Wood-destroying insects identification
These insects can cause serious damage to your property.
Your home or business is one of your biggest investments, and there are several types of wood-infesting insects capable of causing serious damage to its structure. Unfortunately, this damage is seldom covered under homeowners insurance.
Termites damage over 5 million homes in the US annually, causing over $5 billion in property damage. The experts at Steve’s Pest Control have the experience, expertise, and service programs to best protect you and your property.
Signs of Wood-Destroying Insects
- Look for insects themselves: Termite swarmers, discarded wings, large black or red ants, or large bees
- Termite mud/shelter tubes on foundation walls, sill plates, rim joists, etc.
- Blistering in drywall, behind wallpaper, wood trim, or any other sign of damage
- Sawdust piles
- Holes in wood or tunneling
- Droppings that resemble yellow-splattering near carpenter bee drill holes (half-inch diameter holes)
Wood-Destroying Insects Identification
Carpenter Bees
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 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 yourmhome some protection from them.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are a relatively large species of ants in Missouri. Known mostly for 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 feed on plant juices and other insects. Carpenter ants bite and 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 in wall voids. Outdoors, their 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 Missouri, and can easily be mistaken for swarming termites when found.
Powder Post Beetles
Powder post beetles are small insects, typically under 1/4 inch long, that cause significant damage to seasoned hardwoods by boring narrow tunnels as larvae and leaving behind fine, flour-like sawdust. They are second only to termites in wood destruction and are often identified by small round exit holes (1/16 to 1/8 inch in diameter) in furniture, flooring, and structural wood. These beetles breed in the sapwood of hardwoods, laying eggs in exposed wood pores. Larvae develop entirely inside the wood, emerging as adults one to five years later, often unnoticed until damage appears. Infestations can persist for generations if left untreated, leading to the ultimate destruction of the affected wood.
Eastern Subterranean Termites
The most notorious wood-damaging insect in Missouri is the Eastern Subterranean Termite. In fact, it is said that there are two types of homes in Missouri: those that have termites, and those that will. Eastern Subterranean Termites. The queen of a termite colony can live up to 25 years and lays about 900 eggs per hour. She’ll produce one of three main colony members: a worker, a soldier, or a reproducer. Worker termites live 4-5 years, do not sleep, and are continually foraging beneath the soil from the surface down to 30-feet of depth and up to a 400 foot radius of its colony in search for wood. Once a food source is established, worker termites consume it, return to their colony, regurgitate it, and feed the others. A large termite colony can consist of over one million active workers and can consume from 5”-15” board feet per year.
