Termites

Termites ( Rayap – in Indonesian, Tetani in Balinese ) are social insects with several types of individuals in a colony, each type serving the colony in a different way. Winged reproductive forms swarm from mature
colonies to disperse and establish new colonies. Worker termites, the ones that damage wood by eating the spring wood layers, are white and soft-bodied; they feed the other forms in the colony and expand the nest size.

Soldier termites with enlarged mandibles (teeth) are responsible for protecting the colony from intruders. Termites need wood for food and soil for moisture. Wood in contact with soil, then, is ideal for termite development. But if this does not occur, the insects may build “shelter tubes” from mud to bridge or span foundation walls and other masonry that separate wood from soil. They construct these tubes on the walls or inside them in voids and cracks. Occasionally, when a leaky roof or pipe provides moisture, termite infestations are established without soil contact.
Infestations generally develop from colonies in soil, and the termites enter the building through structural wood or foundation walls adjacent to the soil. In cases of houses built partly or completely on slabs, infestation is through expansion joints, cracks, and utility and sewer pipe openings.
Whether pre treating at the time of construction or treating an existing structure, the basic principle of termite control is to break the connection between wood and soil. This is done by laying down a chemical barrier to eliminate all possible points of entry