Modern termite control methods aim to prevent infestations in structures, as preventing a termite infestation is less costly and stressful than treating an active infestation. Although barrier and baiting systems currently protect many homes from subterranean termite...
Historically, termites have belonged to their own taxonomic order, Isoptera. However, recent phylogenetic studies have revealed that termites actually belong to the Blattodea order, which is comprised of 4,400 cockroach species. While the cockroaches that people are...
Unlike drywood and dampwood termites, neither of which can be found in Massachusetts, subterranean termites live below the ground surface where workers gather food for their nestmates by excavating foraging tunnels in the soil. The most economically significant,...
Cellulose is the organic plant compound that termites rely on as their sole source of nutrition. Cellulose is most abundant in the hard cell walls of plants, and it’s the compound that gives plants structural strength. Cellulose is most abundant in stems and wood, and...
Hundreds of millions of years of living below ground have made subterranean termites highly dependent on soil contact. The ground soil contains a significant amount of moisture that subterranean termites need in order to thrive. In fact, subterranean termites will...
