What Wood Destroying Insect Do I Have?
Wood destroying insects are insects like termites, carpenter ants and carpenter bees that will create holes inside the wood of your home, either for food or for nesting. These insects can create extremely costly damage to your home, hollowing out wood and weakening your home’s structure over time. When you discover evidence of a wood destroying insect infestation, like hollow or chipped wood, piles of sawdust and tunnels or holes in wood, the most important step is identifying WHICH wood destroying insect you have. Termites, carpenter bees and carpenter ants all have distinct burrowing and feeding habits, and knowing what to look for can help you identify the culprit sooner.
Types of Wood Destroying Insects in Virginia
There are three main types of wood destroying insects that you will encounter in Virginia. The Subterranean Termite, the Carpenter Bee, and the Carpenter Ant. Subterranean termites are the most common and the most destructive. Subterranean termites live in large colonies that will slowly infest your home from the ground up, often staying well-hidden until the infestation is massive. Carpenter ants are the largest ant species in Virginia, often black to reddish in color. These ants often invade homes for a food source, and will not cause quite as much damage as termites. Carpenter bees are large, robust bees with a smooth, black abdomen. While carpenter bees may nest together and use the same galleries (tunnels in wood) over generations, they do not form colonies like termites or carpenter ants do.
Termite Damage
Subterranean termites are cryptobiotic, which means they are always hidden from sight, which greatly aids in their ability to infest homes without people noticing. They start their nests deep in the soil, hence the name, and will enter the home to forage for wood. Termites live off of cellulose, which is why they eat wood. Subterranean termites often build large, tube-shaped structures consisting of soil, excrement and saliva called mud tubes. These mud tubes are often the most obvious sign of termite damage. Mud tubes are often seen connecting the ground to the wood, and they protect the termites from drying out as well as predators.
Termites are so destructive because of their cryptobiotic nature. They will feed on the soft interior springwood, following the grain. They do not create obvious holes or galleries on the outside, meaning they often are not identified until someone goes to lean on a seemingly solid piece of wood and breaks through instead, as the termites have hollowed it out. While termites do not eat insulation, they have no problem tunneling through it to reach wood, which can significantly lower the insulation’s R-value.
Mud tubes are the most obvious signs of termites, so check for them inside your crawl space, outside near the base of the foundation and within cracks of concrete slab floors. A good way to detect termite damage is to tap the wood with the handle of a screwdriver. If the wood sounds hollow, then you most likely have termites.
Another sign of termites in your home is the presence of winged reproductives, also known as swarmers. Swarmers will most often be found along window sills, doors, light fixtures, and vents as they are attracted to light. Spotting the discarded wings of swarmers is another clue to a termite infestation. The wings of these reproductives will often break off and be found on floors and window sills.
Carpenter Bee Damage
Unlike termites, carpenter bees do not eat wood, instead they bore small, cylindrical holes into wood to make their nests. Carpenter bees build these galleries into untreated wood, where they place nectar and pollen inside to lay their eggs on, before sealing off the individual “cell” with chewed wood pulp. Carpenter bees build multiple cells of eggs inside one gallery, while also using the gallery to store food and as a secure location to overwinter in. The galleries that carpenter bees use are only a few inches in length, however many generations of carpenter bees may nest within the same wood, extending the tunnel for up to 10 feet long.
Carpenter bee damage can be very destructive as they are hollowing out the wooden structures they are nesting in to build their gallery. They are active outdoors, looking for untreated, unpainted wood. Decks, outdoor deck furniture, sheds and porches make prime target for carpenter bees. Carpenter bees will also stain the wood with their feces. Another issue with carpenter bees is they can attract animals like woodpeckers that feed on them, which can cause even more damage to the wooden structures in your yard.
When looking for carpenter bee damage, look for the small, cylindrical holes inside wood.
Carpenter Ant Damage
Carpenter ants are unique in that they will most likely not destroy any wooden structures in your home, but instead create their nests outside and then begin invading your home looking for a food supply, like regular ants would do. If carpenter ants are nesting indoors, they are typically satellite nests, as the parent colony will be located outdoors within 100 yards of the house. Carpenter ants will not actually make their nests inside wood, instead tunneling through structural wood to get access to a wall void or other hollow area of the home. While they rarely make satellite nests out of solid wood, they are attracted to moist, rotted wood and similar soft materials, which may lead them to create nests inside your insulation.
How To Prevent Wood Destroying Insects
Preventing wood destroying insect infestations before they happen is the best method of WDI control. Termites are attracted to moisture, so well functioning gutters, a good downspout, and a crawl space encapsulation job can all help reduce the moisture build up in your crawl space and home. Carpenter ants are very attracted to moist, rotting wood, so this can double as carpenter ant prevention. Keeping soil separated from wood can aid in termite prevention, as well as removing piles of wood in your yard. Stray wood left in your yard is also predisposed to becoming the main colony nest for carpenter ants. Carpenter bees are attracted to untreated, unpainted wood, so painting and varnishing your wood will help deter them.
One of the best ways to deter wood destroying insects is to seal any cracks, crevices or holes in your home. A professional pest control company like Summit Pest Control can help identify and seal any potential entry points to keep your home free of termites, carpenter ants and carpenter bees.
Wood Destroying Insect Control
If you already have wood destroying insects, it is imperative you take care of the problem as soon as possible. For carpenter ants, you must destroy the parent nest AND the satellite nests, or they will keep coming back. The best way to deal with termites, carpenter ants or carpenter bees is to contact a licensed pest control company like Summit Pest Control to work with you to build a treatment plan based on your specific issue.