Termite Season

[alan]

Just needing to vent. I hate these bloody things.. Once a year, around this time, they come out of seemingly nowhere - like the cursed plague they are; they fly up to the ceiling, shed their horrible little wings, then hook up with one another for some termite sex, and disappear just as quickly as they arrived. Untreated, cheapo furniture beware.

Bleh! It's enough to make me miss cold Canadian winters.

termite.jpg (147.42 KiB) Viewed 167 times

[IntiPeque]

It's amazing the damage they can do before you realize you have them.

Do you happen to know if they thrive all over Peru or only in certain areas?

[alan]

A very good question. As far as I know, the polilla is a scourge all along the coast, but I doubt they survive the cold of the highlands, but who knows. Hardy bastards. As for the jungle, they have other, more ferocious bugs to worry about. Funny story: We are doing some construction now and I bought some beams made from - I hope I get this right - "huayruro" wood. One of the beams had a few bug holes in it, and I drew this to the attention of the maestro de obras, expressing my concern, since I had expressly asked for hardwood that would not be damaged by the polillas. He laughed and reassured me that the polilla (or termite) wouldn't be able to chew into this wood for a thousand years, but the tree had been damaged by another type of bug while still standing. Now that's a chomp!