Universal Pest and Termite

UniversalPest.com

2011-02-15T18:38:00.001-08:00

http://www.UniversalPest.com

FindPestCompanies.com

2011-01-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

Universal Pest & Termite is pleased to annouce we are the exclusive pest control company in the Hampton Roads area on www.FindPestCompanies.com.

http://www.findpestcompanies.com

Pest Control Insulation

2010-10-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

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502-0200

We Vacuum out contaminated insulation

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The Insulation Man The Insulation Man The Insulation Man The Insulation Man The Insulation Man The Insulation Man

The Insulation Man services Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton,Newport News

Thermal insulation is a material having air-filled cells or voids, or heat-reflective surfaces, which retard the transfer of heat to cold.

Acoustical insulation retards the transmission of sound.

Pest control insulation, while performing the other functions of thermal and acoustical, is labeled to control listed insects. By Federal law, such insulation (and the manufacturing plant) must be registered with the US EPA, and carry an EPA-approved label. Additionally, the product must be registered with the pest control authorities in each state in which it is sold or manufactured. Because T·A·P is an EPA-labeled pesticide, in many states only a licensed PMP may sell the insulation.

Why choose The Insulation Man ?

The Insulation Man is a division of Universal Pest & Termite who has been servicing the Tidewater area for over 10 years. Universal has been recognized as one of the fastest growing service based companies in Virginia. This backing allows us to own all of our own equipment without having to rent old, out dated equipment and jeopardizing the quality of your job.

What services does The Insulation Man perform?

- We vacuum out old contaminated insulation and dispose of it in a clean manner

- We treat attic and crawl space areas with a liquid disinfectant, sanitizer, virucide

- We clean out debri from crawl space areas that hold rodents and wildlife

- We re-install T.A.P insulation in attic to the R-30 code

- We install bat insulation in the crawl space sub-floor

- We install new foundation vents to keep out unwanted rodents and wildlife

- We seal outside openings to keep out rodents and wildlife

- If needed Universal Pest & Termite can perform pest services

- Mold testing and treatments

Mold in attic Access Cover

- We install access covers. Keep the heat in and the rodents out.

Contact our office for a FREE INSULATION INSPECTION 502-0200

Why should you have you attic cleaned and disinfected?

[ rodent urine ]

T·A·P saves energy. T·A·P saves money by decreasing energy bills. It keeps homes cool in summer and warm in winter for less money: Comfortable year-round. Because T·A·P is denser than fiberglass insulation, air does not move through it well, so it resists heat transfer by convection, as well as conduction and radiation. And since there aren’t the leaks and drafts associated with ordinary insulation, mechanical systems don’t work as hard and can be down-sized, further saving money. Areas in the home maintain more uniform temperatures between floors and ceilings, upstairs and downstairs, even next to exterior walls. Comfort. Conservation.

All-Natural, Permanent, and Environmentally Friendly, too. T·A·P is Green! Well, not in color, but T·A·P is permanent, made from all-natural boric acid and recycled newsprint; thus while you’re saving energy, you’re also conserving landfill space.

Click for video

Most houses are cellulose (made from wood and forest products). T·A·P contains a fire-retardant chemical that actually makes homes safer in case of fire. Ordinary fiberglass insulation can melt, creating a chimney-like effect in a wall. T·A·P, with its fire-retardant characteristics, forms a charred surface barrier which limits the spread of fire.

Blown-in T·A·P forms a perfect fit in your wall or attic when applied, seeking nooks and crannies, filling the entire cavity. As every homebuilder knows, stud cavities are not uniform in size; thus, gaps and voids form when uniformly sized batts are used. Unlike fiberglass batts,T·A·P is never cut on the jobsite, or stuffed into the cavity to fit behind pipes and conduits, reducing the R-Value. With T·A·P, the R-Value stays in the insulation! And that means the added value
stays in the home and becomes a permanent benefit you can sell to the next owners.

Contact our office for a free insulation assessment 502-0200

The Insulation Man installs T.A.P. insulation, the leading blown insulation product with a built in pest guard product blended in. This cellulose insulation is fire resistant and fits your attic perfectly. We also vacuum old insulation out and bag it using our custom vacuum system which allows the process to be performed with little to no mess. Attic insulation, crawl space insulation,sub floor insulation basement insulation, blown in insulation, bat insulation.We install insulation in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake,Norfolk,Portsmouth,Hampton,Suffolk and Newport News.Ther are other insulation companies in the area but only one Insulation Man.

Contact Information

Please fill out and send this form to contact our office or call 502-0200
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Content copyright 2009-2010. Universal. All rights reserved.

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Western Branch office open

2010-08-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

August1, 2010. Our new office in Western Branch is now open and ready to serve you in Newport News, Hampton and Suffolk. Waiting for your call. 502-0200

Real estate agent contact information

2010-06-17T11:07:00.001-07:00

Dwaine Wilson

Long and Foster Realtors

3575 Bridge Road, Suite 6B

Suffolk, VA 23435

(757)635-8122

dbwjdw@cox.net

termite information

2010-05-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

General Ways to Kill Termites:

1) Liquid Termite Treatment - Liquid termiticides are sprayed around your house to kill or repel any termites coming into contact with them.

2) Termite Baits - The other major way to kill termites, baits are placed around your home and gradually kill off a colony by spreading small amounts of pesticides through the workers.

3) Borate Termite Treatment - Borate treatments are applied directly to wood in your house, sort of like a coat of paint. This is best done when the house is being constructed, however.

4) Fumigation - A method that only works on a specific species, the drywood termite, that is common in the Southernmost parts of the United States.

"Swarmers" or Winged Termites

The kind of termite that people see most often is a flying termite. They look a lot like ants - you see them swarming around in a big cloud, and they will crawl towards light sources, often entering your home through windows or cracks. They are not a specific species of termite - rather, they are a class in the termite caste system called swarmers or reproductives. Their presence indicates that somewhere nearby is a colony of termites. If you see them coming out of your house and flying elsewhere, that's a bad sign - that means they are probably living in your home.

Subterranean Termite

This is the most common kind of termite. They are found throughout the continental United States, so you will have to be on guard pretty much anywhere. They're also generally the kind of termite that does the most damage to a house. There are several different species, but the common thread is that they live underground, forming a colony that connects between the dirt and the wood in your house. They get food from the wood in your house, and water from the moisture in the soil. If there's no direct connection between the two, they will often build mud-based tunnels to connect them (a sure sign of an infestation).

Property Damage From Termites

How badly can termites hurt your home? Well, throughout the United States they cause billions of dollars in destruction every year. They can destroy things ranging from wood, trees on your property, books, plants, and even parts of swimming pools. Just by existing, they can prevent you from selling your home - no one is going to want to buy without getting rid of them first and assessing the extent of the damage, and many home sale contracts are conditioned on successfully passing a termite inspection.

Protecting Your Home From Termites

If you don't already have termites, then there are a lot of things you can do to prevent an infestation in the first place. For the most part, home remedies and "natural" ways of dealing with them will ONLY prevent an infestation. If you've already got a colony in or near your home, you're going to have to have an exterminator get rid of it. You can, however, cut down on chemicals and costs by some simple termite prevention techniques. They aren't foolproof, but they will reduce the chance of another infestation.

Termites can cause significant damage to buildings if they go undetected and untreated. The following termite pictures can help you identify termites so you can deal with them.

Subterranean Termites

These are subterranean termites. Due to their nature they tend to be very hard to find. They stay underground where it is moist, since heir bodies require moisture for them to survive. The termite picture on the left shows two termite workers at the top of the picture and one soldier termite at the bottom.
Sometimes they find wood under or on the ground near them. Things like wood piles or even landscaping wood are prime targets for subterranean termites. If they can't find a wood source on the ground, they will build termite tubes up to a wood source. These tubes will run up foundations or can even be straight up off the ground. These tubes keep the termites in contact with the ground and protect them from predators as they go between their colony and their food source. The presence of these tubes running up your foundation or on walls is a sure sign of subterranean termite activity.
Termite Swarmer

Click here to watch a video of termite swarmers.
Getting Professional Termite Help
It is hard to remove termites, especially if the damage is widespread. What you need to do is seek the help of experts. Please contact us to for more information.

Free Inspections
Back to Home Page

Following is a list of hot topics you should know about pests:

Termite Swarmer You Tube Video

Ant Types

Indentifying Termites

Facts about Roaches

Ants versus Termites

Termite Pictures

We support our military and offer additional discounts. See coupons and discounts.

Virginia Beach - 757.502.0200
Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk - 757.410.4214
Penninsula, Suffolk - 757.962.0340

© 2008 Universal Pest & Termite Inc
Content copyright 2010. Universal Pest & Termite. All rights reserved.

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Ant Information

2010-05-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ants

There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world.
An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a second grader was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a car!
Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies!
Ants don't have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet.
When ants fight, it is usually to the death!
When foraging, ants leave a pheromone trail so that they know where they've been.
Queen ants have wings, which they shed when they start a new nest.
Ants don't have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes.
When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce.
Although ants are frustrating when they get into your home or when you're having a picnic, ants do help the environment. They are social insects, which means they live in large colonies or groups. Depending on the species, ant colonies can consist of millions of ants.

There are three kinds of ants in a colony: The queen, the female workers, and males. The queen and the males have wings, while the workers don't have wings. The queen is the only ant that can lay eggs. The male ant's job is to mate with future queen ants and they do not live very long afterwards. Once the queen grows to adulthood, she spends the rest of her life laying eggs! Depending on the species, a colony may have one queen or many queens.

Ant colonies also have soldier ants that protect the queen, defend the colony, gather or kill food, and attack enemy colonies in search for food and nesting space. If they defeat another ant colony, they take away eggs of the defeated ant colony. When the eggs hatch, the new ants become the "slave" ants for the colony. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the eggs and babies, gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds.

PREVENTION:

Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.

Argentine Ant

This species of ant is native to Argentina and Brazil and was probably introduced to the United States in freight ships around the 1890's. These ants can be found in southern states and in California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Washington.
Size: 1/16" to 1/4" Legs: 6
Shape: Segmented, Oval Wings: Varies
Color: Dark Brown to black and shiny Antenna: Yes
Common Name: Argentine Ant Class: Insecta
Kingdom: Animalia Order: Hymenoptera
Plylum: Arthropoda Family: Formicidae
Species: Linepithema humile

DIET: Argentine Ants prefer sweet substances but will eat almost anything including meats, eggs, oils and fats. Also, when foraging for food, Argentine ants leave pheromone trails everywhere they go, instead of just from nest to food source. This habit ensures they do not waste time visiting the same area twice. While in other ant species worker ants are primarily responsible for gather food, Argentine queens also assist with foraging for food.

HABITAT: Argentine ant colonies are located in wet environments near a food source. These colonies can grow to monumental size, sometimes covering entire habitats, such as an entire garden or your whole back yard.

IMPACT: Argentine ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving their bodily waste behind.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter Ants get their name because they build their nests in wood. That can cause significant damage to the wood in your house. There are nine types of carpenter ants throughout the U.S. and range in size from one-quarter inch (about the width of a pencil) for a worker carpenter ant to three-quarters of an inch (about the size of a quarter) for a queen carpenter ant.

Each colony is established by a single, fertilized queen. She starts her nest in a cavity in wood, where she raises her first brood of workers. She feeds them saliva and does not leave the nest or feed herself during this time. When they are ready, those workers then get the job of gathering food to feed the next generation. Once mature, this first generation of worker ants work to increase the food supply for the colony. The colony population grows very rapidly. A colony can eventually produce 2,000 or more workers. Size: 5/8" Legs: 6
Shape: Oval Wings: Varies
Color: Range in color from red to black Antenna: Yes
Common Name: Carpenter Ant Class: Insecta
Kingdom: Animalia Order: Hymenoptera
Plylum: Arthropoda Family: Formicidae
Species: Camponotus

DIET: Carpenter ants do not eat the wood they remove during their nest-building activities, but deposit it outside entrances to the colony in small piles. The diet of carpenter ants includes living and dead insects, meat, fats and sugary foods of all kinds, including honeydew and nectar from plants.

HABITAT: Carpenter ants build nests anywhere they can find water and moldy or damp wood, such as tree stumps, firewood or in the plants around your house. Carpenter ants also build nests inside, usually entering buildings through wet, damaged wood, although it isn't uncommon for them to adapt to drier environments.

IMPACT: Carpenter ants don't carry disease, but when building a nest inside a home, Carpenter Ants dig smooth tunnels inside the wood. These tunnels weaken the wood and potentially damage the wood that keeps the house standing. This kind of damage can be very expensive to fix.

Odorous House Ants

This ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smells it gives off when crushed and the fact that they commonly nest in or around houses. Native to the United States, these ants are very social, living in colonies of up to 100,000 members.
Size: 1/16"to 1/8" Legs: 8
Shape: Segmented, Oval Wings: Varies
Color: Brown or Black Antenna: Yes
Common Name: Odorous House Ant Class: Insecta
Kingdom: Animalia Order: Hymenoptera
Plylum: Arthropoda Family: Formicidae
Species: Tapinoma sessile

DIET: Odorous house ants like to eat dead insects and sugary sweets, especially melon.

HABITAT: Typically living for several years, these ants commonly make their homes in exposed soil, under stones, logs, mulch, debris and other items. They will also nest in wall and floor cracks.

IMPACT: Odorous House ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.

Pavement Ants

Although these ants can live inside, they get their name because they make their nests in or under cracks in pavement. They are typically found in the eastern half of the United States, California and Washington. Pavement ant colonies average 3,000 to 4,000 members and have several queens.
Size: 1/8" Legs: 6
Shape: Segmented, Oval Wings: Varies
Color: Dark Brown to Black Antenna: Yes
Common Name: Pavement Ant Class: Insecta
Kingdom: Animalia Order: Hymenoptera
Plylum: Arthropoda Family: Formicidae
Species:Tetramorium caespitum

DIET: These ants will eat almost anything, including insects, grease, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, meats, nuts and cheese.

HABITAT: This ant gets its name because it most commonly nests in soil next to and beneath slabs, sidewalks, patios, and driveways. Indoors, pavement ants nest under a building's foundation and within hollow foundation walls.

IMPACT: Pavement ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.

Red Imported Fire Ants

Red Imported Fire Ants are more aggressive than other ant species and have a painful sting. These ants and their telltale mound nests should be actively avoided. Red Imported Fire Ants can adapt to many climates and conditions in and around their environment. For example, if the colony senses increased water levels in their nests, they will come together and form a huge ball or raft that is able to float on the water!
Size: 1/8" to 3/8" Legs: 6
Shape: Segmented, Oval Wings: Varies
Color: Dark Reddish Brown Antenna: Yes
Common Name: Red Imported Fire Class: Insecta
Kingdom: Animalia Order: Hymenoptera
Plylum: Arthropoda Family: Formicidae
Species:Solenopsis invicta

DIET: They primarily feed on vegetation.

HABITAT: Red imported fire ants will build their nests in mounds of soil outdoors, in landscape areas or near a building's foundation. They occasionally enter buildings through holes or cracks in walls and foundations.

IMPACT: The sting of a Red Imported Fire Ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.

Free Inspections
Back to Home Page

Following is a list of hot topics you should know about pests:

Termite Swarmer You Tube Video

Ant Types

Indentifying Termites

Facts about Roaches

Ants versus Termites

Termite Pictures

We support our military and offer additional discounts. See coupons and discounts.

Virginia Beach - 757.502.0200
Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk - 757.410.4214
Penninsula, Suffolk - 757.962.0340

© 2008 Universal Pest & Termite Inc
Content copyright 2010. Universal Pest & Termite. All rights reserved.

Register Domain Name

Cape Henry Mens Tennis

2010-05-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

Cape Henry Mens tennis team finished as a finalist in a hard fought 6-2 loss to Richmond Collegiate yesterday. This was the first visit to a state final in the schools history.Tanner Baine, Seth White,Eric Smith,Mason Smith,Chris Ostrowski,Robert Ashford and Chris Armistead along with team manager Brittany Pilkington should be very proud of their efforts this weekend. Next year starts today!!!

New web site

2010-05-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hey guys; try our new web site

http://www.AntPestControlSite.com

Fun video

2010-04-21T10:59:00.001-07:00

Click Here

Our military appreciation vehicle

2010-04-21T10:55:00.001-07:00

Must watch video

2010-04-21T05:19:00.000-07:00

The usual suspects video Click Here

www.FindTermiteCompanies.com

2010-04-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Try this new [ Free ] service for finding a qualified termite company.Just enter your zip code and it will list any pre-qualified company in your area.

www.FindTermiteCompanies.com

Universal Pest and Alison Creamer pod cast

2010-04-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Shawn and my self met with Alison Creamer to do a pod cast. This seems like agreat idea. You can gain a bunch of usefull information in a short amount of time. How about giving it a listen and post what you think.Click below for the link. Alison is a real estate agent in our area and has been a friend to Universal Pest & Termite for years. Her contact info is on the link.

alisoncreamer.podbean.com

Universal Pest and Termite- Shawn and George Pilkington

2010-04-16T16:04:00.001-07:00

Universal Pest and Termite- Shawn and George Pilkington

Posted using ShareThis

Roaches

2010-04-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

WARNING: THIS POST MAY CAUSE A LOSS IN APPETITE. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK. LOL.
This post is part of the Did You Know? series on Listfied.
1. The largest roach ever discovered lives in South America, is six inches long, and has a one-foot wingspan.
2. There are about 4000 species of cockroach, of which 20 are associated with human habitations.
3. Cockroaches can easily live without their heads for an entire week, because its brain is not in its head. It’s brain is all over his body. It dies only because it doesn’t have a mouth (you cut it off with the head), and so it cannot drink, and it dies of thirst.
4. Cockroaches have white blood.
5. A typical cockroach has 6 legs with at least 18 knees.
6. A female roach mates only once, and stays pregnant for the rest of her life.
7. “Cockroach tea” is known to have medicinal properties: it is used to treat edema (inflammation). Also, processed cockroaches have been used for hundreds of years to cure illnesses.
8. Cockroaches have been around for a long, long, long time. They are believed to have originated during the Carboniferous era, about 280 million years ago.
9. Cockroaches spend 75% of their time resting. Lazy.
10. Cockroaches aren’t always coloured dirty-brown. Tropical cockroaches have all sorts of colours: red, green, yellow…
11. Cockroaches can hold their breath for 40 minutes. The best a human can do is about 9 minutes. That’s why humans shouldn’t have a breath holding contest with cockroaches
12. Cockroaches have exoskeletons: their skeletons are outside their bodies, which protects their bodies.
13. Cockroaches shed their outer skin, like snakes do. A cockroache which has just shed its skin is white, with black eyes. It remains this way until the new skin comes on.
14. Along with being used for medicinal purposes, cockroaches have been used in sauces and appetizers.
15. Female cockroaches release “perfumes” called pheromones. These pheromones attract male cockroaches.
16. A cockroach doesn’t need a large hole or crack in the wall to get through. A hole with as small a diameter as .5 mm can easily hide a young roach.
17. Cockroaches breathe through their sides, and not through their noses.
18. Cockroaches can run at a speed of up to 3 miles an hour. That’s the walking speed of the average human.
Sources
http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/roaches/pg000097.html
http://www.essortment.com/all/cockroachanthro_ryoa.htm
http://www.roachcom.net/rofacts/

Ants

2010-04-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ants
There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world.
An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a second grader was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a car!
Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies!
Ants don’t have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet.
When ants fight, it is usually to the death!
When foraging, ants leave a pheromone trail so that they know where they’ve been,
Queen ants have wings, which they shed when they start a new nest.
Ants don’t have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes.
When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce.
Although ants are frustrating when they get into your home or when you’re having a picnic, ants do help the environment. They are social insects, which means they live in large colonies or groups. Depending on the species, ant colonies can consist of millions of ants.
There are three kinds of ants in a colony: The queen, the female workers, and males. The queen and the males have wings, while the workers don’t have wings. The queen is the only ant that can lay eggs. The male ant’s job is to mate with future queen ants and they do not live very long afterwards. Once the queen grows to adulthood, she spends the rest of her life laying eggs! Depending on the species, a colony may have one queen or many queens.
Ant colonies also have soldier ants that protect the queen, defend the colony, gather or kill food, and attack enemy colonies in search for food and nesting space. If they defeat another ant colony, they take away eggs of the defeated ant colony. When the eggs hatch, the new ants become the "slave" ants for the colony. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the eggs and babies, gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds.
Argentine Ant
This species of ant is native to Argentina and Brazil and was probably introduced to the United States in freight ships around the 1890’s. These ants can be found in southern states and in California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Washington.

Size: 1/16"to 1/4"
Shape: Segmented, Oval
Color: Dark brown to black and shiny
Legs: 6
Wings: Varies
Antenna: Yes

Common Name: Argentine Ant
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Species: Linepithema humile
DIET
Argentine Ants prefer sweet substances but will eat almost anything including meats, eggs, oils and fats. Also, when foraging for food, Argentine ants leave pheromone trails everywhere they go, instead of just from nest to food source. This habit ensures they do not waste time visiting the same area twice. While in other ant species worker ants are primarily responsible for gather food, Argentine queens also assist with foraging for food.
HABITAT
Argentine ant colonies are located in wet environments near a food source. These colonies can grow to monumental size, sometimes covering entire habitats, such as an entire garden or your whole back yard.
IMPACT
Argentine ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving their bodily waste behind.
PREVENTION
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Ants get their name because they build their nests in wood. That can cause significant damage to the wood in your house. There are nine types of carpenter ants throughout the U.S. and range in size from one-quarter inch (about the width of a pencil) for a worker carpenter ant to three-quarters of an inch (about the size of a quarter) for a queen carpenter ant.
Each colony is established by a single, fertilized queen. She starts her nest in a cavity in wood, where she raises her first brood of workers. She feeds them saliva and does not leave the nest or feed herself during this time.
When they are ready, those workers then get the job of gathering food to feed the next generation. Once mature, this first generation of worker ants work to increase the food supply for the colony. The colony population grows very rapidly. A colony can eventually produce 2,000 or more workers.

Size: 5/8"
Shape: Oval
Color: Range in color from red to black
Legs: 6
Wings: Varies
Antenna: Yes

Common Name: Carpenter Ant
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Species: Camponotus
DIET
Carpenter ants do not eat the wood they remove during their nest-building activities, but deposit it outside entrances to the colony in small piles. The diet of carpenter ants includes living and dead insects, meat, fats and sugary foods of all kinds, including honeydew and nectar from plants.
HABITAT
Carpenter ants build nests anywhere they can find water and moldy or damp wood, such as tree stumps, firewood or in the plants around your house. Carpenter ants also build nests inside, usually entering buildings through wet, damaged wood, although it isn’t uncommon for them to adapt to drier environments.
IMPACT
Carpenter ants don’t carry disease, but when building a nest inside a home, Carpenter Ants dig smooth tunnels inside the wood. These tunnels weaken the wood and potentially damage the wood that keeps the house standing. This kind of damage can be very expensive to fix.
PREVENTION
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.
Odorous House Ants
This ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smells it gives off when crushed and the fact that they commonly nest in or around houses. Native to the United States, these ants are very social, living in colonies of up to 100,000 members.

Size: 1/16"to 1/8"
Shape: Segmented, Oval
Color: Brown or Black
Legs: 6
Wings: Varies
Antenna: Yes

Common Name: Odorous House Ant
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Species: Tapinoma sessile
DIET
Odorous house ants like to eat dead insects and sugary sweets, especially melon.
HABITAT
Typically living for several years, these ants commonly make their homes in exposed soil, under stones, logs, mulch, debris and other items. They will also nest in wall and floor cracks.
IMPACT
Odorous House ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.
PREVENTION
Avoid using other individuals' combs, hats, towels, etc.
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.
Pavement Ants
Although these ants can live inside, they get their name because they make their nests in or under cracks in pavement. They are typically found in the eastern half of the United States, California and Washington. Pavement ant colonies average 3,000 to 4,000 members and have several queens.

Size: 1/8"
Shape: Segmented, Oval
Color: Dark Brown to Black
Legs: 6
Wings: Varies
Antenna: Yes

Common Name: Pavement Ant
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Species: Tetramorium caespitum
DIET
These ants will eat almost anything, including insects, grease, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, meats, nuts and cheese.
HABITAT
This ant gets its name because it most commonly nests in soil next to and beneath slabs, sidewalks, patios, and driveways. Indoors, pavement ants nest under a building’s foundation and within hollow foundation walls.
IMPACT
Pavement ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.
PREVENTION
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.
Red Imported Fire Ants
Red Imported Fire Ants are more aggressive than other ant species and have a painful sting. These ants and their telltale mound nests should be actively avoided. Red Imported Fire Ants can adapt to many climates and conditions in and around their environment. For example, if the colony senses increased water levels in their nests, they will come together and form a huge ball or raft that is able to float on the water!

Size: 1/8" to 3/8"
Shape: Segmented, Oval
Color: Dark Reddish Brown
Legs: 6
Wings: Varies
Antenna: Yes

Common Name: Red Imported Fire
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Species: Solenopsis invicta
DIET
They primarily feed on vegetation.
HABITAT
Red imported fire ants will build their nests in mounds of soil outdoors, in landscape areas or near a building’s foundation. They occasionally enter buildings through holes or cracks in walls and foundations.
IMPACT
The sting of a Red Imported Fire Ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.
PREVENTION
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.

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Swarming Termites? Ask Universal Pest & Termite

2010-04-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year when the flowers bloom , birds sing and termites swarm. What does it mean when termites swarm? They are simply expanding their colony.The reproductive [Swarmer] does not actually eat wood. Many companies will not reveal this but it's true. The termite caste is set up much like the bee. They have a reproductive to do just that, reproduce. They have the soldier to protect the colony. They have a queen who just keeps laying eggs.They have the worker, this is the little guy who does the damage.The worker termite eats cellulose [wood], brings it back to the colony and regurgitates for everyone to enjoy.Subterranean Termites in the Virginia Beach area generally can eat approx. two feet of 2x4 within a years time. Visit www.UniversalPest.com for more photos , video and other important things to look for or give us a call 502-0200.

Termites
Termites are extremely tiny creatures (about 10mm in length), with the majority being a whitish, almost see through color, with soft bodies, 6 short legs and 2 antennae. Only the reproducers have wings and eyes to enable them to seek out other colonies; the rest of them don't fly.Reproducers and soldiers are slightly darker than the workers, with soldiers having longer and more powerful jaws so they can defend the colony against attack. The queen is the biggest of the colony, usually around 10cm in length.
How to Tell the Difference Between Ants and Termites
Termite vs Ant: It can often be difficult to tell the difference between them, particularly as termites are often mistakenly known as "white ants". While similar, they're certainly not the same and shouldn't be labeled as such. It can be even more confusing when trying to tell the difference between swarming termites and flying ants, but a good indicator is the length of the wings, if you can see them well enough. If not, wait until the swarm is over - if they've left piles of tiny wings then they're termites, as it's only those who shed their wings after swarming.Termites are also better at hiding than ants, and you're very unlikely to see them above ground unless they're swarming or if you're lucky enough to expose them. Ants, on the other hand, aren't quite as shy.

Subterranean Termites
Termites belong to numerous species and this may become an additional confusion on your being able to know how a termite looks like. Among them, the subterranean termites would be the most frequent to be found in many homes.Not everyone is familiar with what termites look like. But being able to correctly identify them is critical, for this would mean you would be able to save your home from considerable damage. These termites survive on paper products and wood and for those who are not in the know, all termites could harm their library and furniture. What should be your utmost concern though are the so-called worker termites.The termite colony consists of several groups: the soldiers, the swarmers, otherwise known as reproductives, and the workers. Most of them look like grains of rice. The soldier termites have mandibles and the reproductive termites posses wings. Worker termites are close to the appearance of the reproductives, although they are smaller and without wings. These termites have the biggest number in the colony and they are identified as the wood eaters.

The Differences Between a Flying Ant and a Termite Swarmer
When you see termite swarmers, it is a sign that there is already an ongoing termite infestation of your home. They, the swarmer termites, are responsible in propagating termite colonies. There are some people who suppose the swarmer termite and the flying ant look the same. Actually, they are not.While the ant appears to have a head, thin abdomen, and thorax, the termite appears to have only a head and a straight body. They both have four wings; however, the flying ant has longer front wings compared to the rear wings with very obvious vein marks. All the four wings of the swarmer termite, on the contrary, are of the same length and are much longer than its body and without any vein marks.A flying ant's antennae are somewhat bent that end in a somewhat small-club while that of a swarmer termite has beaded antennae, which do not curb with no club-like ends, pointing away from its body.

Getting Professional Termite Help
It is hard to remove termites, especially if the damage is widespread. What you need to do is seek the help of experts. They use proven methods to solve a serious problem like termite infestation.Their methods may include the use of chemical treatment to avert termite attack on the structure of your house. Another is the baiting method where wooden baits are applied with chemicals, which will ultimately kill the termites.

Common Signs of Termite Infestation
The Old House Web
Learn the warning signs before your house becomes a meal!
If you're a homeowner, you probably had your house inspected for termites before you bought it. But even if no termites were found at the time of purchase, you still should watch for these pests, according to an entomologist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
"To protect your investment and save yourself a lot of trouble, learn the signs of possible termite infestation," says extension entomologist Steven Jacobs. "One symptom of infestation, swarming termites, usually takes place in the spring."
In nature, termites perform a beneficial function by breaking down wood and cellulose for use by other organisms. In buildings, they may feed on structural wood, wood fixtures, paper, books, cotton and related products. "When structural damage becomes apparent, it usually is the result of years of infestation," Jacobs says. "Generally, termite problems only occur 10 or more years after construction."
Eastern subterranean termites can be found throughout Pennsylvania. These social insects live in colonies underground, where they feed mostly on old roots, tree stumps and fallen limbs.
Each colony consists of three castes: workers, soldiers and winged reproductives. The workers are creamy-white and are rarely seen unless infested wood is broken open. These quarter-inch-long termites are the ones that feed on wood and cause damage. The soldiers have elongated yellowish heads with large jaws and are about the same size as adult workers. They protect the colony in case of invasion.
The kings and queens, or reproductives, are dark brown or black, and reach up to one-half-inch long. They have two pairs of wings, which drop off shortly after they have "swarmed" to begin new colonies. "In Pennsylvania," says Jacobs, "swarms of winged termites usually emerge between February and June."
During this time, swarms may be found inside infested structures. Sometimes, their shed wings are the only evidence that termites are present. "Although the reproductives don't cause damage, swarming termites or their wings alone are sure signs that termites are working in a building," warns Jacobs.
Because winged termites often are confused with winged ants, it's important to know how to tell the difference. Ants have narrow, wasp-like waists, while termites have broad waists. Also, the wings of an ant are about the same length as its body, but a termite's wings are about twice the length of its body.
Termite tubes are another danger signal to watch for. Because they prefer dark, moist conditions, termites make these earth-colored tubes primarily as protected runways from the earth to the wood they feed on. They also may serve as swarming exits for winged termites.
"Look for these tubes on cellar walls, wooden posts, exterior masonry and trim around doors and windows," Jacobs says.
Wood attacked by termites has channels or passages coated with an earth-like material. Where the wood has been infested for some time, it may be largely hollowed out with passages and may look rotten. When such wood is probed with a screwdriver, many worker termites spill out.
Most infestations occur in basements and in the structural timbers just above cellar walls. Wooden posts, steps, door frames and trim embedded in an earthen or concrete floor are especially susceptible. Termites particularly favor areas around furnaces, chimneys and hot water heaters and pipes that provide warmth during winter.
Many houses in Pennsylvania are unlikely to ever have termites because they are located in low-risk areas or are constructed to resist infestations. "The less suitable the site is for termites, the less likely a colony will become established and flourish," Jacobs says. He offers several structural control recommendations:
Remove all wooden debris from around the building. Replace wooden posts, steps, trellises and other structures that contact the soil with noncellulose materials or pressure-treated lumber.
Replace badly damaged timbers with sound materials. Where possible, don't allow wood within 18 inches of the soil.
Provide adequate ventilation and drainage for basements, cellars and crawl spaces.
Fill all visible cracks and voids in the foundation with concrete or caulking compound.
Reduce soil moisture around the structure by directing run-off away from the foundation. Be sure gutters and downspouts are installed and working correctly.