Termites in Connecticut

Subterranean termites live in highly-structured, social colonies in the soil. The alates, or “swarmers” (above left), develop each year within the termite colony and are often seen in large numbers when they swarm in the Spring. A termite swarm means there is a mature termite colony nearby. The sole function of this swarm is reproduction. The alates pair off, shed their wings and return to the soil to start new colonies. This is one way termites spread in a region or neighborhood.

Subterranean Termites cause over $1 billion in damage to U.S. structures each year. That’s more than fires, floods and storms combined!

The "workers" (pictured on the right) perform all the work of the colony. They build and maintain pathways or mud tunnels to and from food sources. They tend to the queen and her young. And, they consume the structural component of wood called “cellulose” and supply this food to the rest of the colony. In Nature this is beneficial. It allows the nutrients from fallen trees, etc. to be recycled back into the soil. But when termites find a home or other structure, extensive damage may result over time.

The Sentricon System with ESP from Dow AgroSciences acts as a termite alarm. With Sentricon we monitor for the presence of termites. When we detect them in a station, we use their biology against them. Feeding Recruit II termite bait to the workers we get them to spread it to their nest-mates. This results in complete colony elimination! Then we go back to monitoring for new colonies.