termites

Termites cause millions of dollars worth of damage every year and it’s not an expense that most homeowners want to deal with. Of course, it’s not just the money. Termites live in colonies and can quickly eat their way through a lot of wood, potentially causing structural issues. These are much more complicated to resolve and will potentially involve you moving out. That’s a lot of stress and hassle.

There is no better reason to get a termite management company to come into your home and check for the presence of these pests. If they are detected they can advise and assist with the best elimination techniques, leaving you with a termite-free home and plenty of advice to keep the termites away.

However, many homeowners note that there is an abundance of swarmers after a treatment, leading them to think the treatment has been unsuccessful.

This is not the case.

What Are Swarmers?

Termites live in colonies and each termite has a specific job. There are those that look after the colony, those that collect food, and there are some that have the sole purpose of procreation and establishing new colonies.

The fertile termites are the only ones that have wings, it helps them search for a mate, get their eggs fertilized, and then locate a suitable spot for a new colony. In general, this isn’t too far from the original colony which is why you can end up with several colonies under the same house.

It is important to note that, thanks to their wings, swarmers move faster than other termites. This means that they will absorb less of any chemical treatment that has been applied to a nest. Interestingly, they will have still been in contact with enough of the chemical that they will die soon.

Why there Are So Many After A Treatment

The job of every termite is to protect their queen and support termites capable of becoming fertile. It helps to ensure the survival of the species. As part of this, swarmers are particularly aware of the conditions in the colony. The moment they become adverse they will leave the nest to establish a new colony.

There is little doubt that chemical treatment in the existing colony classes as adverse conditions. Hence, all the swarmers leave to find mates and new nest sites. Thanks to their speed and a lower rate of absorption it can take several days for the chemicals to take effect. That means for as many as 3-4 days, you’ll see the swarmers in the area.

Should You Be Concerned About Swarmers?

The good news is that the swarmers will still die. Many will die naturally due to the fertilization process and others will die because of the chemical they have ingested.

In short, seeing swarmers confirms the treatment was successful. It is only an issue if you continue to see swarmers 7 days or more after the treatment. In this instance, you’ll need to get the experts back for a second visit.

 

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