We’ve had a few termite swarm calls this week.

What is a termite swarm?

A  swarm consists of thousands of black insects that are about 3/8 inch long, with white/smoky colored wings that are longer than their body and are of equal length. What this means is that it’s the time of the year when termite colonies send out reproductive termites (future kings of queens of a colony).

Where do termites swarm?

 Termites have rudimentary eyesight; they do not intend to swarm inside. They really want to find their way to the warm, moist soil and start a new colony. Nevertheless, when these flying termites leave the colony, often they will often swarm by the thousands inside homes. If thousands of termites swarm inside, they have already infested the home and have been eating the wood inside the walls.

Many times the homeowners don’t know they have an infestation until they experience swarming termites inside the home. Keep in mind that seeing only a few swarming termites inside your home does not necessarily indicate an infestation. They may have flown in from a swarm outside; a few swarmers could have gotten in around door jambs, windows, or ridge vents on the roof.  They will die within a few hours since they cannot get back to the soil.  

According to the LSU Ag Center, there are an average of ten colonies of subterranean termites per acre in Louisiana, and  300,000 termites per colony. A colony can live for 25 years! These numbers are for the native species only. Formosan termites have millions of termites in a colony and eat over 1,000 pounds of wood per year!

If there is a swarm in your neighborhood, or if you have lots of swarming termites inside your home, call us for a free inspection and estimate for treatment.