So now is the time for area residents to schedule termite inspections and be on the lookout for alates. Even though they are no less destructive, they differ in appearance from workers and soldiers in several key ways. Here are few tips on how to spot them:
When alates swarm in the spring, they’ll traditionally have two pairs of symmetrical wings. The majority of the pests will also be ½-inch long or slightly less and have dark-colored bodies. As such, many laypeople often mistake them for flying ants. Flying ants have wings too. However, their wing sets are difference sizes. Plus, their dark-colored bodies have distinct features, like narrow areas near the thorax and jointed antennae. Nonetheless, our termite inspectors understand how some people may inadvertently mistake one species for the other. As for the soldier and worker termites, they are frequently lighter in color, smaller and wingless. As such, it is generally easy to tell them apart from winged termites and ants.
The majority of alates living in the San Francisco Bay Area will appear less than a week after a particularly hard, warm, spring rain. They’ll fly around for roughly a 24 hour period while engaging in chaotic copulation. Afterward, they’ll drop their wings and seemingly disappear again. However, they are not truly gone. They just go on to create more hidden nests and continue destroying every inch of cellulose in their wake. Thus, it’s a good idea to look for those discarded wings and then examine the surrounding areas for signs of nesting.
To learn more about the emergence of alates in springtime and schedule termite inspections during the warm, rainy days ahead, please contact us. At Times Up Termites, we can provide you with a thorough termite report, destroy the pests and help repair the damage.