Termites: Everything You Need To Know In An Essay.

Types of Termites

Termites are eusocial insects (sociality in the highest level of organization) classified as Isoptera at the taxonomic rank of infraorder (Govorushko, 2019). In order with cockroaches, termites are classified separate from them. Recent phylogenetic studies relate that they come from cockroaches because they are deeply nested in their group. Termites are one of the most successful groups on earth, colonizing every part of the world except Antarctica (Govorushko, 2019).  These colonies range in size from the largest societies containing millions of termites to the smallest group containing hundreds. Termite queens live up to 30 to 50 years. Termite queens have the most considerable lifespan of any insect worldwide. Termites are not like ants because ants undergo complete metamorphosis, but termites go through incomplete metamorphic (Eggleton, 2010). It proceeds with egg, nymph, and then adult stages. Termites are self-regulating entities; they are described as superorganisms species. In human culture, termites are delicacy diet and are used in many traditional medicines to cure diseases. Termites such as west Indian dry wood can damage buildings, crips, and many forests are considered invasive species. Termites are distributed all around the world, with 2,750 species widely. Termites play a significant role. When they are fed, they become destructive. They damage the wood structures and many vegetables that are valuable for humans. Termites are considered an introduced species because they are not like native species or well-equipped for adapting to changes in the new environment (Eggleton, 2010). They seek and live in a manufactured environment like building and cause significant damage to wooded furnishing and houses. Some of the termites live on plants and thus become serious crop pests. Termites are also beneficial in that they convert the cellulose of plants into substances that can be recycled in our ecosystem in forming new growth. Only 10% of the termites out of 2,750 are reported as pests (Eggleton, 2010).  Out of the many causes, severe damage and cost heavily. So, it has become necessary for controlling effectively whether the termites are wood-dwelling species or subterranean. Termites subterranean are reliant on manufactured wood structures and contact with the soil's moisture (Eggleton, 2010). Dry-wood termites make their nest in the wood they feed on and do not occupy soil structure. Their colonies are situated within the wood structure, and it isn't easy to control. For eliminating dry-wood termite fumigation method is used, using paints to seal cracks, and placing insecticide on holes. In 1934, some suggestions showed that termites are closely related to wood-eating cockroaches based on symbiotic flagellates. In 2013, 3,106 living species were recognized in the environment. They are classified into 12 families. Termites are found worldwide except in Antarctica (Arumugam et al., 2018). Termite diversity is low in Europe and North America and found a high number in South America. Out of 3,000 species of termites, 1,000 are found in Africa alone. 1.1 million approximately active termites are found in Kruger National Park. Four hundred thirty-five termites are found in Asia and are mainly distributed in China. Ants and termites consist of 1% of the insect species and more than 50% of the biomass of insects (Arumugam et al., 2018).  Termites are social and abundant in the world's insect biomass. In this way, termites live in the whole world and play a significant role in the environment. Termites never sleep because they build colonies all day and night, 24/7 (Arumugam et al., 2018). Termite's largest colony contain three million termites, and they always clean each other because they are hygienic. They are rich in iron, protein, fatty acid, and calcium. This report will shed light on reviewing various species of termites and West Indian dry wood termites and current practices that help remove the effect of termites in various parts of the world. This report will further shed light on which types of wood are affected mainly by the termites and current practices of getting rid of termites.

Termites and Their Behavior

The Formosan termite is the species of termite that are worldwide transported all over the world from their inherent range in China southern to Taiwan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United States (Castillo et al., 2021). They have their nickname named super-termite because due to the large size of the colonies, they are destructive habits and can consume wood rapidly. Millions of individuals live in a single colony (Subterranean termite species compared with hundreds of thousand termites). One mature Formosan colony can easily consume 13 ounces of wood a day(400g) and easily damage a structure in three months. Formosan termite never leaves that area once they create a colony in a particular area. They infest a large variety of structures containing high-rise condominiums and boats, and they also damage trees (Castillo et al., 2021).

Eastern subterranean termite is the most common termite found in the North American region. These termites are classified as pests in the United States, and it is economically essential in wood-destroying insects (Funaro et al., 2018). They feed such as paper, structural wood, books, and cotton on cellulose material. Their colony ranges from 20,000 workers to 5 million workers, and the primary queen has 5,000 to 10,000 eggs every year (Funaro et al., 2018).  These termites also divided their labour into the caste system. Both males and females live in loosely associated societies known as colonies. These termites are worker caste, soldier caste, and reproductive class. R. flavipes, along with Reticulitermes, are responsible for 2.2 billion of 80% spent annually to control termites in the United States (Funaro et al., 2018).

Figure: 1

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticulitermes_flavipes#/media/File:Reticulitermes_flavipes_K8085-6.jpg 

This is the species of termites that are found in northern Australia. It is the most primitive termite species found on earth. It has common names like Darwin termite, a giant northern termite. These termites are the closest relatives of cockroaches. Common similarities are lobe wings and laying of eggs in bunches (Kinjo et al., 2018). Mastotermes is the only living genus of Mastotermes, and it comes from the family of Mastotermitidae. Their indiscriminate paraphyletic grade of basal neuropterans and Mastotermes were traditionally placed in the Exopterygota (Kinjo et al., 2018).  Their wings look like roaches and eggs laid in a roach. Permian of Kansas developed fossil wings that are close resemblance to the wings of Mastotermes. Only reproductive contain wings, and as compared with the abdomen, their wings are considerably longer (Kinjo et al., 2018).  Their wingspan has 50mm, and their Alates are 35mm long. When the colony faces any danger, their soldiers are aware because they have an alarm defence system. There are two ways to communicate with dangers creating movements through vibrations and labial glands in pheromones secreted (Kinjo et al., 2018).

It is a species of termite that lives underground, coptotermes gestroi is the smallest of all termites, and it has the common name subterranean termite. These termites are native to Asia and are considered the most destructive pests in other parts of the world, including the United States. In Asia, this species is also known as Philippine milk termite (Wan Umar et al., 2022). These termites were determined by Kirton and Brown in 2003. Worker termites are relatively small and white, and their limbs are translucent. Soldiers are also white but more prominent than workers, elliptical heads, abdomen are dark brown, prothorax, and mandibles are forward-pointing (Wan Umar et al., 2022).  They are also divided into caste: primary reproductive, workers, soldier, and neotenic. These termites consume cardboard, wood, and paper, and sometimes they are fabric. They also attack living trees, and these trees are destroyed during the storm. They live underground and enter the building through utility conduits, expansion joints, and cracks. In Malaysia and Singapore, these termites are alone responsible for 80% to 90% of damage to manufactured structures, and these are the most familiar species of termites found in these areas of built-up (Wan Umar et al., 2022).

Impact of Termites on Buildings and Crops

It is the species of Drywood termite, and the genus is crypototermes. This termite is the native of Java, Indonesia, Australia, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad Tobago. Their houses are found in wooded structures and manufactured houses (Ranjith & Kalleshwaraswamy, 2021). These are the most distressing drywood pest termite found in the world. They are more prominent with a length of 4.55-7.15 millimetres (3/16- 9/32 inches) than the soldiers. They have tawny brown body colour, faintly tinged wings, and prominent and large sub-triangle eyes. The soldier has a yellowish-brown head and prominent genal horns (Ranjith & Kalleshwaraswamy, 2021).

These termite species come from the family of Kalotermitidae, generally known as western dry wood termite. Incisitermes are native to the western United States, North America and Northern Mexico. It is also found in many parts of the East Coast and the United States. It is also introduced in Hawaii and Toronto (Liao et al., 2018). In Arizona, it impacted the economy by almost $250 million per year. Their colony is very active during summer and spring because they prefer to be active at a high temperature. Colony includes three termites: soldier, alate(swarmer), and worker (Liao et al., 2018) Alates have an orange-brown head with an 11-12.5 mm long abdomen. They leave their colony when they are seeking a mate. Soldiers are more prominent in size and have two teeth visible from the left mandible. These termites are primarily found in the Mediterranean climate of their native ranges in surrounding regions and California. They live in oak woodland and the local ecosystem in California. Their behaviour of feeding is more hollow, and evacuations. Their activity level depends on temperature (Liao et al., 2018).

The subterranean termite species comes from the family of Rhinotermitidae that are native to Australia. They build communal nests because they are social insects (Fitzgerald & McGavin, 2020). They build their nests in a truck of trees on a mound. Subterranean passages encompass their nest from 50m to almost (160ft) allowing their workers to contact various sources of wood which they feed. These termites are distributed in Australia, parts of coastal Victoria, and other places with high rainfall. They are also found in rural areas of forest and urban areas where buildings are near. C. acinaciform have different caste that is related to each other (Fitzgerald & McGavin, 2020).

1. curvignathus was not introduced in new geographical areas, they form new nests from the fragments of the colony, which contain nymphs, and they have created their nests from tree trunks(Syazwan et al., 2021). They are distributed from Indochina and Thailand to Sulawesi. The risk contained in the introduction of C. curvignathus is not as high as with dry wood termites. They occur in a wide range of natural habitants, including hill dipterocarp and lowland forest, coastal forests, and swamps(Syazwan et al., 2021).  

It is also known as wheat termite; they are relatively more minor in size. Genus is microtermes, and they are native to India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. They are a significant pest of Wheat and minor sugarcane (Javed et al., 2021). Their body structure is cream coloured with a dark head. In the morning and evening time, their workers are more active. They affect and damage wheat when they are fully grown. Plants that are heavily affected can be pulled out easily. These termites can be controlled by predators such as anisopliae, Beauveria, metarhizium, and bassiana (Javed et al., 2021).

It is a Japanese termite, subterranean termite species that are found in North Korea, Japan, and South Korea. They eat decayed wood and live in cold temperatures in the temperate regions; Genus is Reticulitermes. They created their colonies with the help of male and female pairs. Same-sex pairs found the new incipient colony (Ahmed et al., 2016).

Effective Control and Prevention Methods

These termites are commonly known as tree termites, species of arboreal termites found in eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, Australia. In this species, soldier's termites have round heads, and mandibles are extended straight and brown-yellowish bodies (Akanang et al., 2020). Their length ranges from 5 to 7 mm (0.20 and 0.28 inches) long in size. They are found mainly in scrubland and wooded areas. They construct their nests on a higher level, sometimes as high as (66ft) 20 m above the ground level. They established their nests in the crown of the trees (Akanang et al., 2020)

It is the species of termites that come from the family of Termitidae. It is native to Asia's southwestern tropical region (Jakhar & Jat, 2021).  They cultivate a symbiotic fungus in a particular area of their nest. Workers gather dead particles of vegetables, bring them back to their colony, and then chew up their materials to make suitable subtract on which their symbiotic fungus can grow. They started swarming at the starting of April and May before starting the wet season (Jakhar & Jat, 2021).   

These termites are also known as milk termites, and they come from the family of Rhinotermitidae. These termites are native to Australia, social insects, and communal nests are built by Coptotermes lacteus (Peters et al., 2019). Nearby soil extends the network of galleries that enables workers to forage in the area of surroundings without evolving on the surface of the ground. They are also smaller compared with magnetic termite Ameitermes meridional termite of Australia (Peters et al., 2019).  

These termites are species of subterranean termites native to North America found in the southern United States. And firstly, it was described in 1907 (Raji et al., 2018). It is also eusocial species of termites characterized by colony individuals with generations overlapped in cooperating with reproductive labour division and brood care. Adults grow their wings and fly from the colony to find their mates and then start their new colony is called winged reproductive or alates. These termites are dark brown alates that fly mainly in February and May because they prefer sunny and warm afternoons after rain. They have four wings equal in length (0.76cm) 0.3inches long with thickened and hardened veins. Their presence is undetected because they live underground (Raji et al., 2018).

It is the fungus-growing termite that comes from the family of Termitidae. It is firstly described in Taiwan, and they are native to south-eastern Asia. They cultivate a symbolic fungus in the special chamber of the nest. Soldiers and workers gather dead organic particles of vegetables and then chew a substrate where fungus will grow (Feng et al., 2020). These termites are distributed in the south-eastern Asia region and range from Taiwan, Japan, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and India. Their colonies consist of a wide range of large and small chambers from the nest linked with the complex of galleries (Feng et al., 2020).

They are arid-land subterranean termite it comes from the family of Rhinotermitidae. They are found in the United State western half, occurring in the prairies, dry locations, and deserts. Subterranean termites are the genus of Reticulitermes, and they are widely distributed in the broader section of North America (Janowiecki et al., 2021). It occurs in the altitudes of the Rocky Mountains up to (7,000ft) 2,200m. They mainly attack fallen timber, logs, and deserts on greasewood and creosote bushes. Winged adults of this species are 10mm (0.4in) in length. They have broad prothorax and black legs (Janowiecki et al., 2021).

Termites as Invasive Species

Cryptotermes are the genus of termites that comes from the family of Kalotermitidae. They are one of the most economical genera of dry wood termites. It includes 70 species of Cryptotermes (Ewart & Cookson, 2014).

It is the species of subterranean termite, the genus of Heterotermes. Their natives are in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. They also extended their range from warm temperature and subtropical areas of the Himalayan foothills to the altitude of (6,600ft.) 2,000m (Hassan et al., 2019). They cause severe damage to the timber in buildings, and it is also known as one of the most destructive termites in agriculture and urban areas of the world. Soldiers are about 4.1 to 4.9 mm long. They live in underground colonies with no mounds. They attack sugarcane, and this causes damage to 90 to 100%, maize 45%, wheat 10 to 12%, orchards 80 to 90 % (Hassan et al., 2019)

It is also known as domestic dry wood termite, and it is the species of dry wood termite that comes from the Cryptotermes genus. Native to Borneo, Australia, China, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka (Scheffrahn, 2021). They are primarily found in cultivated areas, and it is house termite. Tiny eggs like pellets of excreta identify this type of termite. Soldiers are more prominent with 3.25 to 5.90mm. They are considered a minor pest in Australia, but they cause severe damage to woods in many other parts of the world (Scheffrahn, 2021).  

Termite species, commonly known as a compass or magnetic termites, come from the family of Termitidae. They are found in northern Australia; a single mound contains millions of individuals termite (Chen et al., 2021). The outer part of the mound is rugged and durable, and its materials separate galleries and chambers. The size of the soldiers ranges from 4 to 6 mm. Their mandibles are single-turned teeth (Chen et al., 2021).  

These termites are tiny and come from the genus of Dicuspiditermes. They are found in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Borneo. They are known for building three different types of Mounding nests. A single protruding nest structure contains two termitaria, and all nests are connected by several protruding of the nest (Arumugam et al., 2020).

Crypto Terms Brevis is commonly known as West Indian dry wood termite or powder post termite. They are from the family of Kalotermitidae. This type of termite lives entirely inside timber structures or articles made up of wood, such as furniture (Cosme et al., 2018). They are not contacted with any source of water. They frequently move from one place to another and cause severe damage to the wooded objects and structural timbers building. Like eusocial insects, West Indian dry wood termites build colony nests, live inside timbers, and create chambers for short galleries and rearing larvae (Cosme et al., 2018).  They look like other dry wood species in deeper and larger-bodied than underground dwelling termites that amble and have tiny limbs (Gordon et al., 2021). Except for the reproductive class, all members in the colony are blind. They have solid jaws that help them in chewing wood fibre, claws for gripping wood surfaces, and antennae that look alike the beads of a necklace that are strung together (Gordon et al., 2021).

Termites as Superorganisms

 

Figure: 2

Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=drywood+termites&rlz=1C1JJTC_enIN981IN981&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivrtzIkJP3AhUA7XMBHS0YDCcQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1366&bih=625&dpr=1#imgrc=NzP9058pcaAlaM 

Many different casts live in the colony, and reproductive contains a king, queen, and alates (winged unmated termites), pseudergates (false workers) and soldiers. Queen and king have dark brown bodies and chitinous cuticles, but all other colony members have soft skin bodies. The soldiers have colourless bodies, about (0.16 to 0.20 inches long) approximately 4 to 5 mm, and they also have squarish, black, and wrinkled heads. They use their heads for blocking galleries to prevent their nests from marauding ants, and their mouths are relatively small. Pseud ergates are sausage-shaped immature termites. They perform the function of worker caste and care for the brood, consume wood, excavate tunnels, and feed other colony members.

In whole termite species, dry-wood termites are the only termite that is introduced all over the world. Francis Walker, a British entomologist, first described Crypto Termes brevis in Jamaica in 1853, but is not thought to have originated from West Indies (Himmi et al., 2021). Dry wood termites extract most of the moisture from the wood in which they live their life, and they are easily unknowingly transported from one location to another. In this way, they are transported all over the world. Maybe they originated from the Neotropics, then spread to Jamaica and ships and ships that are made up of woods such as furniture (Himmi et al., 2021).  Since then, they have been regularly spreading by similar means to other islands of the Caribbean, and they reached the maritime fringes of the United States in the south-eastern before 1919. Dry-wood termites are now widely distributed worldwide (Himmi et al., 2021).  Crypto Termes is distributed in the Caribbean region, Central America, United States, Tropical South America, Chile, Peru, Tropical Africa, St Helena, Madagascar, and South Africa. It was also introduced in Australia. It was first observed there in 1966 and in New Zealand, Caledonia, Fiji, and Polynesia and reported from Spain, Egypt, and Italy (Himmi et al., 2021).

Drywood termites created swarmer and alates that leave the colony when they mature, creating their colony. Activities of swarming happen primarily at night or during dusk time. Drywood termites are attracted to the lights and are primarily seen in the lampposts or lights outside the houses. Sometimes they fly inside the home and find light where they attract the most. There are hundreds of swarmer findings and searching for their mates (Huval & Reagan, 2019).

At last, only a few will survive to create new colonies. Termites who find their mates immediately create their new colonies, if possible, wood. The survived reproductive is now the new king and queen of the colony, which is starting, and then they create small nests for the queen to start giving birth to eggs in it (Huval & Reagan, 2019). The critical task of the king is to maintain periodic mating so that the queen can give continue egg development. After a few weeks, the king and queen's responsibility is to take care of the first batch of the immature hatch. After two moults, immature ones become workers and then their job was to serve the royal couple by providing food and taking care. Queen's first year is slow because the queen is not mature very well. She will deposit eggs in the first year but not continuously depositing eggs due to its immatureness. After 1 year, when the queen is wholly mature, she is started giving many eggs. When the queen reached its maximum egg production, the colony also stabilized (Huval & Reagan, 2019). A well-grown colony have eggs, soldiers, immature, and reproductive. And even if this happens when the queen and king die, the colony will still be in a surviving position because they have already created secondary reproductive, which helps replace them and takes their duties. Dry wood termites are Not like subterranean termites. These termite colony types are small in size, contain only a few thousand individuals, and prolong the development of their colony (Huval & Reagan, 2019).

Nutritional Value of Termites

Drywood termite's primary source of nutrition is wood, and they prefer eating wood. They can absorb wood by breaking down wood particles. Workers provide food to the king and queen by distributing their food, then their soldiers, alates, and they are young (Taravati, 2018).

Drywood termites do not depend on moisture for surviving, unlike other termites that also do the same. Drywood termites do not need soil contact also to create their nests. They produce water on their own during their digestion process. They do not need to maintain any soil contact, do not build mud tubes, and do not live underground (Pervez, 2018).

Workers are wingless immature with ¼ to 3/8 inches in size. They are white and sandy. Immature workers make up the majority of the colony (Tay & James, 2021). The main task of the workers is to enlarge nests size, gather food, and feed and take care of young immatures, queens, and other members of the colony. Soldiers are the same as workers, but they are larger and have brownish, yellowish heads and sclerotized mandibles, and their sizes differ from 5/16 inches long (Tay & James, 2021).

Drywood termites (crypto Termes Brevis) usually infect hardwood and softwood timbers and structural wood in movable objects and buildings. Numerous colonies co-exist in single objects and structures like small picture frames. More than twenty colony lives are judged in one wood door based on the number of reproductive pairs found inside (Evans, 2021). The pseud ergates mine galleries through timber but leave a resonant coating of wood surface intact. Later the infestation of the surface object may blister or bulge. Kick-out-holes range from (0. 04 To 0.08 inches long) in diameter and are made up of frass that can be pushed out, dusty pile below, accumulating in a conical. Crypto Terms are more destructive in habitations than other species requiring a moisture environment (Evans, 2021).

1)- Exposure to sunlight- Termites bloom in dark and moist conditions. Keeping these things in mind, it is now straightforward to get rid of the termite. Leaving wooden furniture and various types of furniture in direct sunlight for two to three days (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021). Termites will not be able to survive in the heat. Hence, they die off quickly. It also helps in getting rid of the moisture in materials. Thus, it prevents further infection also (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021).

2)- Making a cardboard trap- Cardboard has a woody smell because they are made up of cellulose. Termites can't resist such conditions. By moistening it with water, it smells more distinct and then placing cardboard trap near infected area helps reduce the infection of the termites. After some time, these termites are attracted out to open cardboard boxes, burning termites to get rid of them (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021).

3)- Spraying Boric Acid- Mixing the solution of borax powder with water, then spraying in the infected area, helps control the termites' effects. Spraying boric acid is a non-toxic method that ensures termites in wooded furniture, building materials, and cupboards will vanish after a few applications of boric acid (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021). Some people combine the cardboard method with the boric acid method for getting better results.

4)- Using Parasitic Nematodes- These are tiny worms that hole into larvae of the termites; these help in killing them within a few days. Anyone can purchase parasitic nematodes from online stores and local nurseries (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021).

5)- Distance between wood and soil- Termites make their colonies below the peoples' houses and attack the house's foundation, apartments, and buildings. The best way to avoid them from building their colonies near home was to keep their distance from the garden and lawn. Experts suggest that the distance from your house and garden should be at least 18 inches (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021).

6)- Treatments from oil- Neem and orange oils are very effective in terms of termites. It contains the compound called d-limonene; thus, it can quickly kill any termites when they contact it. Neem oil takes effect when the termites consume them. Spraying these oils in the affected area helps get better solutions (Ghaly & Edwards, 2021).

Prevention is always better than cure, and there are some essential tips to protect furniture are: -

• By ensuring that furniture doesn't have any type of moisture contained in it.
• Applying aloe vera gel on the furniture made up of wood acts as a protective covering on various wooded materials (Rojo, 2020).
• Polishing wood materials from time to time, hiring professionals to apply polish on wooden materials.
• Removing unwanted items from the apartment of the building, houses, and apartments is very necessary because if they are not removed, it quickly becomes the infection's hotspot (Rojo, 2020).
• People who live in the coastal cities need to get professional chemical treatments for their wooded items. It becomes indispensable to perform these activities for getting rid of the moisture and termites (Rojo, 2020).

The woods that are mostly affected by termites are: -

• Dry, smooth wood- Like hardwood floors, railings, wainscoting/baseboards, and furniture(Hadi et al., 2020).
• Paper-based materials- Like plasterboard/sheetrock lining paper.
• Particleboard- Predominantly swollen and damp boards that are more attractive to certain types of termites.
• Most untreated softwood- These types of wood pose attractive food for termites. Springwood is the most common untreated softwood (Hadi et al., 2020).
• Several untreated hardwoods- Termites mostly prefer softwoods.
• Gumtree- This type of wood is the natural habitat of termites; gumtree is always on the priority list of termites (Hadi et al., 2020).

Deciduous Trees- These trees are leafy; they change the colour of their leaves in winter. Termites like Formosan feast on these types of deciduous trees. They build their nests above ground level in ash and oaks. They munch away on dead and dry parts of the tree as their colony grows (Xie et al., 2019).

Conifers- Termites love conifer trees; recently cleared pine trees are known as habitats of termites (Xie et al., 2019). Termites live in these trees; they lay their eggs in the young treehouse. It is imperative to keep an eye on the trees and remove dead portions as soon as possible. If not done, then the conifer tree will become the hotspot of the termite activity.

Dead and Rotten trees -Dead and rotten trees are on the top priority list of the termites. The branch of the dead trees is enough to attract termites who are hungry and looking for an easy meal. Dead trees are easy to chew and get to cellulose. So becomes essential to respond immediately to find the cause and take action accordingly. Permanently remove the dead portion of the trees because they are an easy meal for termites (Xie et al., 2019).

Palm trees- Throughout the south regions, palm trees are considered the most common types of landscaping fixtures. Termites start attacking from the palm trees' roots and make their way up to the base (Xie et al., 2019). Become someone who sees noticeable damage. They feed off palm trees for years. Some people who have palm trees inside their homes notice mounds and mud around the base of the palm tree because termites made their tunnels inside the tree.

Fruit trees- It is the prime target for termites. Peach and mango trees attract these categories of insects. Termites usually prefer that kind of tree with low tolerance, and food trees are perfect for falling into this category (Xie et al., 2019).

Termiticide liquid treatment- It is the most commonly used technique for controlling the effect of termites. These insecticides are specifically developed for controlling the effect of termites (Chouvenc, 2018).   Some active ingredients of liquid termiticides contain; imidacloprid, permethrin, fipronil, chlorantraniliprole, cypermethrin, and bifenthrin. These liquid termiticides are used worldwide in postconstruction and preconstruction termite control (Chouvenc, 2018).  

 

Figure: 3 To prevent the termite attact and establish an effective soil barrier, the person applies liquid termiticide to the exterior of the wall. 

Source: https://extension.msstate.edu/content/methods-termite-control 

Foam termiticide treatment- is an insecticide that is diluted in water that contains a special agent foaming to form an end-used product and has reliability, same as shaving cream(Jordan, 2018).Foam treatment is a primarily used technique for controlling the effect of termite, active ingredients that are most commonly used in foam treatment are imidacloprid and fipronil (Jordan, 2018).

 

Figure:4 It is injected into a wall void 

Source: https://extension.msstate.edu/content/methods-termite-control 

Borate treatment: These products are applied in a preconstruction treatment for lowering two feet of sill plates, studs, framing elements in contact with the concrete slab, and inside surfaces of the exterior sheathing (Zhang et al., 2021).

Treated wood/ wood preservatives- This treatment method is very appropriate for use in extra-building construction, outdoor rather than in buildings and homes (Johnson et al., 2021).  Wood elements like landscape and posts timbers that directly contact the ground should be treated chemically to protect against wood decay fungi and termites. Treated wood is used in decks, fences, and building construction of outdoor/extra (Johnson et al., 2021). The use of treated wood in floor joists, sillies, and other construction elements that are not in contact with the soil will provide extra termite treatment.

Baiting station termite- This technique includes low doses of particularly slow-acting, specially selected, non-repellent insecticides steeped into wood or attractive substrate in controlling the effect of termites (Shults et al., 2021). Baiting stations are usually of two types: aboveground stations and in-ground stations. Most commonly used by experts are in-ground stations. Some organizations produce aboveground stations to control particular termites, such as aerial colonies of Formosan termites (Shults et al., 2021).

 

Figure: 5

Source: https://extension.msstate.edu/content/methods-termite-control 

 Dry termiticides are occasionally used to control subterranean and dry wood termites. Dry termiticides contain dry granular bait substrates with a small quantity of termiticide. These termiticides are injected directly into the colonies of active termites with gaol of having the toxicant distribution throughout the society and bait feed of the termites (Shults et al., 2021). These are very useful in eradicating isolated, minor infections of the dry wood termites, and it is considered a supplementary treatment for Formosan termites (Shults et al., 2021).

Conclusion

Termites have been on earth since dinosaurs almost 120 million years ago, and these insects are considered silent destroyers because they can chew floorings, wood etc. It is estimated that termite damages are more than $5 billion every year. Termites do not directly harm humans like mosquitoes, rodents, and bees do. They attack humans indirectly can and have the ability to harm stress levels and finances and makes structure unsafe for occupancy. In the last few years, various techniques and programmes have been created and introduced to decrease the effect of termites in homes, offices, and many more places. But these steps need to be followed very wisely to reduce the effect of termites worldwide. In the present era, almost every country is facing the problem of termites, and they are taking possible effects to overcome these situations. Clorox beaches are also used in killing termites. Sunlight is playing a significant role in reducing the effect of termites in various parts of the world. Due to heat, termites are not able to survive under higher temperatures. People needed to adopt these fundamental practices, by keeping their wooded materials like furniture, etc., directly in the sunlight. It saves cost and saves the life of the furniture. In this way, the termite's effect is also reduced. Checking the garden regularly helps in saving big trees. The infected part of the tree needed to be cut, and, in this way, termites were killed. The most common technique to deal with termites is soil-applied barrier treatment. The government is also playing an essential role in controlling the termite effect. EPA's pesticide programs provide complete information and tools to local agencies, federal, state, and the public on termite control. U.S. Department of agriculture has many termite research and control programs. After construction, it is indispensable to keep the soil foundation dry through drainage and grading. Fixing leaks immediately, reducing openings that provide termite access like (Filling cracks and gaps in the foundations of the cement and utilities that pass from grout, caulk, and cement. Ensures shrubs and trees should be not planted near structures and not allowed to grow on exposed surfaces of the woods. It is necessary to inspect periodically, which is very important in terminating termite colonies. In this way, the termite effect will be reduced by applying various techniques and using stones and cement separate from the wooded structure area.

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