Termites, which are locally called “carias”, were already around during the Jurassic Period. They are social insects, living in hierarchical and organized colonies of several thousand individuals. They thrive in countries with warm climates, like Mauritius, where some species build large nests in the earth, called termite mounds. To build up defence effectively against these small armies of “mass destruction”, the first step is to get to know them well. Here is what you need to know about the different types of termites and our solutions.
What is a termite?
Termites are xylophagous insects, which means whose diet consists primarily of wood. They are also considered the most destructive pests in the world. Why? Because they devour all types of wood and carpentry, not to mention furniture, doors, paper, and cardboard, that they consume from the inside, away from light and out of sight. Often the damage isn’t noticed until structures are almost completely destroyed. These pesky crawlers dig galleries to attack wood in contact with the ground and gnaw it from the inside, leaving only a thin outer layer. That’s why, when you finally notice their presence, the damage has already progressed to an advanced stage. In addition, some damaged goods cannot always be repaired or replaced, and this is even truer when it comes to belongings that have sentimental value. An infestation of termites can lower the value of your property by 25%!
An organized secret society
Like bees and ants, termites have an established caste system, where each member has a different role and its respective task.
The workers: feeding the colony
The workers are responsible for feeding the colony, but also to build the nests and tunnels. They are constantly looking for food and don’t let anything get in their way. Their powerful mandibles are able to break through wood or hard materials such as PVC or electric cables. When the worker termites encounter an obstacle that they cannot break, they build tunnels of clay agglomerated on the surface so as to continue their progression away from the light. They are actually the ones responsible for the destruction that affects so many homes.
The soldiers: defend the colony
The soldiers are rightfully named as they are morphologically adapted to combat with their disproportionate heads, and prominent mandibles which are used to help defend the colony against their main enemies: the ants. They are also able to produce chemical substances as a mean of defence against their predators.
The swarmers: extend the colony
The winged termites are the breeding team that will leave the nest to establish new colonies. They are often mistaken for moths or winged ants. The main queen is the largest of the termites and can lay between 30,000 and 40,000 eggs a day. She can live up to 45 years! Just imagine the speed with which the colony grows!
The solution: take action ASAP
Protect your building right from the construction process with KORDON®, a combination of a physical and chemical barrier, designed to prevent termites from entering buildings. Composed of a synthetic fabric impregnated with a synthetic pyrethroid, this innovative solution is suitable for all types of construction and should remain effective for over 50 years. The synthetic pyrethroid, deltamethrin, is laminated between two polyethylene films designed to limit any contact with the active substance and the environment.
Protect your heritage with SENTRI * TECH Anti-Termite Baiting System that uses termite baits, as its name suggests. Developed by Dow Agro Science laboratories in France, this innovative, reliable and effective method of exterminating termites without the use of environmentally hazardous products has proven its effectiveness for the past 20 years.
Would you like to know more about our termite treatments? Visit our pre-construction and post-construction treatment pages or contact us for a free visit and quote.