Termite Control in Buildings

 WHY ANTI-TERMITE TREATMENT NECESSARY FOR BUILDINGS

Q 1:  Is it for saving the Door & Window Frames only?

Ans 1:  Not at all. Sometimes you may see thin mud tunnels (See the images below) in walls, electrical wiring, in the corners of rooms, etc. These are the pathways of Termites and it can be confirmed that your building has been infested with Termites. Generally, we crush those and sweep away the spoils without thinking about the source of this amount of soil. This raw material for building the tunnels is brought by the Termites nesting below your building. Their nest may be below the foundation the floor or outside. But the mud for tunnels is carried by soldier termites from the nearest location within your building. However for surviving they will make tunnels for marching in search of food. And on locating you will sweep away the spoils without taking into account the quantity of soil. In this way, over time a void will be created in the earth below your building. Now in recent times, the frequency of earthquakes is increasing due to various geographical imbalances, and naturally, our buildings are facing considerable units of tremors. So any void creation in the soil below your building may end up in a disaster. 

Q 2:  Is it for saving the Furniture and Fixtures?

Ans. 2: Furniture and Fixtures will be the secondary target of the Pests. The Primary target will be the contents. It has been reported that, after returning from a small vacation of seven days somebody found costly clothes in the wardrobe had been partially eaten up leaving them of no use.  Materials containing Cellulose is their good food. Similarly, they can destroy your valuable collection of books. Dry wood termites will destroy the furniture.

Q 3:  In which areas Termites are very active?
Ans.:   As termites can not survive in dry weather, so they are most active in soils containing moisture like Morum Soil. That's why from Panagarh to Barakar in West Bengal, India is marked as a Termite Zone.

Q 4:  Why is a termite attack not visible within 5 - 10 years of the construction of the building?
Ans. 4:  The Termites living below/ around the soil of the building can survive 5 to 10 years consuming the left-out cellulosic materials i.e. pieces of wood of shuttering planks, clothes etc. during construction. Naturally, they emerge out in search of food after 5 to 10 years and become visible.
Q 5:  Which one is more effective Pre-Construction or Post-Construction?
Ans: Anti-Termite Treatment is basically creating a Chemical barrier between the soil below and surrounding of your building. Pre-construction Treatment starts from the excavation of trenches for the foundation and the soaking of chemicals in the soil is visible. In Post-construction Treatment soil is treated through drilled holes and soaking of chemicals by soil is not visible. Hence Pre-construction Treatment is a more effective, dependable, and genuine preventive measure for future Termite infestation.  

Q 6:  What is the expected Cost?
Ans:  In comparison to the cost of construction of a Building, cost of furniture & furnishing, cost of favorite books of your library, and valuable documents, the cost of these Treatments are very negligible. It is easily affordable by any individual who can buy or construct a building. 

Q 7: Where Termite Control is essential for saving your money?
Ans: It"s a big question but the answer is very simple. Actually if one just spends a few minutes in thinking about where the damage done even accidentally may affect him or her financially. The Warehouses, Godowns, Stores, etc. are the areas where protection from Termite activities is a must. It has been found that these places are generally lonely and dark i.e. favorable places for nesting. Cardboard, Paper, Cloth, etc are good food for Termites and these are used for packaging or labeling each stored material. So if the Label of any Injection pasted on the ample is eaten up, it will not be injected to any patient by any medical staff. Similarly, if the Cartoon of a Domestic Appliance or of a TV set is even partially damaged by Termite will not be accepted by customers as a fresh product. All these hazards ultimately lead to a financial loss of an uncertain amount. So considering Termite Control to such premises as protection against financial loss due to damage of products or commodities is 100% cost-effective.                        

Finally, termite control is also essential for Plants. Termite-infested Plants/ Trees should be treated with Chloropyriphos 20% EC.

SOMETHING     ABOUT       TERMITES

On the basis of their habitat, termites are divided in two types:

Images of : दीमक / উই পোকা  / TERMITES     

 

(1) Ground or Soil nesting i.e. Subterranean & (2) Wood nesting i.e. Non-Subterranean having no contact with Soil or Ground. Both varieties are dangerous but the Subterranean or Ground nesting type can heavily damage a building, if allowed to infest highly. Termites develop colonies below the ground of the building or sometimes in close vicinity of the building they make nests in the stump of any tree and some species even make a conical or dome-shaped mound. These colonies may persist for many years. Cellulose, a polysaccharide is the chief constituent of all plant tissues and fibers and cellulose is the basic nutrient of Termites. So Termites reach the building in search of their favourite foods i.e. wood. They also damage materials of organic origin with a cellulosic base, household articles like furniture, furnishings, clothing, stationary, etc. Termites are also found to damage non-cellulosic substances in their search for food. Rubber, leather, plastics, neoprene, and even the lead cover of underground cables are damaged by termites.

Subterranean termites require moisture to sustain their life. They normally need access to the ground at all times.They build tunnels with clay between the nest and the source of food for their movement in a humid atmosphere and darkness. These tunnels also protect them from predators.

            

            TUNNELS     

      

IDENTIFICATION OF TERMITES:

There are over 2300 species of Termites out of which about 220 are found in India.
The insect pest is also known as the "White Ant", but they are neither white in colour nor are they Ants at all. Though partially resembling true ants, they are different in structure and metamorphosis. Termites constitute a separate order of insects called "ISEPTORA" (in Greek ises means 'equal' and pteron means 'wing'). Termites have four equal wings whereas the front pair of wings of Ants are longer than their hind pair. 

A Termite colony consists of a pair of reproductive, the so-called king and queen, and a large number of sterile workers, soldiers, and nymphs. Few people believe that termites can be controlled by destroying the queen. But in reality, the colony can never be destroyed by removing the queen because when the queen is lost or destroyed, several supplementary reproductives take her place in some group of termites. All the works of the colony are carried out by the workers. Soldiers guard the colony. The adult workers and soldiers are wingless. The workers are generally grayish-white in color. The soldiers are generally darker than the workers and have large heads and longer mandibles. There are however, other types of soldiers whose mandibles are small, degenerated, and function-less, instead, the frontal part of the head is prolonged to form a long nasus through which they squirt out white poisonous fluid to dispel the enemy.

The reproductives i.e. the flying adults, have brown or black bodies and are provided with two pairs of long equal wings. At certain periods of the year, particularly after a few warm days followed by rain, these winged adults emerge on colonizing flights. This swarming, also called the nuptial flight, may take place during the monsoon or post-monsoon period. The flight is short and most of the adults perish due to one reason or the other. The surviving termites soon find their mates, shed their wings, and establish a colony if circumstances are favorable. The female of the pair or queen produces a few eggs in the first year. The rate of reproduction, however, increases rapidly after 2 to 3 years. Yet very little damage is found in a period of 5 to 10 years i.e. before their high infestation at the site. In Bengali these winged insect pests are called "Badla Poka" or "বাদলাপোকা " So wherever you find this insect pest you may conclude the existence of Termite colonies close to or below the ground of the building.                                   

RAIN DROPS ON A WING.

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                                                                               A GROWING MOUND                                              There are three ways of saving Buildings from Termite attack:

1) Constructional measures.
2) Pre-construction anti-termite treatment.
3) Post-construction anti-termite treatment.

1) Constructional measures prescribe some special type of process of construction that can prevent the entry of the subterranean termites from outside.

2) Pre-Construction Anti-termite treatment is a process of providing a Chemical barrier between the soil and the building to prevent the entry of the subterranean termites from the soil below the building or from the soil surrounding the building or from a nearby mound. This is most effective provided it is done in the prescribed method with proper chemicals. The chemicals are highly poisonous insecticides and hence professionally experienced and Licensed Pest Control Operators are the right agencies for such jobs.

3) Post-Construction Anti-termite treatment is a process of application of appropriate chemicals to repel the existing termites and create a Chemical barrier between the soil and the building to prevent further/ fresh entry of termites in the future. This is most effective if carried out by experienced professional Pest Control Operators. In the Post-Construction stage i.e. in existing buildings with infestation, the diagnosis and circumstantial management skill of the Pest Controller is the key to the 100% extermination of Termites from the site.

This Treatment is safe and has no side effects on the health of the residents.

                      

Nowadays more advanced technology for ''Eradication of TERMITES'' from your building is available. 

Earlier in the 1980s Aldrin 20 EC was in use for Anti Termite treatment. However, this Organochlorine insecticide was identified as a notorious persistent organic pollutant and was banned. Thereafter generally chlorpyrifos is being used. This is a stomach poison and acts as a repellent. Naturally, Termites leave the treated area and may come back again due to various reasons/ Hence nowadays it is wise to use Imidacloprid which is a systemic neurotoxin but remains unidentified and thus not only kill the termites on contact but also carries the toxin and infect others in the colony.

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