Why Do Termites Swarm?

One of the questions we routinely get from our customers, is “why do termites swarm?” This is a really great question, and understanding can help prevent termite damage in the long run. Here at Emtec Pest Control, we pride ourselves on being the first Certified Sentricon® Specialists in the state of Oklahoma. There’s nothing we know better than termites—especially when it comes to getting rid of them!

Termite swarm season is about to begin—in Oklahoma, it typically runs from March to June—so we wanted to make sure all of our customers understand how to identify a termite swarm, why this happens and what they should do if they see termites swarming in or around their home. To start, you need to understand that termite colonies are strictly organized and each termite serves a specific role. There are the worker termites, who gather food for the rest of the colony, soldier termites, who protect the queen and build shelters to protect the rest of the colony, and reproductive termites, who breed and care for the baby termites until they can take care of themselves.

New colonies are typically formed when these reproductive termites break off and form their own, separate colonies. For subterranean termites (the most common kind here in Oklahoma) this process typically occurs through swarming. This allows termites to continually establish new colonies, explore new environments and search for new food sources—like the wood in your home, deck, fence or garden shed—to keep the population going. The springtime combination of warm weather and heavy rains forces termites out of their underground burrows and out to into the earth to look for a new place to settle and start their own colony.

Many colonies will only swarm once per season but others can swarm multiple times. So don’t assume because you’ve seen one swarm this spring that it won’t happen again. Swarms typically don’t last very long—sometimes only a few minutes. During a swarm, you’ll typically see termites in bathtubs, sinks, windowsills and around doors. After a swarm, you’ll see termite droppings—which look like small, brown pellets—and discarded termite wings in windowsills and around the foundation—which look like silverfish scales.

You also can’t assume that, because termites have swarmed around your home and gone off to form a new colony, that your home is safe. Termite wings aren’t very strong and reproductive termites don’t fly very far—they usually depend on the wind to carry them into a new location. But this means that the new colony they are starting probably isn’t very far from your home or business and this new colony could come over to your property look for wood to eat. And they had to come from somewhere—meaning there’s already an active termite colony very near your home or business.

So if you see even a single termite this swarm season, we guarantee that means there are more nearby. And for something as important as your home or business, you never want to take a chance. The Sentricon® System is the only termite control system proven through years of use and multiple research studies to eliminate every last termite and keep any new colonies from moving in. This is the only termite colony elimination system we use to protect our own home and it’s the only one we recommend to our customers.

If you have any other questions about termites, termite prevention or The Sentricon® System, contact your Oklahoma termite experts at Emtec Pest Control by calling 918-663-0613 or by filling out our online contact form. Our service areas in Northeast Oklahoma include Bixby, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Owasso, Jenks, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Skiatook, Stillwater, Tulsa, and the surrounding areas. In Central Oklahoma, we service Edmond, Moore, Oklahoma City, Yukon, and the surrounding areas. You can also connect with us on social media for more helpful pest control tips and information.