Wood-Infesting Insects in Mid-Missouri

How to Tell if I Have Wood-Infesting Insects in My Mid-Missouri Home

When a wood-destroying insect has infested your home, you will definitely start noticing signs before too long. Termite colonies will relentlessly chew at the wood in your home or business until the structure is weak and destroyed. The main signs of wood-infesting insects are:

• Mud tubes on the wall connecting termite colonies to the wooden structure 
• Blisters in paint walls or wooden trim 
• Pest droppings 
• Piles of abandoned termite wings 
• Visibly-damaged wood with features such as holes, chips or tunnels

Carpenter bees have black, shiny abdomens, and their gender can be determined by the colors of their faces (males have yellow faces, females have black). These wood-infesting insects get their name from their nesting procedures. They bore holes into decks or other wooden structures across the mid-Missouri area. Male carpenter bees are territorial, and often become aggressive when humans are near, buzzing around your head to frighten you, but they have no stinger and cannot harm you. Females are capable of giving you a potent sting, but this rarely happens. Carpenter bees prefer weathered, unpainted wood, so treating or painting your wooden structures will provide your mid-Missouri home some protection from them. 

Carpenter ants are a relatively large species of ant in mid-Missouri. Known mostly by their size and color, carpenter ants are commonly black, but they can also be a solid red. These wood-infesting insects have one segment to their waist and a long abdomen containing lightly-colored dull hairs. Though their name suggests otherwise, carpenter ants do not eat wood, but instead feed on plant juices and other insects. Carpenter ants in Missouri do bite and can spray formic acid, but they do not possess the ability to sting their prey. Most carpenter ant species establish their first nest in decayed wood, and later expand or enlarge this into sound wood. Indoors, carpenter ant nests are located in wood (preferably softened by fungus rot or water damage), in insulation, or wall voids. Outdoors, nests are typically in rotting fence posts, stumps, old firewood, dead portions of standing trees, and under stones or fallen logs. These wood-infesting insects can appear inside or outside homes from spring to fall in central Missouri, and can easily be mistaken for swarming termites when found. 

Powderpost beetles are reddish brown to black in color with an elongated, narrow, and flattened body. The hard shells covering their wings are often covered with small hairs. Powderpost beetles mostly target dry, brittle wood in central Missouri homes. Signs of an infestation include small, round exit holes with very fine piles of dust beneath them. These wood-infesting insects will bring their eggs or larvae into wooden structures, such as oak, hickory, ash, and other native hardwoods. Once the eggs are hatched and the beetles grow up, they will feed on the wood and create a path for other pests along the way.

The most notorious of wood-infesting insects in mid-Missouri are easily termites. Eastern Subterranean Termites are social insects that come from a colony located underground between three to 12 feet beneath the surface. The queen of a termite colony can live up to 50 years and can lay an egg about every 15 seconds! From the egg, she’ll produce one of three main colony members: a worker, soldier, or a reproducer. Worker termites actually consume and defecate soil to make pheromone-scented trails called “mud tubes”. Once they find wood, they consume it, return to their colony and regurgitate it to feed the others. A large termite colony can consist of over one million workers, and an established colony can consume the equivalent of approximately five to 15 feet of 2x4’s per year in mid-Missouri!

• Keep moisture out of basements & attics 
• Place weather stripping in structural openings 
• Don’t place firewood or brush within 20 feet of your mid-Missouri home 
• Use treated wood for home projects like fences, foundations, & patios
• Schedule a yearly pest inspection with Steve’s Pest Control 

You can’t always prevent a pest problem from occurring in your mid-Missouri home, but you can always be prepared. If wood-infesting insects are barging in on the space you worked so hard for, call Steve’s Pest Control for an inspection immediately! The sooner we can get started on a plan to eliminate these pests, the better.