l
The swarms of flying "bugs" that are dancing around your lights in the early evening in the last week or so are more than likely alates termites. Millions of termites are leaving their mud nests with one mission, establish a new termite nest and your home could provide the perfect place for the new king and queen termites to establish their new empires.
Alates termites are the reproductive king and queen of an already established termite colony. Unlike the worker and the soldier termites, alates termites develop a set of equally sized wings so during favorable conditions (usually calm, humid evenings) they will fly out of the nest to participate in mating swarms. After they have successfully mated they land, shed their wings and try and set up a new colony.
It's normal to find these termites coming in from the outside as the termites are probably just attracted to the lights in your home or on your deck. Termites outside are a good sign you have a termite nest close to the house and if you take a walk around your garden you may see them spilling out of a nest in your garden or a tree or a log. Take note of where you see them as and call a licesned pest controller to treat for you. Don't disturb the nest as by spraying it with Morteine or kicking it over, this will not kill the millions of termites inside and will just cause them to close up and possibly relocate, making them harder to eradicate.
If the termites are coming in from inside the house, this is not a good sign
and often they will emerge out of a wall, through the plaster sometimes near door or window frames or other timber features like skirting boards. Look for little holes, known as "flight holes", these holes are often lined with brown or red mud and with winged termites dropping or fluttering around it you may even see termite heads sticking out. If you see any evidence of this it may mean you have a serious termite problem on your hands and need to call a professional pest controller for a full termite inspection as soon as possible.
If you have Alate termites inside or out we highly recommend you organise to have a termite inspection for your home with a train and licened termite inspector especially if you haven't had one in a while. It's also a great idea to make sure your home has an up to date termite protection plan in place so you can rest easy when swarmer season hits.
Results Home Services has been protecting Brisbane homes from termites for over 20 years. If you'd like to arrange for one of our experienced and licensed technicians to perform a thorough termite inspection call our friendly team today on 3823 2500 or you can contact us here!