Termite Inspection

The texture of the surface of the wood damaged by Termites appears roughly scarred. There is also present a fecal smear on the surface of the tunnels within the wood. This is caused by liquid droplets contained by the feces of the termites. This fecal smear always spots the surface of the wood fed upon. Dependant on soil moisture, therefore they nest in soil of wood in contacts with soil, they reach wood not in contact with soil through earthen tubes.

Swarms cannot be expected before the end of the third year. The Subterranean Termite Alate (swarmer) has a black body with two pair of light grey wings. The wings are longer than the body. Upon emergence the flight of alates is short and weak. The male and female are attracted to each other only after the wings are shed. The Subterranean Termite worker is soft bodied, creamy white and maggot like in appearance. The case is blind and wingless. It may be male of female and often when a colony is opened there may be some individuals which appear to be longer than the workers and have small wing pads beginning to form. These are premature reproductives. The workers performs all of the work in a colony including constructing tubes, excavating chambers, obtaining food, feeding the young, soldiers and the queen. It also grooms the queen and cares for the eggs.

The Subterranean Termite soldier has an elongated head. It is longer than the rest of the thorax ans abdomen. The head is pigmented but is slightly paler in color than the Drywood Termite soldier. The head is equipped with 2 large mandibles having curved tips. Their sole purpose is to defend the colony against invasion. The hard head may be used to plug up an opening in a broken tube. They are expendable and may be sealed off outside the tube while they are performing their duties of defending the colony. The mandibles of the soldiers are designed to fighting other insects which may invade the colony. They can actually cut another insect in half.

When handling these soldiers, one may experience a pinch of the skin of the hand. This pinch can be felt quite plainly when handling the soldier of the Dampwood species. Seattle area has more than one type of termite and the inspector is required to have a Structral Pest Inspector license. Order inspection online or call 425.608.9553