When termites start a new colony, they do it through swarmers. Swarmers are similar to regular termites, except they have wings, and they have a purely reproductive role. Thousands of these swarmers will fly out of a mature colony at the same time, and most of them will die without managing to reproduce. The troubles do not stop there however. Even if the swarmers manage to reproduce and find a suitable nesting location, getting the colony up and running is a perilous endeavor in and of itself.
The life cycle of termite colonies
Termite colonies all start off with a swarmer, a young queen that will lay her eggs and start building out the colony and supplying it with food. Once the young brood reaches maturity however, the queen takes on a purely reproductive role, and the new workers will take care of all the tasks required to run a colony. If the nest reaches this point, it is pretty much guaranteed to survive until maturity, unless some disaster happens. A colony will need to reach maturity in order to produce swarmers of its own, which will go out and start the cycle all over again. This is how most termite species will start an infestation in the home.
How subterranean termites infest buildings
Subterranean termites will not infest a building using swarmers, although they do use swarmers to spread their colonies. Instead, subterranean termites will reach out from their underground colonies and infest multiple pieces of wood and locations that they find in the area. This makes them a much bigger threat, because a mature colony has millions of members, which can be used to infest wood and cause damage to a building much faster than other species.
Can you stop swarmers?
You can’t really stop swarmers, but you can keep an eye out for them in order to figure out if you have an infestation. It’s a particularly clear sign if you find swarmers in the home, or their wings piled up somewhere in the area. This means that there is a mature colony somewhere in the building, and you should get in touch with a pro right away. Outside of that, you can schedule regular inspections on a yearly basis with a pest control company to ensure that you have no surprises. For more information about termite swarmers or if you suspect that you have an infestation, contact us today.