Baby Termites What you need to know!
Termites are every homeowner’s worst nightmare because they can cause thousands of dollars’ worth of damage every year.
If the termites are adults, it’s pretty easy to tell if you have them.
What about the baby termites? How do they look, and do they end up harming anything? To help you find them, we’ve answered all the questions most people ask.
What do baby termites look like?
Adult termites and their young look alike. The only thing that makes them different is that they are paler and smaller, like tiny ants.
They have straight antennae, a thick waist, and a whitish color that makes them easy to spot.
Termite babies get darker and bigger as they grow. If you see these tiny termites on your property, it could mean that there is a termite infestation.
Termite Life Cycle
When the male and female termites’ mate, the Queen termite gets pregnant. These Queen termites look for a place to make a nest and then start laying eggs to make their colonies bigger. The Queen termite’s only purpose in life is to keep making more and more eggs.
Adult termites can be broken down into four main groups: workers, soldiers, swarmers, and future queens. Let’s look at each stage of a termite’s life:
Worker Termites: Worker termites are the most common type of termite because they are the largest group. They are in charge of fixing the nest, taking care of the other termites in the nest, looking for food, and destroying wood. The termites’ workers leave the nest to find food for the whole colony. The worker termites have to feed the baby termites because they can’t eat on their own.
Soldier termites: they defend the nest. They have big, armored heads and sharp, enlarged mouthparts to protect the colony from attacks. Soldier termites get their food from the worker termites.
Swarmer termites: Termites that are ready to start a new colony will leave the colony at certain times of the year. They look a lot like flying ants. Termites could be a problem if you see them flying near a house or window or if you find their wings but no bugs.
Queen Termites: The queen is the most important member of a colony because she lays the eggs that help the colony grow and stay alive. A termite queen has been known to live for 30 years or more.
Are baby termites harmful?
Since the young termites can’t feed themselves, they can’t do any damage to the buildings. This doesn’t mean, though, that they won’t eat your house.
You have to keep in mind that baby termites are only babies for a short time. When termites become adults, their bad eating habits will cause a lot of damage to your home.
How do you get rid of baby termites?
The most effective way to get rid of termites is to kill them when they are young, before they become adults. Here’s how to do that:
Apply Nematodes
The roundworms called nematodes kill termites. Worms have bacteria in their guts, which makes them a great natural way to kill insects. When a nematode gets into the body of a baby termite, it poisons the blood of the host, which kills the host.
Nematodes are easy to find in gardening stores, and plants, pets, and people are all safe around them. Once they are set free, nematodes breed and keep growing in number, which keeps termites away. Expect good results in three days after using it.
There are many ways to use beneficial nematodes, but the easiest way is to mix the nematodes with water and use a spray bottle to spray the mixture on termite-infested areas once a day.
The water gets into the wood and spreads the nematodes right where the termites are. Before you use nematodes to get rid of termites, you should make sure that they are made for that purpose, as there are different types of nematodes.
DIY Methodes
When you get rid of the adults, you’ll also get rid of the termite babies. Use homemade repellents like vinegar and orange oil to get rid of termites in an easy way that you can do yourself.
Even better is to buy things like boric acid, perimeter barriers, and diatomaceous earth from a store.
Call a Professional Pest Control Company
Young termites on a property are handled well by pest control companies.
They use tried-and-true methods and products to find, get rid of, and stop termite infestations.
Their years of experience give them an advantage over people who try to get rid of pests like termites on their own.
