Work, work, work; day in and day out, work! In the words of the infamous seven dwarfs, “Hi ho! Hi ho! It’s off to work we go…” Some experts say that many people work too much, and it can supposedly cause a myriad of health issues, while others say that there are too many people who don’t work enough. Either way, work is certainly a big part of our lives, but it isn’t our whole life; thankfully, we do stop to rest. This is not so in the life of a termite.
Eastern subterranean termites have a very specific caste system in their enormous nests. When a termite is hatched it has to be one of 3 types: worker, soldier, or winged ‘young’ kings and queens (atlases). No matter which it happens to be, it is all about work.
The soldier’s life is just as you may guess it to be by its name. They are destined to a life of defending their colony. They defend against all possible threats; the largest threat being the marauding ants. These soldiers are on guard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, standing in the gap between their colony and outside threats.
A worker termite is the smallest yet most numerous class of the eastern subterranean termites. These teeny, almost translucent and soft bodied creatures literally work from the moment that they are born until the moment that they die. They are blind, sterile, and wingless. They spend every second of their two-year life span serving the rest of the colony by doing all the work that is needed. They work in the nest gathering food (timber and cellulose); repairing and enlarging the nest; making tunnels; and feeding and grooming each other, the soldiers, and the king and queen termites. They also are the caretakers for the nymphs until they reach maturity.
The life of a king or queen is quite different from that of the soldier or worker termite. Kings and Queens are born with one purpose in mind, to fly away from home and start a new colony. These termites are born with wings to help with their chosen destiny. These are the ones that you see flying about while they are ‘swarming’. They are not strong flyers; they more or less are swept along by the wind until they land. Upon landing, they drop their wings and find a suitable mate and location for their future colony. Once they have linked up with each other, the queen termite spends her entire life as an egg laying machine. She is enormous in size compared to the other termites and can live up to 25 years, producing more than 2,000 eggs each day. The king stays by her side in their central chamber where they are tended to by the worker termites. Such is the life of a king and queen termite.
There are no vacations when you are a termite which means that no matter the season, these busy creatures are moving, working, and destroying. There is a false thought that these destructive pests are a seasonal threat. Let me assure you that this is not the case. Termites are active year round and for your investments to be protected from them you need year round protection. Here at All-American not only can we give you year round pest protection, but we offer the ultimate in year round termite protection with the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System. With this unique and industry leading termite control system you can rest assured that termites are not working their way into your home or business.
Don’t get worked up worrying about termite control. Contact us today and we’ll take this worry right off your hands.