Termite Takeover
The Post and Courier
Oak trees on The Citadel campus are infested with termites. But that's not unheard of in the Lowcountry.
May and June mark the height of the active termite season around Charleston, with the tiny insects not shy about what they eat, where they live or how much damage they leave.
"Termites don't know the difference between a pine log and a pine two-by-four," Clemson University entomologist Eric Benson said. "They're just out there eating, trying to keep the colony going."
Two major types of subterranean termites are found in South Carolina, including native species but also the dreaded imported Formosan bug. The Formosans arrived in Charleston in the mid-1950s, hidden in ships' cargo from Asia. That's why areas close to the former Navy base and the port -- including The Citadel and the nearby Wagner Terrace neighborhood -- are prominent targets.
Various recent factors also helped boost the local termite problem, Hurricane Hugo being a main one. After the storm, when downed trees and blown-over wooden structures were taken to landfills, it spread their migration by years.
Another significant shift came in the 1990s when Daniel Island and other areas were developed and families started moving in. The housing boom meant termites expanded beyond their usual food sources of forest debris to include materials found in and around family homes.
"They think houses are just big trees," said Bert Snyder, an entomologist with Palmetto Exterminators, which has partnered with The Citadel to treat the campus' Formosan infestation.
Though all species of termites are considered harmful to structures, Formosans are considered the worst, largely because the numbers in their colonies dwarf the numbers found in most native termite dens.
"Formosans can easily go into the millions," Benson said, while native colonies might be counted in the tens or hundreds of thousands.
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Article courtesy of The Post And Courier
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