Trying to identify which insects have been frequenting your home can be quite the task. Oftentimes, people lump all insects together and treat them all as pests that need to be removed. However, not all insects are created equal. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at two common household pests—ants and termites—to help you better identify which insect has been bothering you.
Bugs, bugs, bugs. They’re everywhere, and they’re often hard to distinguish from one another. If you’ve found insects in or around your home, you may be wondering what kind they are and how to get rid of them.
Unfortunately, there are many different types of insects that could be infesting your home, but we’ll help you narrow it down by taking a closer look at two common household pests: ants and termites.
Differences Between Ants and Termites
Difference in Diet
One way to tell ants and termites apart is by their diet. Ants are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals. On the other hand, termites are primarily herbivores and only eat plant matter. However, there are some exceptions to this rule—some species of termites will also eat wood.
Difference in Behavior
Another way to tell these insects apart is by their behavior. For example, ants live in colonies that can have up to 300,000 members. These colonies are made up of three different types of ants: the queen, the worker ant, and the soldier ant. The queen’s job is to lay eggs, the worker ant’s job is to build the colony and care for the young, and the soldier ant’s job is to protect the colony from predators.
Termites also live in colonies that can have millions of members, but their caste system is slightly different from ants. Termites have four different types of members in their colony: reproductives (the king and queen), soldiers, workers, and drones. The reproductives’ job is to mate and produce eggs, the soldiers’ job is to protect the colony from predators, the workers’ job is to build the colony and care for the young, and the drones’ job is to mate with potential new queens.
Difference in Size
Another physical difference between ants and termites is size. On average, worker ants range from 2mm-6mm long whereas worker termites range from 3mm-10mm long–though some species of termites can grow up to 20mm long!
Difference in Lifespan
Lastly, another difference between these two insects is lifespan. The average worker ant lives for about 6 weeks whereas the average worker termite can live for up 2-5 years.
Similarities Between Ants and Termites
Even though there are many physical differences between ants and termites (e.g., diet, behavior), there are also some similarities between these two insects; for example:
• Both ants and termites live in colonies with many other individuals of their species.
• The primary purpose of both worker ants and worker termites is to care for the young within their colony.
• Both species have a complex social structure within their colony that includes different types of members with specific roles (e.g, soldiers)
If you’re still having trouble telling these two insects apart, here are some tips on how to get rid of each one should you find them in or around your home.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In House?
How To Get Rid of Termites In Your Home ?
With so many similarities between ants and termites (e..g living in colonies), it can be difficult to tell these insects apart at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, there are several key differences between these two pests—including size, diet, behavior, and lifespan—that can help you determine which insect has infiltrated your home. Hopefully this blog post has provided you with some helpful tips on how differentiate between these two common household pests!
