Have you started seeing flying termites pop up around your home? Once spring rolls around, termites start swarming to find new homes and food sources all over Mid-South TN. As the most destructive pests in the country, termites are a widely-feared invader, and the sight of flying termites around your home is only either bad news or worse news. Are you looking to learn more about what flying termites mean and how you can get rid of them? Read on to learn from the experts at Inman-Murphy, Inc.!
What Are Flying Termites?
Termites with wings are often called alates or swarmers. They are reproductive termites whose responsibility is to grow and spread their colony. Because they appear similar to some of the flying ants in our region, it’s important to be able to identify them in order to act quickly when they show up. Here are the main differences between flying termites vs flying ants:
- Termites swarmers have a set of two equal-sized wings. Ants have large forewings and smaller hind wings.
- Flying termites are most often lighter in color than flying ants.
- Ants have a pinched, slender waist, while termites are more broad and rounded.
If you find flying termites around your home, it could mean one of two things. Either some new termites are scoping out the premises, or you have an undetected termite infestation that’s large enough to spread.
How to Get Rid of Flying Termites
If you have swarmers visiting your home and are looking to prevent a full-blown infestation, there are a few things you can do:
- Store your firewood away off of the ground and as far away from your home as you can
- Move mulch away from the foundation of your home
- Make sure your drainage systems are directing water away from your home and especially away from your foundation
- Ensure that there are no leaky pipes or other water fixtures in and around your home
Taking these preventative measures will make it harder for termite swarmers to establish a colony in your home by blocking off easy access to food sources through damp wood. However, if you see termite swarmers in your home, you should also look around for damaged and sagging wood from termite damage. Winged termites could be a sign of a serious infestation.
Termite Removal in Mid-South TN
If you find that you have an infestation on your hands, the only way to get rid of them completely is to leave the work to a professional termite exterminator. At Inman-Murphy, Inc., we equip our termite control team with an arsenal of products and strategies to eliminate even the most established termite colonies from our customers’ homes. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you!
