Termites

Title

Termites

Year

1937

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

284 THE YOUNG CITIZEN Octobe-r, 19;; l Termites Have you ever gone downstairs one early morning and found a mound of earth near your stairs? Perhaps you just glanced at it indifferently but your mother must have given an exclamation of annoyance as she said, "ANAY again! Oh, we will soon have the roof of our house on our heads." She might have ,lsked you if you happened to know of any way to destroy anay or white ants. Now what do you really know about these destructive insects? Their correct name is termites, although they are often called white ants. This is probably b(cause the workers of most kinds_ of termites arc white, but termites really are not ant.'\. During certain seasons of the year the adult ter-. mites fly away from the colony, usually in large swarms. At night they are attracted by the li~ht and enter our hollses. "Ah, it will rain tonight," is the belief of the old people when they see these flying termites. The next morning many pieces of broken wings may be seen about the lamp .but few it any termites. Those that escaped begin to estJ.blish new colonies, each colony being started by one male and one female, or the king and queen. Before starting the colony they break cff their wings if they did not get them broke!l off accidentally in the flight, because wings arc ia the way when burrowing into the ground O!" wood. The place selected for the colony deprnds upon the particular kind of termites. The ground termite seeks a suitable place in the ground and the house termite one in some crack or crevice of wood in the house or furniture. Termites are found all over the world. There <.re more than thirty kinds in the Philippine Islands. Unfortunately the most common kin9 is also the most destructive. This termite des1 '"OYS the framework of houses by eating them away and leaving them shell-like and weak. It may eat books, furniture. clothing, and other material too. Though this t~rmite eats away the timbers of buildings it is believed that in crder to get moisture it must keep a connectior. with th:? ground. The qti.een and young stay not in the house but in the ground. The workP.rs of these insects first enter the house from the ground. Sometimes they build their cunnels over stone or concr\?te walks or foundations in order to get to the wood of thz house. The best way to destroy this termite is to find these tunnels and follow them to their colony and then destroy the colony and the queen,. above all others, for she lays the eggs. Termites may also be poisoned. A kind of ScIU.tion called Paris Green is blown into the caiials of the nest with a dry sprayer. The workers get this on their bodies and spread it through the channels. All are poisoned that eat it. Other termites eat the dead bodies and get poisoned. One kind, called the house termite, lives in small colonies in. boards of the house, picture frames and furniture. Their presence may be detected by the small piles of little round pellets of waste from their bodies that they drop thru the openings of the boards. They are often C:llled gorgojo or bucbuc (borer). It is difficult tc keep this. ~ind of termite from entering. f\ l:ouse because they_ fly into it in their winged state arid it is difficult to get rid of them because they do not need to keep a ground connection. About all. that cafi be done is to destroy as many as possible of the flying termites and watch for the· p"resence of a coiony befofe it gets large enough a'iid the~ poll.ring or squirting kerosene into their smclff'.tunnels. The ·best slogan to <l<lopt with termites is "DANGER! Be always on the alert for them." And destroy them at th( first signs of their presence in the housC.

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