Spotting a Termite Queen

Termites are destructive little creatures that have one major fatal weakness: they are entirely dependent on their queen for survival. After all, the queen produces the eggs that give their colony life. While you should never try to deal with a termite infestation on your own, spotting the queen can help you streamline your exterminator's job.

First of all, you need to know what the termite queen looks like. They are very hard to miss: they are easily the largest termite in a colony. While most termites are less than an inch long, the queen can be up to six inches long and two to three inches in diameter.

They look a little like a sock filled with sand and range in color from pale yellow to black. Unfortunately, the queen will likely be hidden somewhere deep within the colony.

The easiest way to find her is looking for her reproductives: these are the male termites that fertilize her eggs. Reproductives are a little smaller than worker termites and are much lighter: workers are generally a light yellow while reproductives are closer to pure white.

Finding the queen is absolutely vital for eliminating a termite infestation. While workers and reproductives have lifespans of several months, a termite queen can live as long as 10-25 years. As a result, the queen simply has to die if you're ever going to eliminate your termite problem.

So, if you think you've got a good idea as to where the termite queen is located in your house, call a professional exterminator immediately.