it spreads and causes irreparable damage.
It is well known that termites gnaw their way into the wood and destroy it – this happens all over the world except in certain climatic conditions. There are about 50 different species in the United States. An estimated 11 billion dollars in 1999 has been the cost of the damage caused by termites in the United States. This was brought out by Dr.Na Yao Su who is a termite scientist.
It is extremely difficult to find termite infestation as the visibility in the wood is only about 30%. It is also known that termites like to move around in dark, damp and clammy places in the wood where they cannot be observed. This requires a different approach in detecting them that entails tapping the wood at the same time listening for sounds. If a particular area is suspect, a screwdriver is used to penetrate the surface of the wood to find live termites.
This method is not foolproof as the termites cause damage to the wood and when they are disturbed, they tend to move away thus making the following treatment ineffective. This is the reason why those involved in the pest control business have been waiting for something like the infrared cameras and termite identification to make their task easier.
Infrared Cameras Find Areas Of Heat
The detection of heat by infrared cameras enables the discovery of termite identification, and the termites themselves are breathing organisms so their bodies contain heat. There is never a single termite – they move around in hundreds so the infrared camera is able to spot them in a group because of the heat from their bodies. A tube with a camera is penetrated into a particular area and the heat that comes out shows that there is a termite infestation.
Infrared cameras and termite identification have been a great breakthrough for all pest control experts and the new and easier method to determine termite infestation is something they welcome. Other methods have proved to have disadvantages, and although the patent is still pending, the infrared cameras is the single most advantageous method of identifying termites and dealing with termite infestation before it gets out of hand and causes irreparable damage to the wooden structure.