We strive to be minimally invasive while completely inspecting your home in order to provide a customized comprehensive strategy to rid your home of destructive termites.
Through the identification and treatment we can remove and revent termites from returning and damaging your home even more.
We commonly deal with a couple different kinds of termites in our work as termite exterminators. Treatment methods for both varieties are similar to what we do for ants and other varieties of insect: use a combination of sprays and baits to manage termite populations.
Colony SizeTermites are social insects which live in large colonies, though the dampwood termite has a smaller colony size when compared with other termite species. There are three castes in their society: reproductives, workers, and soldiers.
Characteristic | Description |
---|---|
Color | Brown |
Length | Lengths up to 3/4 inch |
Appearance | Termite antennae have bead-like segments. The winged reproductives (swarmers) have a pair of long wings (equal in size) attached to the last two thoracic segments. The wings are broken off after swarming. The abdomen is broadly joined at the thorax unlike the narrow abdominal attachment found on ants. |
Breeding | The founding male and female create a sealed chamber in infested wood and within two weeks produce approximately 12 eggs. A second batch of eggs is laid the following spring. |
Where they live | These termites infest almost any kind of wood and tolerate very high levels of moisture. They often are found in dock and wharf pilings, logs, stumps, and dead trees – though water-damaged wood in a house or other structure may attract their presence. |
Food Source | Unlike carpenter ants, termites do eat wood. |
Behavior Notes | The western species swarm in summer through fall. Most species swarm in the evening and are attracted to light. |
Signs of presence | Beyond tunnels dug in the ground and in wet wood, fecal pellets are oval with flat sides, about 1/32 inch long and the color of the infested wood. |
Risks | Termites can cause damage to wood. They do not carry any diseases which affect humans, and are not harmful from a medical standpoint unless there is an allergy concern. |
When we engage a client for termite control, we look for the telltale signs of dampwood termites and recommend ways to manage their colonies for the long term.
Colony SizeAn average colony consists of 60,000 to 250,000 individuals but colonies numbering in the millions are possible.
Characteristic | Description |
---|---|
Color | Cream-colored to black |
Length | Lengths up to 1 inch |
Appearance | Depends on their position within the colony, though in general they possess large heads and long abdomens. |
Breeding | A mature queen produces 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year. |
Where they live | Subterranean termite colonies are usually located in the soil from which the workers build mud tubes to structural wood where they then feed. |
Food Source | Termites digest cellulose in wood with the aid of special bacteria within their digestive system. The workers prefer to feed on fungus-infected wood but readily feed on undamaged wood as well. |
Behavior Notes | Subterranean termite colonies are established by winged reproductives which usually appear in the spring. Swarms usually occur in the morning after a warm rain. A male and female that have swarmed from an established colony lose their wings and seek a dark cavity inside which they mate and raise the first group of workers. Both of these reproductives feed on wood, tend the eggs, and build the initial nest. |
Signs of presence | Beyond tunnels dug in the ground and in wet wood, fecal pellets are oval with flat sides, about 1/32 inch long, and the color of the infested wood. |
Risks | Termites can cause damage to wood. They do not carry any diseases which affect humans, and are not harmful from a medical standpoint unless there is an allergy concern. |
When we engage a client for termite extermination, we look for the telltale signs of subterranean termites and implement ways to manage their colonies for the long term.
OIRC consistently gets 5-star reviews from our customers – the highest praise we can get as a local Gresham pest control business. Here’s what some of our clients have said about us:
There are two reasons some termite control companies have monthly service plans: a desire for a larger stream of income and the use of diluted or insufficient products. We find that when we do our job right, the most we need to visit one of our clients is once a quarter or bi-annually in the spring and fall.
We do what it takes to remove pest control problems, and often that means killing them. Our traps do seek to cause minimal pain to pests as they dispatch them.
There are two reasons some termite control companies have monthly service plans: a desire for a larger stream of income and the use of diluted or insufficient products. We find that when we do our job right, the most we need to visit one of our clients is once a quarter or bi-annually in the spring and fall.
We do what it takes to remove pest control problems, and often that means killing them. Our traps do seek to cause minimal pain to pests as they dispatch them.