Subterranean Termites are the most common, and the most destructive, of the three species of termites found in Florida. Believe it or not, termites cause more damage than Hurricanes, Floods and Fires combined! It’s estimated that termites cause in excess of $5 BILLION in damage to homes every year.

Subterranean Termites, as the name implies, nest in soil and live underground. They are attracted to wood or other items that contain cellulose for food and they are attracted to light.

Termites live in a caste system where the Soldiers make a large portion of the termite population. The colony is controlled by a Queen who requires several hundred of her soldiers to move her. She lays an egg every 15 seconds, meaning that Subterranean Termite colonies can grow to contain upwards of 1 million termites! Workers and Reproductives make up the rest of the colony. Termites typically swarm in the Spring.

Unlike roaches, flies or other insects commonly found in a home, the average person doesn’t encounter termites because they are living within the walls of your home. Because they can’t be seen, it is easy to feel safe from them. Surviving anywhere there is moisture, Subterranean Termites often produce secondary colonies in damp places such as around leaking/faulty pipes, a shower recess, broken roof tiles, damp wood piles and more.

With wood structures, they can tunnel undetected into your home from their nest and attack any wood structure that they happen to find. They will, quite literally, eat you out of house and home – feasting the wood and other cellulose materials that are holding your home together.

Concrete Block (CBS) Homes are not immune to termite infestations. Termites can enter a CBS home through the smallest of openings (about 1/32 of an inch). Common entry points for termites in a CBS home can be a crack in your foundation, loose mortar joints between the blocks due to settlement cracks, space around a drain pipe, and more.