Publication E-5
July 1977
Purdue University
Cooperative Extension Service
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907

TERMITE CONTROL IN EXISTING STRUCTURES
Gary W. Bennett, Extension Entomologist
It is not difficult to identify termites and termite damage. However, people often mistake winged ants for termites and become unnecessarily alarmed. Actually, the difference is quite pronounced. A swarmer termite is generally black in color, has a rather straight body and four cloudy white wings equal in length and twice as long as the body. The winged ant, on the other hand, may be similar in color but has a wasp-like waist and four clear wings unequal in length and much shorter.
The white, soft-bodied worker termites, although seldom seen are the ones that do the damage. They eat the soft grain of wood, leaving a thin shell outside and a splinter effect inside.
WHEN AND HOW TO CHECK FOR DAMAGE
A termite's natural habitat includes stumps, posts and other wood that comes in contact with the ground. Because termites may be found in these materials near the home, does not necessarily mean the home is or will be infested. To check for termites, probe any wood near the foundation or soil with an ice pick or screw driver, especially the plates, header joists, ends of floor joists, and any hardwood flooring. Presence of earthen "shelter tubes" on foundation walls and wood is also evidence of infestation. Termites build the tubes from bits of soil, which they also use to close up breaks in the surface of infested wood.
If you find damage, there is no great hurry to apply control measures. Termites work slowly, and a few weeks' or even months' delay is of little consequence. If you plan to use commercial pest control service, check carefully into the experience and reliability of the operators in your community.
PRINCIPLES OF CONTROL
Termites need wood for food and soil for moisture. Wood in contact with soil is ideal for termite development. But if this does not occur, the insects may build shelter tubes to bridge or span foundation walls and other masonry that separate wood from soil. Tubes are constructed on the walls or inside them in voids or cracks. Occasionally termites are established without soil contact when a leaky roof or pipe provides moisture.
Infestations often develop in soil under slabs of concrete, such as garage floors, patios and filled porches. From here, the termites enter the building through structural wood or foundation walls adjacent to the slab. In cases of houses built partly or completely on slabs, infestation is through expansion joints, cracks and utility openings.
The basic principle of termite control is to break the connection between wood and soil. This is done by laying down a chemical barrier to eliminate all possible points of entry. Any one of the insecticides listed in Table 1 can be used for this purpose.

WHERE AND HOW TO TREAT
In most cases, termite control is a job
Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, State of Indiana, Purdue University and U. S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating H. G. Diesslin, Director, West Lafayette, Ind. Issued in furtherance of the Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. It is the policy of the Cooperative Extension Service of Purdue University that all persons shall have equal opportunity and access to all programs and facilities without regard to race, religion, color, sex or national origin.
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