Aptly called “home wreckers”, termites cause intimidating infestations and structural damage that is devastating and often very expensive to correct. Some termite swarming stories easily classify as true-blue horror stories that leave you with the impression that it cannot possibly be all true. These around-the-clock eating menaces cost American property owners more than $5 billion every year and more than 600,000 residential premises are known breeding grounds. These numbers are pretty scary.
A single termite eats up to 3 percent of its body weight every single day which means the little critter has a lot to do during the day. Termites are very active pests. A termite queen lives an average lifespan of 15 to 25 years and lays an egg every 15 seconds.
Termite damage is unsightly, frustrating, and often undetected for months. If your home or structure becomes a termite nest and breeding ground your options become costly and expensive. The average cost of termite treatment in Fort Lauderdale is more than $3,000.
Understanding and knowing the truth behind how termites can easily reduce your house to rubble may help you avoid becoming just another crazy termite horror story. We have compiled a few unbelieveable termite stories to give you real life insight into the type of damage termites may cause. Let each story inspire you to be very proactive and invite us to your home for a complimentary termite inspection in Fort Lauderdale.
Retirement Blues
A couple purchased a beautiful Southern Living home hoping to retire and live the rest of their lives there in peace and tranquility. . The house with its wraparound covered porch complete with swings, a workshop barn, two-car garage, 50-acres of surrounding space with another 10-acres of open pasture land, was just 13 years old. The couple couldn’t even spend one night in the house owing to a severe termite problem. The infestation had cause the kitchen floor to settle by more than 9 inches, the dainty ceramic tiles were beyond any salvaging, and the floor joists had just collapsed. Annual visual inspection reports kept coming up with nothing, but the truth is that almost every single piece of structural lumber was eaten by the nasty blighters. Experts deemed the house a total loss – repair would have cost more than the total price of demolishing and rebuilding the house. Peaceful retirement would just have to wait.
Dania Beach Outbreak
Florida’s Dania Beach is well known for random termite outbreaks. In 2012, termites upped the game to create a horror-movie-meets-alien-invasion scene. The Nasutitermes corniger species cause much more damage than common termites found throughout the states. The Nasutitermes corniger species termites are known to build brown tubes aboveground and particularly prefer the taste of expensive hardwoods. Everything from your open floor to the wooden handles of garden equipment signals munching season to this breed of termites who often leave a trail of shredded wheat in their wake.
A New Kind of Termite
In 2015 a new hybrid species of termites created by interbreeding between the Formosan and Asian subterranean termites was discovered. Inter-species cross-breeding wasn’t even considered a possibility till these super termites arrived on the scene. These mixed-species termite colonies are developing at a much faster rate and thus tend to cause havoc much quicker. How did this happen? Scientists believe that this is the result of the overlapping of the mating seasons of these species which may be a direct result of global warming. The good news is that these hybrid termites may not be able to reach sexual maturity or reproduce – small mercies!
Little Rock Catastrophe
In Little Rock, Arkansas the have done had their fair share of termite horror stories. Neither homes nor churches are spared by termite swarming. In 2014, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church were forced to move the location of its annual Christmas Eve service to its Parrish Hall because the structural integrity of the church building had been compromised by a dreadful subterranean termite invasion. First noticed by the janitor, all the signs of a termite invasion were clear in the church’s main sanctuary. The result was a major reconstruction of the sanctuary, and a much more intimate Christmas Eve service.
Dream House Drag
Stacey had moved into her dream home. It was tucked away in Winter Park, Florida, just outside of Orlando. She noticed that her hardwoods were beginning to peel. Termites plagued her home and it was later determined that they simply loved her soil and thus technicians had to take extreme measures and treat the soil. Our termite treatment specialist in Fort Lauderdale can help you determine the best way to handle your termite challenges.
Even a small colony of termites (approximately 60,000) can easy decimate a 2” by 4” in just 5 months. If you thought such horror stories were limited to wooden structures, think again. Some species of termites eat through lead, mortar, plaster, and even asphalt. If you live anywhere in Arkansas, where Formosan or subterranean termites thrive, termite control must become your number one priority.
If you believe you have an infestation, don’t disturb it – the termites will just stealthily move away to destroy another part of your home. Call a Fort Lauderdale termite control specialist for expertise on how to solve this problem immediately.
