8 interesting facts about Termites

Posted May 1, 2020 by Sarah Malone
Category: Termites

Diet of a white ant.

Termites mostly eat wood and other plant based fibres but are known to also consume some plastics and fabrics. Some colonies of certain species are known to eat 450kg of wood in a year! They don’t actually digest the food themselves, bacteria and single celled organisms break it down for them in their gut.

There are a lot.

It’s been speculated that the total weight of all the termites on earth would weigh more than all the humans combined. So if an alien flew past earth and scanned it, would we be a planet of humans or a planet of insects?

Home insurance won’t cover them.

As our Bega pest control friends – BVPC, point out, it’s very unlikely your home insurance cover will protect you. Insurance companies cover you for damage that’s unforeseeable or

Sneaky buggers.

The type of termites that are the worst for your home, the subterranean ones, are silent destroyers. Most of the time they can eat through your home undetected. It doesn’t help homeowners that termites don’t like light, lucky Pest Alert is around for effective termite control.

They’re not 9 to 5.

Termites never sleep, they’re 24/7 wood and home destroying machines. And we complain that our weekend isn’t long enough?

They love moisture.

Like us they need water, keep damp wood away from your house and ensure drains are working and not just building up around your foundations.

They’ve been around a long time.

Termites shared the planet with Dinosaurs! While humans are approximately 4.5 million years old, evidence of termites goes back a whopping 250 million years.

You won’t guess who their cousin is…

Cockroaches! Despite looking like ants, Termites are closely related to the cockroach. Doesn’t mean we use the same pest treatment however, effective control methods are different.