Just Below the Surface

There’s been something brewing just below the surface for quite a while.  If I had to guess, I’d say it started around four years ago.  It started small.  It was nearly invisible to me for years.  Then, by greed or ravenous hunger, it began spilling out from the depths in search of something to satiate its unending hunger.  What started as something easily avoidable grew into an army with chaotic intent.

Last week, we had a pest control expert come and evaluate the extent of the damage.  We talked of drones and workers, queens, and breeding flights.  We signed off on the service plan and set a date to exterminate our unwanted guests.  He even offered me a job because I showed an aptitude for bugs and their ways.  As tempting as that was, I politely declined.  The irony of paying in dollar bills made of cellulose to rid us of an organism that feeds primarily on that substance wasn’t lost on me. 

I learned a lot about termites between our discovery and their extermination.  For example, I learned a new term called “psychogenic itching.”  Picture this—tiny insects are crawling all over your scalp.  Although termites don’t necessarily do this, my mind didn’t care.  Every time I thought about those cryptic burrowers, my head would itch as if they were digging into my brain.  Psychogenic itching is the official term for that phenomenon.  It can also be called “suggestive itching.”  Now that I’ve mentioned this, scratch your head.  I’m sorry.

Our little colony of subterranean termites took residence beneath the concrete slab in our living room.  It was formerly a carport that was converted sometime in the 1980s.  We first noticed the winged adult termites as they poured out of our window sill on the outside.  They were emptying out of tiny holes I hadn’t noticed.  They also came from a crack in the concrete beneath that window. 

The more I looked, the more I saw where they’d been feasting.  Initially, without looking too closely, we just thought they were winged ants.  This is the time of year when ants and termites will produce breeding alates—the winged ones.  They have what are called “nuptial flights” to start new colonies.  I’d been splitting lots of wood in the backyard recently and figured it was more of those ants.  I didn’t pay any mind to the window sill at first.

My moment of epiphany came while we were sitting in the living room one Sunday evening after spotting the “ants” and we saw twenty or thirty of the winged buggers crawling across our floor.  My wife began to panic as she swept up the “ants” and a moment of sheer gut-dropping fear hit me when I picked one up.  I took invertebrate zoology in college and loved it.  Still, I’m rusty and held the insect aloft as I conferred with Google.  My suspicions were verified.  I tried to downplay what I knew this meant as Jess kept sweeping.

A colony has to be mature to send out winged fliers.  There’s only one reason they send those out.  That is to start new colonies.  We had to act fast.  The next morning, we made the calls and set things in motion to quell the swarm.  After more internet searches, I learned that although we found the termites in the window sill and a few other places, they don’t live there.  True to their name, subterranean termites live underground.  They commute from below ground and munch on wood, cellulose, and other organic materials above ground.  The workers are nearly blind and follow chemical cues to food sources. 

After speaking with the pest specialist, he confirmed my research.  He explained the process to get rid of them would require drilling deep holes in the shape of an “L” in my living room.  Since it was built on a thick concrete slab, they’d have to drill through the floor and get below it every foot along the affected wall as well as the wall that connects to the rest of my house.  We would then have to put bait stations in the yard every ten feet surrounding the house. 

Yesterday was termite Armageddon.  The holes were drilled and then filled with poisons.  Although it will take a few weeks for them to die off, we have a plan in place to prevent their return.  The bait traps will further limit their access to other parts of our house.  Having this little peace of mind went a long way for Jess and I.  It will be worth the price we paid if it solves the problem.

The takeaway is that sometimes the little things are just below the surface.  When they rise from the deep, you might feel like panicking and overreacting.  It’s normal.  Usually, when we look back at those little things, we see that the signs were there all along.  A little preventative maintenance could have prevented the severity.  Then, sometimes stuff just happens out of your control.  The important part is taking action swiftly and decisively.  Kill those buggers where they live. Maybe now my head will stop itching.