The Termite Mission

Termites are on a mission. It’s called Operation Munch.

Eat. It’s all termites want to do. In the ecosystem, their role is to break down plant and wood material – good news in the forest, bad news in the neighborhood. Their trick is to tunnel from their underground colony through the soil to any source of cellulose (your home, for instance), which they devour from the inside out. You don’t even notice their work until structural timbers are severely damaged. And, as if your house weren’t enough, termites also consume fences, paper, furniture, cloth and books. 

Amazing but true.

The termites on Earth outweigh the humans on Earth. No wonder, they’ve been reproducing for more than 200 million years.

house

How much havoc does this round-the-clock eating machine wreak? Every year in the United States:

  • More than 5 million homes have some type of termite problem1
  • About $5 billion in termite-related property damage occurs2
  • Termite damage is more common than damage caused by storms, fires and earthquakes
  • The costs of termite damage are rarely covered by homeowner’s insurance

That’s the termites’ mission. Now, what’s yours? One thing’s for sure, you can’t ignore termites and the damage they cause. You’ve got to move quickly, but move smart.