Insect Infestation

Insect Infestation / Infestation ng Insekto

The tropics’ high year-round temperatures, high humidity and greater insect diversity create the optimal environment for many timber-infesting insects. There is no winter kill, so the breeding cycles are continuous and faster than in moderate latitudes.

It is undoubtedly worthwhile to gain a better understanding of various pests that can cause significant damage to wooden structures and entire houses.

Our learning curve was not that steep, and we had to bear significant costs to remedy the negative impact of these perpetrators.

The cure is painful as entire timber units need to be replaced if one does not want to accept the pellets and dust being pushed by uncountable larvae from the timber’s inside to its surface and being spread to all over by gravity and breeze. Termites and bokboks are able to bring down even mighty wooden architecture if one does not stop their voracious hunger for cellulose (fiber). They my prefer starch-rich areas for initial colony establishment, but starch alone not their main long-term nutrition.

Dry-Wood Termite

One of the main culprits is the drywood termite. At times, airborne in droves, an entire swarm of alates seek out new homes in which to establish their own colony.

Once they have found a suitable place to live, the alates will shed their wings. A single female-mail pair (2 out of hundreds!) will then burrow itself into lumber holes or cracks. The queen’s primary duty is to reproduce. She is the only female in the colony laying eggs. Amazingly, a termite queen can live up to 20 years, producing swarmers every year in a mature ca. 5-year old colony. Dry-wood termite colonies grow slowly compared with subterranean termites, but they are persistent.

Worker build, feed, maintain and protect the colony. They chew wood or bamboo fibers, digest cellulose using microorganisms in their gut and convert wood into feed for the queen, king, soldiers and larvae. This feeding is called trophallaxis (mouth-to-mouth or anus-to-mouth feeding). Workers also groom and clean eggs and move them to safe areas. They repair damaged galleries, seal cracks with fecal material, keep humidity and cleanliness inside the colony.

Soldier protect the colony from ants (biggest enemy) and other predatory insects with their large and powerful jaws blocking and guarding the narrow tunnels and tiny holes where termites eject their frass.

Larvae do not eat wood themselves. They are completely dependent on workers/pseudoworkers. Larvae can later become workers/pseudoworkers, soldiers or reproductives.

The queen produce a pheromone that stops other termites from reproducing, aside from secondary queens. When the main termite queen dies, this pheromone stops and a new queen will develop in the colony.

The king has the same life span like the queen. He continuously mates with the queen maintaining continuous egg production. He is also fed and protected by the workers.

So what to do to eliminate a dry-wood termite colony?

First localize the infestation. Look for frass (small hard balls, almost like grains of sand = pellets).
Cut out and burn the infested pieces.
Replace with treated wood or hard lumber (e.g. Molave, Narra, Anapla, Teak, Ironwood, Rosewood, Mahogany) that are hardly infested.
Drill small holes into suspected galleries.
Inject Boric acid solution (boron, oxygen, hydrogen (B(OH)3) and apply it to the wood surface
If the place can be sealed, fumigation will penetrate the wood and kill all termites, incl. the queen.

URL for more information

Subterranean Termite

Subterranean terminates are even more prolific than dry-wood termites.

I recall the only thing holding in my hand was the handle of the drawer from the kitchen cabinet when I wanted to open the drawer, after coming home from a fortnight holiday in Singapore. Immediately I had to call the pest control that fumigated the entire house to kill all termites.

Flying Ant

There are Camponotus (carpenter ants), Solenopsis geminate (tropical fire ants) and Odontomachus (trap-ja ants). Swarming often happens after heavy rain and at night attracted by lights. They do not eat lumber or bamboo, but they can excavate soft or decayed wood to build nests. This can weaken already damaged timber or bamboo furniture.

Carpenter Ants

Tropical Fire Ant

Trap-Jaw Ant

Flying ants are winged ants that swarm during certain times of the year as part of their reproductive cycle. While they may look intimidating, flying ants are usually harmless and rarely bite humans. However, some species of ants may bite or sting if they feel threatened, so it’s best to avoid them.

Flying ants play a vital and often underestimated role in the ecosystem. While they may be seen as a nuisance to humans, it’s important to recognize their ecological value and the impact they have on the environment.

One of the significant contributions of flying ants is their role in soil aeration. As they dig and build their nests, they create tunnels and cavities in the soil, which allows for better air circulation. This soil aeration promotes healthier root growth in plants and helps improve overall soil quality.

Additionally, flying ants engage in nutrient recycling. As they excavate their nests, they bring up nutrients from deeper soil layers and incorporate them into the upper layers where they are more accessible to plants. This recycling process enriches the soil and enhances its fertility, which is beneficial for natural environments, gardens, and agricultural fields.

Another important aspect of flying ants’ ecological role is their significance as a food source for birds. During their swarming periods, flying ants provide birds with a plentiful and nutritious food supply. Birds, especially insectivorous species, rely on these flying ants to fulfill their dietary needs. This contributes to the ecological balance and sustains bird populations.

Powderpost Beetle = Auger Beetle = Shot Hole Borer / Bukbok

The three most destructive groups of powderpost beetles are the lyctids, anobiids, and bostrichids.

The adult shot hole borer beetle from the Bostrichidae family (see below) is usually cylindrical, dark brown or black, and has a “hooded” thorax that hides its head from above. It makes bigger holes (roughly 2 mm to 6 mm) than the tiny pinholes of common bamboo borers (e.g. lyctid beetles).

Powderpost beetles mainly feed on starch and sugars in woods, though some species also consume cellulose. They do not digest wood with microbes like termites. They usually need fungi for wood breakdown to make it ‘digestible’. The main wood feeders are the larvae not the adults. The larvae bore through sapwood and reduce it to fine powder. They normally do not attack dense heartwood, well-dried, resin-rich timber or properly treated wood.

Auger beetles like Gmelina because it is a fast-growing timber with relatively high starch content, which provides the larvae with the energy they need to grow. The larvae tightly pack their waste as they tunnel through the Gmelina. Then they push it through “exit holes,” where it appears in distinct, compressed ovoid or spherical grains.