterranean termites are very different than ants, not only in appearance, but in biology. Ants typically have only one queen, and if you kill the queen, the colony collapses. Not so for termites! They have a queen which can live for many years, but killing the queen won’t collapse the colony. This is because subterranean termites can produce supplemental reproductives which will take over for the queen. Sometimes the colony gets so big that supplemental reproductives support the colony’s egg production.
- Eastern subterranean termites are blind. They communicate with pheromones and vibrations.
- Eastern subterranean termites have symbiotic gut protozoa that helps them digest wood. Each newly hatched termite has to ingest these protozoa through something called proctodeal trophallaxis which happens when they consume feces from other termites (trust us, this is gross!).
- Eastern subterranean termites soldiers cannot feed themselves, the workers have to feed them!
Contact Us to get a quote or to learn more about our termite control options.