If you’re like most proud home owners around the area serviced by Brezden Pest Control (with headquarters in San Luis Obispo, CA, and service along the central coast), you take pride in your home, especially its décor and furnishings.
So it’s safe to say that you’d be, at the very least, displeased, to discover an unwelcome invader had not only entered your home but was making a meal out of your favorite oak framed picture of Grandma Lucy, right?
Well, we hate to break it to you, but that’s exactly the sort of snack the pesky Western Drywood Termite will feast on upon finding its way to your photo collection. And if you suspect you’ve got this wood-gorging pest on your hands—and in your walls—you’re not alone. Many of your neighbors may be experiencing the same predicament.
In fact, the Western Drywood Termite is said to account for the majority of drywood termite damage along the California Coast. The wide dispersion may be due to the fact that this particular breed of termite is a great traveler—hitching a ride on in-transit furniture or wood with a moisture content of just 12 percent or lower.
Most of the work of the Western Drywood Termite is done by two main work groups, soldiers and swarmers. Soldiers are typically dark orange or red, with a slightly flattened head, mandibles and antennae. Swarmers are more of an orange-brown with a dark brown abdomen and roughly ½” in size, equipped with 3/8” wings.
Slow and steady is the pest
While the colony development of the Western Drywood Termite is slow, the damage is severe. The buggers work by building chambers and galleries connected by tunnels through your home’s woodwork.
Signs of a Western Drywood Termite invasion on woodwork include “surface blisters” (which conceal older, enlarged galleries) and “termite plugs” (which are intended to seal openings of infested wood). Elsewhere in your home, you may see piles of pellets and shed wings.
If you happen upon any of these signs, don’t try to uncover a nest on your own, as this can be very dangerous. And don’t panic, the experts at Brezden Pest Control are well-equipped to rid your home of these tempestuous termites.
So, take back your home—and your picture frames. Call Brezden Pest Control today at 805-544-9446