Pest Control Community

April showers bring May flowers, and swarming termites.  Winged termites, aka swarmers or alates, are mature adults leaving their parental nest to found new colonies.  Thousands of them may emerge at one time, and can be homeowners first clue that there are termites nearby.  The vast majority of termites in any given swarm will die.  Outdoors, they are likely to be trapped in a spider web or eaten by birds.  Because termites maintain their nests at close to 100% relative humidity, those that emerge into our comparatively dry homes desiccate quickly—they are literally toast.  While there is virtually no chance that swarmers in your house could establish a new colony, their presence is an indication that a mature, healthy colony is located in the area.  If swarmers have emerged in a basement or subgrade space, a careful inspection should be conducted along exposed joists, exterior walls, and any boxes or paper goods sitting directly on a basement floor.  Look for the termites themselves and for the mud tubes they construct.  These emergence tubes can be somewhat remote from the main nest area, but swarmers mean that the colony is not too far away.  The extension site at North Carolina State University has some great pictures of these tubes: