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Remember Not all Swarming Insects are Termites
Due to the number of questions we receive in early spring and summer about possible termite swarms or termite infestations we are including a quick and easy way to determine the difference between a termite swarmer and an ant swarmer.
The easiest determining factors are:
| Ants | Termites |
| three distinct sections of the body | broad waist |
| two pairs of unequal sized wings | wings are equal length |
| elbowed antennae | straight antennae |
| workers look similar to winged versions | workers light in color (almost white) |
| do not loose wings quickly after swarming | loose wings quickly after swarming |
| ranging in size depending on ant species | 3/8″ to 1/2″ including wings |
If you see swarming insects and you can not determine if they are termites or not, please contact Innovative Pest Management for an inspection of your structure. Please capture some of the swarming insects for our review.
Baiting
There are many good chemicals on the market today and baits are a particularly useful group. Baits can managing many insects, especially ants, cockroaches, crickets, many termites, and rodents. Baits are environmentally friendly and usually contain less toxic chemicals. Baits are usually specific to the target pest and can be placed in discreet areas. Baits take a little longer than sprays, however, baits may control some insects that can not be adequately managed properly by other means. Baits have an attractant to entice the pest to consume the bait and an active ingredient to kill the pest. Good insect baits are slow acting; insects should eat the bait but not die rapidly. Instead the insect will live to come in contact with other pests to expose them to the bait as well and after a short time the entire colony or group of insects will die.
Termite baiting is the most tricky of the baiting and requires a lot of time to monitor stations, put bait in or around active monitors, and keep good records of activity. Baiting termites does not require drilling throughout the structure so it is friendly to the building and the customer. Little to no liquid termiticide is required so this technique is also friendly to the environment. Baiting for termites can work well if the bait is slow acting, the monitors are observed frequently for termite activity and bait placed out when needed. Baiting for termites may take several weeks to a year to control the problem, and may require some liquid termiticide in conjunction with the bait for good control. The one downfall of baits is that they have no residual effect. Meaning that once the baits are taken out of the structure termites may enter the structure the next day. So continued monitoring and baiting is required.
For information on Spiders please visit http://www.spiderslexingtonky.com
For information on Ants please visit http://www.antslexingtonky.com
Visit http://www.myipm.com for information about termites and more! Or give us a call at (859) 271-8852 to get started today!
