Termites Are Tearing Up My Tampa Home

The Types Of Termites That Infest Tampa Homes

Before we discuss the two types of termites in Tampa homes, it is best to understand termite basics. Termites are insects, and like all insects, they have a body with three segments (head, thorax, abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, and antennae, may or may not have wings, and they live in colonies. 

Ants are bugs that look like termites, so when people see creamy-white termites, they assume they have ants around the house. How do you know if you have termites or ants? The easiest way to distinguish between the two species is the body. Ants are related to wasps and have a pinched waist, but termites are cousins to cockroaches and do not have a pinched midsection but rather a long, narrow body. 

The two termite species invading many Tampa homes are subterranean termites and drywood termites. Subterranean termites have creamy-white to dark brown 1/8-inch long, narrow bodies, live in the soil, and travel to their food source under the protection provided by mud tubes along the foundation of a house or tree stump. As their name suggests, subterranean termites live below the ground in the dirt, not in the wood. 

The prime target for subterranean termites is fungus-ridden, rotting wood in poorly drained areas. The odor from the fungus attracts the termites because the fungus provides them with nitrogen. Tree stumps, buried lumber, rotting fence posts, water-logged landscape timbers, and wood in damp crawl spaces are potential homes for subterranean termites. 

Subterranean termites are social insects that create large nests; a caste system consisting of a queen, king, workers, soldiers, and winged reproductive termites maintains order and provides for the colony's needs. Nests begin when a swarm of termites flies from a nearby group, and a king and queen land finds a new, suitable location. The growth of the new nest is slow for the first few years, but once the queen matures, she lays up to 1,000 eggs a day; after about five to ten years, a colony of subterranean termites reaches a maturity of 60,000 to over 1 million termites. 

Florida is home to an imported subspecies of subterranean termites known as Formosan termites. These aggressive termites infest utility poles, landscaping timbers, boats, and trusses, and, unlike their subterranean cousins, attack living trees and shrubs; they also eat through telephone and electrical insulation and cause power outages. 

Over 70,000 Formosan termites may be in a single spring swarm traveling along air currents looking for new nesting locations. When they find a suitable area, the king and queen lose their wings and begin reproducing; within a few years, a mature Formosan termite colony consists of 350,000 to millions. 

Drywood termites eat wood, like subterranean termites, but they do not live in the soil; therefore, you find this termite species in the attic, window frames, door frames, picture frames, and wood furniture. Body size is another differentiator between drywood and subterranean termites. Drywood termites have a 3/8 to 1-inch long body ranging from creamy white to light brown. Both species are social insects, but a drywood termite colony has only 2,500 members. 

EcoTech Pest Control Services is the best termite company near you. Our Green Pro Specialist will determine the termite species infesting your house when he inspects your Tampa home. 

If the infestation is from drywood termites, we will eliminate them with a liquid spot treatment if it is isolated; if the invasion is widespread, we will use a vault or home tent fumigation. When the damage is from subterranean termites, we implement Termidor HE to eliminate the termites and create a barrier around the house. If necessary, we install the Trelona® ATBS Termite Baiting Systems to allure termites and infect them with a product that destroys the nest when they return.