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The Termites
There are three types of termites. They are drywood termites, dampwood termites and subterranean termites. Absolutely majority of termites are subterranean termites which have their nest underground and normally live underground. If you see termites in the ground, they are likely subterranean termites. Ruan's Termite Solution only targets at subterranean termites and we will mainly discuss subterranean termites here.
Subterranean termites live underground in colonies. They require moisture to live. Each colony consists of three castes - reproductives, workers and soldiers. The termites we normally see are workers and soldiers. Their color is whitish to creamy. The length is about 1/8" to 1/4". Soldiers have large and brownish heads and large jaws; otherwise they look similar as workers. The figure on the right shows workers and soldiers (note that the figure is enlarged, in real life they are very small).
In the United States, subterranean termites include native termites and Formosan termites. Formosan termites are originated from Asia and are living in more southern states. Compared with native termites, Formosan termite colonies can be huge. A Formosan colony can easily consists of several millions of individuals, while a native termite colony can have several hundred thousands of termites.
During certain seasons mostly in spring after a rain, you might see flying termites (also known as swarmers or alates). They are termites which are ready to start their own colonies in new places. Swarmers cannot damage your property, but their children could. Some people are confused with flying termites and flying ants. The figure on right shows the comparison of a flying termite (swarmer) and a flying ant. The workers and soldiers, you normally see, do not have wings, also they are white to creamy instead of dark color. However, other differences from ants still exist, such as termites have broad waist and straight antennae while ants have slender waist and elbowed antennae. The following figure on the left shows termite swarmers.
The following figure show lifecycle of termites including different castes.
Termites only eat cellulose which is commonly found in wood, cardboards, papers, etc. They can enter your properties to eat the wood from the wooden structures and cause serious damage to your properties.
The following figure shows how heavily in different parts of the United States are affected by termites.
Image Source: Suiter DR, Jones SC, Forschler BT. Biology of subterranean termites in the Eastern United States. Bulletin 1209. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Extension
Dampwood termites normally infest in damp and decayed woods and normally are not a threat to houses. Drywood termites normally infest in a limited area. The figure below shows the distribution areas of drywood termites. Where the red and yellow areas indicate drywood termite activity areas. If you are living in the red and yellow areas, you need to know whether you are dealing with drywood termites or subterranean termites. If you try to kill or prevent termites from the ground, Ruan's Termite Solution is the right one. However, Ruan's Termite Solution, as well as other ground-insertation termite baiting solutions, is not effective for drywood termites. For more information about drywood termites you can visit http://www.livingwithbugs.com/drywood_termite.html.
For more information about termites, you can also read web resources in section of "General Knowledge of Termites".
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