Shelter tubes allow subterranean termites to leave their soil nests, cross barriers and bridge gaps to reach wood. The tubes protect them from enemies like ants and from air circulation which would dry out their soft bodies.
Termites make their tubes of "mud" – actually a combination of wood or soil particles held together with a glue-like secretion. Fresh, newly constructed tubes will be moist. Old tubes will be dry and brittle and break easily.
Shelter tubes are found on the surface of foundation walls, beams and sill plates, and along pipes or other supports. There are different types of shelter tubes, depending on function. An exploratory tube is narrow and thin and has many branches and forks that often go only a short distance. If an exploratory tube reaches susceptible wood, it may be reinforced and widened, becoming a working tube.
Drop tubes are not as common. They’re suspended down from wood to soil in protected places like crawlspaces. They are usually constructed when feeding has progressed some distance from the original shelter tube. Even rarer are free-standing tubes built from the soil up to wood. These tubes usually have a broader support base than drop tubes. Both drop and free-standing tubes are often surrounded by pieces of earlier tubes that fell. Drop tubes are lighter in color than free-standing tubes since they contain more wood fiber and less soil.
Swarming tubes or "castles" are sometimes built as flight platforms when winged swarmers are leaving the colony. They’re usually constructed 4 to 8 inches above ground, or in infested wood, and have many projections and horizontal branches. Swarmers can remain in these tubes for months waiting for the right environmental conditions to trigger swarming.
If you would like more information about Termites or a specific insect or service, please click the link below and you will be taken to the Assassin Exterminating & Pest Control website or you can call us directly at (817) 727-8149
