Your Move To Boston Newsletter excerpt/ Laura S. Rossinow Broker/ Agent

There’s nothing like having a swarm of flying insects in your yard (or worse yet in your house) to suddenly make you realize how important it is to be able to tell the difference between a termite and an ant.

Mistaking a swarm of termites for flying ants can be expensive. The average repair bill following a termite infestation is $3,000, according to Terminix and termites live everywhere in the U.S. except Alaska.

When flying insects swarm, the safest thing to do is to call in a pest professional who can check your home for signs of termites.

Call me if you need a referral to a good pest company.

Three Signs It’s A Termite

To identify the bugs on your own, catch one of them without smashing it. Put it in a plastic bag and then check for these three things:

The antenna:

One long string of beads and no elbow = termite

Elbowed = ant

The body:

Uniform with no waist = termite

Hour-glass waist = ant

The Wings:

Both wings same size = termite

Back wings smaller than front wing = ant

Want to be sure you’re right? Contact the cooperative extension service and ask if they do bug identification.

Images courtesy of Orkin.com

http://newsletter.homeactions.net/archive/full_article/70/118/164380/687