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How long does it take to establish a termite colony?
A reader e-mailed in this question:
"i had some 2 X 4's delivered from the lumber yard two weeks ago. termites are
coming out of them. they have no wings and are big but i have noticed lots
flying around. i want to make sure that the termites could not have burrowed
into the wood in 2 weeks before i call the lumber yard."
Termites could not have created a colony in that wood in just two weeks.
That's not long enough for them to build one or reproduce enough termites to
get to the point where they have flying termites. The flying ones are
reproductives, which come only from established colonies. What you probably
have are drywood termites, which will create small colonies in wood and can
easily be transported somewhere else by people moving the wood around. If the
wood is infested, it had to have happened before it got to you. I wouldn't use
any of the wood, and would get it away from your property. Flying termites can
move up to 2,000 feet or so before starting a new colony, so if they are
anywhere near your house it's at risk. I would try to get a refund and get new
wood that isn't infested.
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