Why are there termites?
What do termites and fire have in common? Termites and fire both have wonderful benefits. In fact they share the same benefit. Both termites and fire serve to help new plants grow.
We don’t typically think about fire or termites being beneficial to plant growth. If you imagine a plant and fire together you most likely picture the plant burning. Likewise if you imagine any plant or wood and a termite you probably imagine something being gnawed to total destruction. These are of course accurate pictures. You might say that termites and fire serve the role of destruction for reconstruction.
Like a wrecking ball taking down an old building forest fires and termites clear the old debris of aged plants. Once the old forest floor is erased, new plants sprout in their place. The state of California explained, “fire removes low-growing underbrush, cleans the forest floor of debris, opens it up to sunlight, and nourishes the soil.” The clearing of old wood and brush actually allows the remaining trees and new vegetation to have more water and less disease. In fact some trees require fire to germinate and make the next generation.
Likewise termites provide the role of clearing the forest floor. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum explains that termites eliminate the feces and dehydrated, aging plant vegetation. In Arizona dried cow dung is common and decomposes at a rather slow pace. Termites help this along.
While experts say that most termites are not pests, that doesn’t ring true in the city. That is unless you think eating your old walls so you can put in new ones is a service. The National Pest Management Association says that termites are responsible for $5billion dollars in property damage annually.
Magic Pest Control uses Termidor to fight these city pests. Termidor is the cutting edge termiticide that destroys entire colonies. Magic Pest Control offers free termite inspections to Arizona residents. Call to get one today.
