Difference Between Termites And Wood Rot

Subterranean termites and dry rot (kind of wood rot) are the two extremely harmful forces which can destroy even a single item of your home

. They both are often misconceived by majority of the people. However, they both look similar but actually they are comparatively different from each other to large an extent. There are certain distinctions which you should know to treat them separately and potentially.

Dry Rot

Dry rot is a kind of wood rot in which fungi attack the wood. Fungi destroy the mechanism of wood which make it sturdy and firm. Fungi usually make the wood hollow from inside. A fungus is very much capable of moving water from wet areas to dry one. So you can never rule out the presence of fungi in dry woods.

Subterranean Termites

Subterranean termites are small insects which are extremely deleterious. They usually live in colonies under the soil. These insects come on the surface for eating or digging tunnels. There nourishment is largely based on the cellulose present inside the wood. So, they consume the inner part of the wood and make it useless and hollow.

Damage

Both termites and fungi create channels, but the process of making channels is different for the two. Dry rot in many cases looks like the dry brick or dry block. For it creates channels inside the wood by consuming wood and carrying water. On the other hand, termites dig tubes usually called mud tubes with soil, fecal, water or saliva. These tubes help the termites to shift from soil to food in search of food. The channels made by termites usually resemble the branches of the tree and the main channel or trunk standing on the ground.

How They Both Attack

Both termites and fungi have the common way to attack the wooden structures, i.e. exposure to soil. Both termites and fungi attacks through soil and the main reason for this are the cracks in foundation and moisture in the walls and floors. Dry rot is the result of too much contact with moisture. Fungi transfer water from wet surface to the dry surface. On the other hand cracks in foundation pave the path for termites to enter the home and attack the new wooden structures.

How to Control Termites and Dry Rot

Working on leaked pipes and water penetration in basement can be handy to control the mild attacks of dry rot. But for severe attacks of dry rot boric acid or borate is used. Boric acid is also helpful against insect.

Subterranean termite can be control with the help of different insecticides or termiticides. There are certain insecticides which are formulated to target the termites. These insecticides are used on soil and contain some termite baits. The insecticides used today are less toxic than the past. Organophosphates and pyrethroid are famous insecticides today.

by: Tauqeer Hassan

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