You can often find more termites where there are fungi. And lastly, the colony sends out a large number of workers in search of food – the more so you send, the better your chances of finding food. As soon as a worker gets a hit, they return to get help and leave behind a chemical trail so the helpers can find their way to the food.

The other thing about termite behavior is that termites do not sleep. They are tunneling and eat wood 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They don’t take breaks, they don’t get days off, and they are relentless. They will find any small chink in the armor of your structure, exploit it, and colonize your structure without hesitation.

Decomposers:

Termites have great importance for forest ecology as decomposers. Cellulose, the element termites crave, is naturally abundant throughout many plant fibers. Its breakdown, however, requires cellulase, an enzyme that few organisms possess. Termites are one of the few insects possessing the ability to ingest cellulose and transform it into a reusable format. This unique feature allows the insect to ingest and process unwanted materials, which includes anything from animal dung to dead plant material. The powerful mitochondria and other microbes combine within the termite stomach to process these raw materials, converting them into waste to benefit the surrounding fauna.

There are also some scientists that hypothesize that a termite is able to decrease the incidence of forest fires. Due to their desire for rotting wood, they will naturally be drawn to fallen trees and convert the rotting materials. This lessens a fire’s available fuel and removes floor clutter to create improved oxygen flow.

Nitrogen fixers:

 Termites are actually nitrogen fixers. The Earth’s atmosphere contains roughly 79% nitrogen. However, nitrogen is usually found attached to other compounds, namely ammonia. For other living organisms to properly use nitrogen, it must be removed or “fixed.” Nitrogen fixation is a unique characteristic found in only a small subset of the planet’s creatures. Termites are able to digest nutrients and separate the nitrogen from the attached atoms. By repurposing their diet into a reusable form, termites act as beneficiaries to its ecosystem. The nitrogen-rich soil brings a lift to existing plants and can now sustain the growth of new crops, improving farming plots or forest expansion.

Soil Engineers:

 In their quest to develop a hospitable environment to house multiple colonies, termites will burrow deep into the soil and create an expansive network of tunnels that provide shelter to the colony’s thousands of insects. Throughout that process, they’re unknowingly cultivating pores in the soil, which are known as “ma

Cropores:

 These open up moisture pathways in the topsoil, decreasing the runoff potential and decreasing erosion.

A supplementary benefit from their housing construction process stems from the soil relocation, as termites will transport the mineral-rich subsoil found after burrowing through the topsoil.

Food Source:

 According to globalfoodbook.com, termites are actually fairly nutritious. A study was conducted in 2012 that showed termites are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and fat while anti-nutrient components were low. The study showed that termites are a good source of protein and other micro and macronutrients, so their consumption should be promoted.

But… all these “benefits” still don’t mean we want to let termites eat our house. And your property owner probably isn’t concerned about how valuable termites are to the rainforest since most of the US isn’t rainforest.

That being said if you have discovered termite activity near your home reach out today so we can get your home protected with our Platinum Package.