Postby Greenhead22 » Sun May 10, 2009 11:07 am
Indoor Flying Termites
Locating flying termites inside of your home is not the most reassuring sight. There are cases that look better than others. If only a couple of swarmers are found indoors, they could have easily hitch-hiked indoors on someone's shirt or sweater or they could have merely flown through an open door or window. These pests have even been found crawling through bathroom and kitchen vents.
If large numbers of swarmers are found indoors, you need to have something done about it. One or two swarmers can be a coincidence but large numbers is definitely a sign that there is a colony in or underneath the structure.
We have many frantic phone calls from customers that want to purchase an insecticide to kill the flying termites in their home. As noted above, this is not necessary since the swarmers do not feed on your home. They are a signal that there is a colony in or beneath the structure which means that the home needs to be inspected and possibly treated by a professional that is licensed for termite treatment.
Swarming or flying termites often are seen near garage doors, other door or window frames (especially bay windows), columns supporting porches, dirt-filled porches and any expansion joints. An expansion joint is any area where two or more sections of a home are joined such as where a garage or patio is connected to a house.
If possible, sweep up the indoor swarmers and save them for your pest control operator. The number of swarmers as well their their location can be valuable evidence needed by the technician who will inspect the structure. A thorough inspection will determine the severity of the problem and what (if any) treatments are necessary.