Signs You Could Be Dealing With A Severe Termite Infestation In Streator

Few bugs can inspire fear as the termite can. These pests can do damage to wood that is soft or hard, dry or wet, decorative or structural. If not caught early enough, you could be paying out of pocket for repairs to your home, and for some households paying for that expense might not be possible.

Across the U.S., termites cost homeowners over five billion dollars every year. To prevent having to write such a massive check, it’s better to be aware of the signs and dangers of termites, so that you can be proactive.

Identifying Termites

Termites can infest a property in a number of ways, and with species native to Illinois, these infestations tend to happen at the soil level. Through wood scraps or infested lawn decorations, or simply being drawn to overly moist soil, termites can make a mess of things without you being any the wiser.

Luckily, in Illinois, there is just one type of termite native to the state: the subterranean termite. As the name implies, these termites come from underground and spend most of their time in the ground, in mud tubes, or inside the wood to protect themselves from heat and air. These mud tubes are exactly as they sound, tubes of mud plastered to outside walls through which termites travel to reach the wood. They are a dead giveaway of an infestation.

Subterranean termites have a caste system in which different kinds of termites in the colony perform various tasks. The king is much smaller than the queen, who is the largest in the colony. The alates are winged termites, also known as swarmers who are responsible for reproduction and spreading new colonies. These are dark brown or black and up to ½ of an inch long. Workers are smaller at up to about ¼ of an inch and with cream-colored bodies. They do not have wings, but their jaws help them chew and move materials. Soldiers, the final level in the caste, have large mandibles, rectangular heads, and flat, wide bodies. They are also creamy white but often with dark-colored heads.

A mature colony of termites can reach numbers anywhere from 60,000 to 2,000,000 workers, and termites do not stop chewing. As a queen can produce up to 1,000 eggs a day, it won’t take long for a colony to reach maturity and begin to devastate your home, especially if there is more than one colony.

These insects are relatively small, but in such large numbers, they aren’t invisible, especially when you know what to look for as far as risks and signs of an infestation.