do termites make nests in trees

by Hertha Mayer Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

These pests build aboveground nests in types of trees such as oak, ash, and cypress. Their colonies of 10 million or more individuals consume wood at rapid rates, causing costly damage.

What does a termite nest look like?

Thus, nests of subterranean termites are located in moist soil, from 4 to 18 inches below surface. Their nests consist of numerous galleries, interconnected with tunnels. Such a nest can be 330-690 feet in diameter.

How do you treat termites in trees?

Prune away infected wood as soon as signs of termites are discovered.
Spray liquid termiticide in a 3-foot radius around the base of the infected tree and any other nearby trees that may be close enough for their canopies to touch.
Set termite traps around the area to alert you to any new termite activity.

Do termites eat living trees?

They eat fallen tree debris, leftover wood, and tree stumps. However, termites eat not only fallen trees but even living trees, such as the ones in your garden- which is probably why you’re here. Termites destroying the trees and making them unstable and a fall hazard

Is termite tenting and fumigation safe?

Termite fumigation is safe and should not affect anyone if all the instructions laid out by your pest control specialist are followed. Thus, is it not considered dangerous to live next to a house that is being fumigated for termites. However, as a precautionary measure, it is not advised to stay near the premises during the tenting.

Types of Termites

There are two main types of termites that can cause problems to people’s homes and other parts of their property: subterranean and drywood.

What Are the Risks of Termites in Trees?

Termites in trees can actually be beneficial in certain settings, since they can “recycle” fallen or decaying trees and stumps, creating room for new growth. In a wild forest setting, for example, termites are simply a part of the natural cycle of life, death and re-growth.

Signs of Termites in Trees

One of the telltale signs that you might have termites living in the trees on your property is if you see termite holes in trees. These are just what they sound like: small holes where the insects have tunneled into the wood of the tree’s trunk or branches.

What to Do if You Think You Might Have Termites in Your Trees

If you spot any of the warning signs that might indicate a termite infestation in your property’s trees, it’s time to call an experienced termite professional. Time is of the essence. The sooner you can have your termite infestation removed, the less risk there is of damage to your home, garage or other areas of your property.

How to Prevent Termites on your Property

To prevent termites from moving in or returning to your trees, it’s important to keep up with regular tree maintenance. Always have dead or decaying limbs, trees and stumps on your property removed in a timely manner, and be sure to have the wood hauled off, burned or otherwise destroyed to ensure the termites are gone.

Trust ABC for your Termite Control

If you suspect a termite infestation in your trees, trust the termite specialists at ABC Home & Commercial Services to make a thorough inspection, properly diagnose the problem and then determine the best solution for getting rid of the colony.

What trees do termites eat?

Naturally, there are trees that termites like to feed on and those that they hate. If you live in an area with a high termite infestation, you may want to grow those that termites hate.

Signs of termites in a live tree

To identify and know if a live tree is being eaten by termites, you will check for their activities on the trunk and the roots. This is important because you can save a tree with termites if the signs are identified early enough.

Cutting down a tree with termites

Before you cut down a termite infested tree, you need to inspect if the damage has been spread to those that are around it. If the area is clear, spray a termite resistant i.e. liquid termiticide to the rest.

How to get rid of termites in trees naturally

If the signs of an infestation has been identified early and in good time, you can save a tree that has termites. Any step you use should be safe for the tree because some chemicals can burn and and destroy the tree. Here are some steps you can use to naturally get rid of termites in a tree:

The Appearance of Termites

If you haven’t encountered the termite problem before, you should know how termites that can infest your trees look like. Many times people ignore the presence of termites because they think it is just another group of insects crawling on the tree trunks.

Signs of Termite Infestation in Trees

If you don’t want to experience what happens when termites make a tree hollow, watch out for the signs of termite infestation on and around your garden trees.

Getting Rid of Termites in Trees

If you don’t want termites to make your trees hollow, you need to get rid of them the moment you detect their presence. You can do that on your own without calling for professional exterminator service.

Conclusion

If you have noticed in the above discussion, the emphasis is on identifying the termite problem because it is trickier than getting rid of them. Termites also succeed in affecting a tree to the point of hollowing it because people fail to pick up the termite infestation.

Subterranean insectes

Drywood termites

Unlike subterranean ones, Drywood termites can establish nests inside any source of dry food:

Mound-building termites

In jungles and savannah of Australia, South America and Africa mound-building termites live. Only they can build several feet tall termite mounds to get accommodated in them. Fortunately, non-tropical species don’t. Their mounds are extremely complex.

How to detect a Subterranean termite nest

Because Subterranean termites’ nests are located underground, you should do some digging to find one. As you can guess, they prefer take up their residence by the things they can eat – dead trees trunk, mulch and foundation.

Useful articles

If you interested in more information of termites we recommend you to read the following articles:

What should you do

If you spot any of the termites or what you believe to be a termite colony near your home you want to get rid of them or prevent the issue of them entering into your home in the first place. You have two options: provided you can access the colony, you can buy a product to kill them or you could termite proof your home in order to get rid of them.

The easiest way to termite proof outside of your home

Termite Bait Stations – If you have read any other article on this blog you would know that the number 1 product I recommend is termite bait stations (also known as termite stakes). Used by every single professional pest control company, it is the probably the most effect anti termite tool available today.

The best methods for killing termites

Taurus SC – Is the most effective pest control product on the market. It has the highest rating on Amazon and is what the professionals use when carrying out best control on most homes. The good thing about it, it kills pretty much any other pest, including ants, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, bees, wasps and many other insects and pests.

Signs Of Termites In Yard: What Should You Do?

You were always aware of termites—even nervous about what would happen if these destructive pests got into your home.

Identifying Termites In Grass

Every year, during the warm, humid months, some of the reproductive male and female termites leave the nest and fly out of the colony. Consequently, the most visible sign of a termite infestation is a swarm of flying termites.

Termites In Garden: Do You Need To Worry?

It’s not unusual for southern homeowners to find termites in their yard or garden while digging or planting. On rare occasions, you might even catch these insects above ground foraging at night. Termites have been known to collect grass pieces from your lawn to carry back to their nest.

How To Look For Termites

Now that we know what signs to look for, it’s time to learn how to try to perform your own visual inspection. Here’s what we’d recommend you try to determine whether you have a termite problem:

How To Get Rid Of Termites In A Tree Stump

One of the ways a termite colony can gain a foothold on your property is by feeding on a tree stump. Homeowners may notice these voracious pests set up camp in these areas and devour all they can, then move on to whatever structure is closest—quite possibly, your house.

Do Termites Come Back After Treatment?

Unfortunately, the soil in Texas and many other southern states is quite comfy for termites, so they’re going to try to come back.

Chem-free Can Protect Your Home From Termites

Want some good news? Chem-free uses scientifically-proven products to safeguard your home from these destructive pests. The compound treatment we use stays in the ground for five years, encouraging these pests to stay away. As an added line of defense, we can also install sensors in your yard that will detect when termites are getting too close.

Are carpenter ants killing my trees?

Seeing dozens of large ants coming and going out of the base of a large tree often elicits a fear that the ants are damaging the tree. Carpenter ants do not feed on wood, but they do create galleries within rotting wood to build their nest within the tree.

What are carpenter ants eating?

Carpenter ants feed on living and dead insects as a source of protein and on a sugary substance called honeydew (produced by insects like aphids and scale that siphon the sap out of plants). Carpenter ants may even forage inside a home for protein and sugar sources such as pet food, sugar, syrup and other sweets.

Are carpenter ants nesting in my home?

When you find ants searching for food within your home, it is important to first identify the ant since this will give you an indication of their nesting habits. The University of Nebraska Extension has a great Ant Identification Resources webpage.

Managing carpenter ants indoors and outdoors

Managing the problem indoors requires locating the nest and killing the ants, but also requires fixing the moisture problem and damaged wood to prevent structural problems and further ant infestations indoors.