Our recent upgrade of pest cemetery has been very exciting. After a lot of hard work and admittedly still some work to do, we think it’s been worth it. Not only can you browse the supply store and pick up a much needed item you can also get real time advice for your specific situation or pest. It’s only been a few days and I’ve already gotten many questions from readers. Clicking the ask the bug doctor tab brings you to a simple page where you can anonymously type any question you may have. Your question does not automatically show up on the site as in the article comments but from time to time I will use some questions and responses to feature as an article. We hope to have a picture upload feature soon (some of that work we still need to do) and that as they say might be worth a 1000 words.
Recently a reader named Mike had a disagreement with his boss and found my article Severe termite damage-how fast do termites damage wood? His question was not how fast but how much damage in weight does a termite colony do in one year.
How much do termites eat in a year just say its a mature eastern sub termite colony? , my boss says only one pound i disagree.
This is a great question, short and to the point and the answer was that an average 8 foot 2×4 weighs approximately 10.24 pounds. Since
termites eat the equivalent of one foot of a 2×4 per 6 months that would be 2 feet per year. With that and assuming my math is correct the answer is that termites eat 2.56 pounds of wood per year. The formula is; 10.24 pounds divided by 8 feet of length = 1.28 pounds per foot x 2 (2 feet per year they eat) = 2.56 pounds per year.
I included some variables such as type of wood, moisture levels, colony size and the fact that termites usually have multiple feeding sources so don’t go looking for 2 feet of missing 2×4’s in your walls to see how long a colony has been feeding.
So Mike was right and his resourcefulness just might have got him a free lunch, well that’s what I told him his boss should give him as a payoff but I have yet to hear back.
So please enjoy our site and feel free to ask any pest related questions you may have. Who knows you might just settle a bet of your own and you may need the help.
