Wood Destroying Insects
Termites
Termites are arguably the most destructive pest causing $Billions in damage to homes in the US each year and are capable of destroying nearly any home that they infest if ignored.
Termites are indigenous to Illinois and have been found in approximately 1 in 50 homes. Termites may live as deep as 300 feet under ground and feed in a 5 acre pattern, which means that if any home on a city block has been known to have termites, all homes on that block are at risk.
At first glance swarming ants and swarming termites look similar, however close observation will show that the termites wings are twice the length of its body (which is much longer than an ants wings. Also the body of an ant will have 3 distinct segments (head, thorax, and abdomen), compared with a termites 2 distinct segments (head and abdomen).
Termites are not a pest you want to try to treat yourself, nor is it a pest you want to ignore.
If you think you have Termites, call us at 630-883-0291 immediately. We’ll have a Certified tech out to answer your questions and give a free quote.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Ants don’t grow up, but you will see them in different sizes from 1/4”-1” in length, with or without wings, because they have different jobs with their colony. A typical Carpenter Ant problem involves 2-10 total colonies.
You should think of a Carpenter Ant problem as a WAR that you are fighting on several fronts, because you have multiple colonies outside, and probably have multiple colonies inside as well.
(In some pest control manuals, the military term ‘bivouac area’ is used to describe how hundreds of Carpenter Ants without a queen will temporarily occupy a location inside a home, similar to the way military soldiers without a leader will occupy a location away from their main base.)
It is important that you know that Carpenter ants require large amounts of liquid water, and that if you see them you DO have some type of standing water problem, somewhere inside or very close to your home, that may be damaging your home in addition to the Carpenter ants … And that is the primary reason you have this problem. If you find water spots on drywall or elsewhere, or you know that windows leak, or that a bathtub or etc. leaks, then you have probably found one of the several colonies that must be dealt with. THIS IS A WOOD DESTROYING ANT (think Termite). Carpenter Ants cause perhaps a $Billions in damage per year in the USA alone, and a Carpenter ant colony can do significant damage, to your roof, in a short period of time.
ADVICE for Carpenter Ant elimination: Accept only a CERTIFIED Professional. It requires significant knowledge and experience to understand and totally eliminate a Carpenter ant problem, therefore I do not recommend that you try to work on this problem without the help of a Certified pest professional. Also, I should mention that attempts to resolve this problem alone, i.e. before calling a certified pest control professional, usually makes the problem more difficult resolve, because these attempts drive the Carpenter ants away from the discovered location and deeper into the structure to many unknown locations, or if you bait you may kill the ants discovered before they can be used to carry more potent products to the nest).
So… If you are lucky enough to identify where even one colony is, DON’T TREAT WITH ANYTHING, not even baits. Call a professional, who will use that one location to very great advantage in winning the war, instead of winning a battle with just a few hundred ants.
Powder Post Beetle
Powder Post Beetle larvae do significant damage to homes for many years before they emerge from wood as flying adults. For example: The lactid PPB (pictured) may remain in wood and do damage for up to 11 years.
Look for small holes (inset picture) in basement wood, that appear made by ‘darts’.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter Bees can be a nuisance to homeowners, as they tunnel into wooden decks, eaves, porches, etc. If you see what appears to be a Bumblebee emerging from a perfectly round ½ inch hole it will be a Carpenter bee. This 1/2” entrance is only the beginning of the damage they do. Once inside, the queen makes a right angle turn and continues to tunnel up to 18”, to lay eggs. To be effective, each hole must be treated to eliminate both the queen and the young after they emerge. Treatment by homeowners is rarely effective against both, and significant cosmetic damage often continues to occur, because the problem has not been totally eliminated.