Termites
Damage: Subterranean termites eat mostly the spring wood and leave the lignin- containing summer wood which they cannot effectively digest. Hence, damage wood appears to be layered. Also, soil is typically found in the galleries.
A typical mature colony may consist of 60,000 to over a million workers. Sixty thousand workers can/may eat 1/5 ounce or 5 grams of wood each day. At this rate, such a colony could completely consume 2 1/3 linear feet of a pine 2"x 4" board in 1 year. However, there may be several colonies associated with a single building.
Biology: Subterranean termite have 3 castes: workers, soldier, and reproductive (primary and secondary). Colony founding via alates or swarmers proceeds with the swarmers associating in pairs, breaking off their wings, and burrowing into the soil. Here they mate and only a few eggs are produced the first year. When the queen is mature she will produce about 5,000 - 10,000 eggs a year. The queen may live for many years and workers may live 1-2 years. Several years are required before the colony reaches the typical mature size of 60,000 or more workers. Under ideal conditions a few alates/swarmers may be produced after 3 or 4 years. Swarming typically occurs during the spring but it may possibly be followed by one or more smaller swarms until winter. Swarming occurs during the daytime, typically during the morning of the day following a warm rain.
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Carpenter Ants
Damage: The only external indication of infestation other than the presence of workers and/or swarmers is the appearance of small openings or windows on the surface of the wood. Through these, the workers expel debris which consists of sawdust-like shavings and/or fragments of insulation and insect body parts. The accumulation of such debris below such holes is a good indication of an infestation. Inside, the galleries follow the softer spring wood with numerous connections through the harder/dark summer wood. The gallery walls are smooth, with a sand-papered appearance. The active galleries are kept clean of debris. They prefer to attack wood softened by fungus and are often associated with moisture problems.
Biology: Black carpenter ant colonies are of moderate size, usually containing over 3,000 workers ( up to 10-15,000 including satellite nests ) when maaturity is reached in about 3 to 6 years. The typical carpenter ant mature colony contains about 10-20,000 workers, with large colonies having up to 100,000 workers. Developmental time ( egg to adult ) for workers takes at least 60 days. Workers are polymorphic, with majors, minors and intermediates present. There is usually only one functional, wingless queen per colony. Swarmers are not produced until the colony is more than 2 years old. Swarmers appear from May until August in the east and from February through June in the west.
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Bed Bugs
Habits: Bed bugs harbor in cracks and crevices during the day and come out to feed at night. Typically they can be found around mattress buttons and beading, in boxsprings or their coverings, and in any crevice of a wooden bed frame, such as where members join.Other places to check are wall hangings such as picture frames, night stands, stuffed furniture, baseboards, cracks, behind loose wallpaper, light switches, door and window frames, conduits, etc. In heavy infestations, bed bugs may be found in wall voids, attic, and other enclosed places. They will crawl considerable distances to obtain a blood meal. They can be introduced into a structure via used furniture or in the belongings of someone who has been living in a bed bug infested situation. Adults can survive for up to 6-7 months if they are well fed and they can feed on other animals if humans if humans are not present. When the temperature falls 61 degrees F/16 degrees C, adults enter semihibernation and can survive for months.
Bed bug infestations have been found in transportation vehicles such as boats, trains, airplanes, and buses as well as in movie theaters where they typically harborage in seats and associated frames. Besides the characteristic obnoxiously sweet odor, the other primary clues to an infestation will be the presence of bed bugs and/or small red to reddish brown fecal spots here and there on surfaces.
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House Mouse
Habits: Mice are very social. Related males and females are compatible, but unrelated male mice are typically very aggressive toward one another. Social hierarchies with one male dominating lower-ranking males result in the maintenance of territories, which may include a large number of females as well as lower-ranking males, most of which will be related. All mature mice tend to show aggression towards strangers of either sex that enter their territory, which is marked with urine. Territory size varies but it is usually relatively small. If food and shelter are plentiful, they may not travel more than 4-5 feet ( 1.2 - 1.5 m ) from their nests.
Mice are inquisitive. During the daily territorial patrol, they will explore anything new or changed, and establish new travel routes if needed. Mice are nibblers and eat only small amounts of food at any one time or place. Although mice will eat many kinds of food, seeds are usually preferred. There are 2 main feeding periods, at dusk and just before dawn, with many other "mini" feeding times in between. They will sample new foods but return to the old food unless the new food is preferred. Required moisture is normally obtained from their food but they will take free water when available, especially when feeding on high-protein food. When given a choice, they prefer sweetened liquids over plain water. They preferred nesting sites are dark, secluded places where there is abundant nesting material nearby and little chance of disturbance. Nesting materials include paper products, cotton, packing materials, wall/attic insulation, fabrics, etc. Mice are nocturnal in habit. They require an opening of greater the 1/4" ( 6 mm ) to gain entry.
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Cockroaches
Habits: Cockroaches are found throughout structures but show a preference for warm ( 70 degrees F/21 degrees C ) and humid places. They are usually found in kitchens and secondarily in bathrooms, but infestations often occur in rooms where people eat and drink while watching television such as the den, bedroom, etc. Any crack or crevice located near a source of food and/or water is prime harborage, and they spend about 75% of their time in such harborages. First instar nymphs require a crack of about 1/32" whereas, adults require a crack of about 3/16" in width. These cockroaches are most commonly introduced into buildings via paper products or paper packaging such as grocery bags, cardboard boxes, drink cartons, and via second- hand appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, VCR's, microwaves, etc. They have been observed to migrate from building to building on warm evenings, but this rarely occurs. Although uncommon, they can survive outdoors during the warm months. They feed on almost anything with nutritive value including all kinds of food, and such things as soap, glue, and toothpaste.
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