RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

This is what 20+ years of termite damage looks like!!! No swarms or indications of termites. If they swarmed it was in the inaccessible (invisible) crawl space. Termites are secretive insidious pests that eat wood from the inside-out. They rarely show themselves and when they do it is often overlooked by people because they do not know what it is that they are seeing. In this particular case the floor in the kitchen was sinking and causing doors and cabinets to not shut properly.

(click images to enlarge)

The apartment owner called her management company and the maintenance person could not get the screws to bite in one area. He removed a section of wall and floor to find that termites completely decimated the structural integrity of the walls & floors. The entire place needed to be gutted & remodeled. The expense??? In excess of $20,000.00 and worse yet it IS NOT covered by homeowners insurance!!! Having professional termite protection from EHS is about the best investment you can make in your home or business!!!

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Did you know that termites cause up to $2 billion in damage per year! Here's more interesting termite facts!

• Termites are actually present in about 70% parts of the world, and its population outnumbers human beings on a ratio of ten to one.
• Termite colonies can reach up several millions of termites and most properties have multiple colonies on them.
• Contrary to popular belief, wood which has been pressure treated is not immune to termite attack; termites will enter pressure-treated wood through cut ends and cracks, and will also build tunnels over the surface.
• Termites build the largest nests of any insect.
• Termites can feed off wood as well as off paper and paper products such as books, insulation and parts of swimming pools, including a pool's liner and filtration system.
• Every termite colony has a social system. The queen and king termites are at the top of the colony, and their roles are to help the colony reproduce.
• Termite royalty is unique in the insect world because they can live for several decades. Queens can live 50 years under the right conditions.
• Termites have lived on Earth for approximately 250 million years.
• In addition to having a queen and king, termite colonies also have soldiers with bulbous heads and big jaws to protect the colony. Worker termites perform other functions such as taking care of the queen and gathering food.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA