What Are The Different Types of Termites in Arizona?
Termites are pests that are known to cause structural damage. They are often confused with ants, especially flying termites. In fact, sometimes, flying termites are called white ants. But termites are more dangerous than ants. Ants will eat about anything, but termites will only eat wood. However, if ants need to bite your kitchen drawer or cabinet to get their food, they wood. But termites will eat wood because it is their food. That’s why they are more dangerous than ants because they can damage anything that is made of wood in your Phoenix, Arizona, home. Today, we will discuss the different types of termites that can infest your home in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dampwood Termites
Dampwood Termites are common in the United States, especially on the Pacific Coast. They are named “dampwood” because they prefer decaying and moist wood. They would invade decaying wood underground to locate their colonies and nest there. So you won’t see any dampwood termites nest in the soil. Their colonies can be small, but they can get larger if the environment is ideal enough for them to thrive. When dampwood termites nest on wood, they will create a series of tunnels with smooth walls.
Dampwood termites often appear in logs, stumps, dead trees, fence posts, and utility poles. But unlike other types of termites, dampwood termites do not need much moisture and do not have worker termites. Instead, the younger termites will care for the king and queen termites. You can identify dampwood termites by their large head with mandibles. Below are the three types of dampwood termites that can infest your Arizona home.
- Eastern Dampwood Termites
- Western Dampwood Termites
- Southern Dampwood Termites
Drywood Termites
Drywood termites are known for surviving just by eating hard and dry wood, like timbers, furniture, wooden frames, and fence. They also do not nest and make colonies under the soil like dampwood termites. Instead, drywood termites create colonies in wood which is also their food and a good source of their moisture. For drywood termites, wood contains enough water for them to survive. That’s why you will always find them above the ground. However, drywood termite colonies do not spread as rapidly as other types of termites. Drywood termites are commonly found on the West Coast, Florida, and Hawaii, where the weather is warm, creating dry wooden structures.
However, drywood termites have spread throughout the East, Texas, and Carolinas. Drywood termites can cause extensive damage to your Arizona home because they mostly eat wood and will eat across the grain, resulting in significant damage. Drytwood termites are characterized by their large mouthparts with teeth, a plate-like structure that is as wide or wider than their head, and front set wings with a pattern. Below are three types of drywood termites that can be present in your home.
- Desert Drywood Termites
- Southeastern Drywood Termites
- Western Drywood Termites
Subterranean Termites
Subterranean termites, like drywood termites, eat wood most of the time, and they would get wood by building mud tubes in their nest. These mud tubes will also protect subterranean termites from open air. Their nests are usually found underground, like dampwood termite nests. Therefore, their colonies are typically found underground. But they can resurface because of the mud tubes.
Subterranean termites have saw-toothed jaws to bite small wood fragments one piece at a time. This type of termite is rampant in all the United States except Alaska. As mentioned earlier, subterranean termites only eat wood, but they would not eat the hard part. That’s why you may see wood present in your home to be layered. Below are the four types of subterranean termites you may see in your Arizona home.
- Ari Land Subterranean Termites
- Dark Southeastern Subterranean Termites
- Desert Subterranean Termites
- Eastern Subterranean Termites
Get rid of these termites!
Termites are known to cause extensive structural damage that can be irreversible or expensive to get fixed. But you can prevent this before the damage can get worse. Call for a termite exterminator to conduct a termite inspection in your Phoenix, Arizona, home. Pest control in Phoenix will assess your home to determine the right termite treatment to stop the termite infestation problem properly. Additionally, avoid attracting termites in your home by reducing moisture, removing excess wood, and covering entryways.