What are termites most afraid of? Here is how to deal with termites at home

Snakes, insects, rats and ants are the species many people fear most appearing in their homes, and among the ant-like creatures, the most detested is probably the termite. So if termites appear at home, how do you treat them? What are they most afraid of? Let's learn about it together with the Tutuliu editor below.

I. Basic facts about termites

1. Distribution of termites

Termites are found on all six continents except Antarctica, mainly distributed between 45° north and south latitude, centered on the equator. More than 3000 species of termites are known worldwide. In China, 479 species in 44 genera of 4 families are currently known, most of them distributed in the south, with a few appearing in North China and in Liaoning and other places in Northeast China. Among them, more than 70 species damage houses and buildings, with 19 major pest species. Termite activity in China is mainly distributed across the vast areas south of the Huai River, gradually becoming scarce toward the north. Moving south, they gradually increase. Except for Xinjiang, Qinghai, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and other provinces (regions), all other provinces (regions) in the country have records of their distribution; in addition, termite distribution in southeastern China accounts for about 40% of the country's total area.

2. Morphology of termites

Although the name termite contains the character for ant, it is not an ant, but a social cockroach, and is a completely different species from ants. A termite is divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen; the head has sensory organs such as antennae and eyes, and the chewing mouthparts are its feeding organs; the thorax is divided into three body segments: prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax, and in addition the mesothorax and metathorax of adults bear membranous wings; termite body colors range from white, pale yellow, reddish brown to black, and most termites we see have a milky white body color, with body length ranging from a few millimeters to more than ten millimeters.

3. Harm caused by termites

The reason everyone dislikes termites so much is mainly five aspects. First, harm to crops, mainly shown in the gnawing of sugarcane; second, harm to trees, as trees attacked by termites all become hollow and die; third, harm to houses and buildings, as termites destroy all kinds of brick and wood, roof beams, etc., and generally they hide inside wooden structures, are not easily found, and can very easily cause the collapse of houses; fourth, harm to river embankments and dams, about which there was once the saying “a thousand-li dike is ruined by an ant hole”; fifth, termites can also corrode silver.

II. How to treat termites appearing at home?

If termites appear at home, they are generally not easily found, but if you do find them, you must deal with them promptly. Below are several simple methods for everyone.

1. Use Mieyiling, a professional termite-killing agent: termites that come into contact with this medicine generally do not die immediately, but return to the nest and then die; if other termites feed on the corpse, they will all be poisoned and die.

2. Find the ant hole and ant nest: sprinkle toxic chemicals on the nest or along the paths where termites walk, so that the toxicity spreads among the termites and achieves the effect of elimination.

3. Try trapping and killing: set up trap stakes, trap pits, trap piles, toxic baits and so on, in order to eliminate termites.

But here everyone must be reminded that if the termite infestation at home is relatively serious, it is still necessary to ask professionals to carry out the removal. Moreover, if chemicals are used for elimination, be careful not to let pets and children at home come into contact with them, so as to avoid adverse reactions such as poisoning.

III. What are termites most afraid of?

Although termites are hateful, there are also things they fear.

1. Natural enemy types: in nature there are many organisms that feed on termites. Among those that capture and lure them out of the nest are: spiders, ants, dragonflies, frogs, birds, chimpanzees and so on; and organisms that destroy ant nests to feed on termites include pangolins, echidnas, giant anteaters, aardvarks, armadillos, platypuses, anteaters and so on. So all of us should protect animals such as pangolins and anteaters even more, since after all they can help eliminate termites.

2. Parasitic natural enemies: termites can also die from infection by fungi and viruses; in addition, some mites can also kill termites.

The above is all the content the Tutuliu editor wanted to introduce to everyone about how to treat termites and what they fear. If you find termites at home, do not be afraid either; if the number is not large, you can use chemicals to eliminate them, and if you are afraid of not eliminating them cleanly, you can ask a professional pest control company to come to your home.