Termite species

Termites are considered to be the most destructive insect pests in the world. Many buildings and structures are damaged by these pests each year resulting in huge financial losses.

There are 200 different species of termites in Indonesia, but only a handful cause problems to properties:

• Coptotermes gestroi
• Coptotermes curvignathus
• Coptotermes havilandi
• Coptotermes kalshoveni
• Coptotermes sepangensis
• Macrotermes gilvus
• Macrotermes pakistanicus
• Globitermes sulphureus
• Schedorhinotermes sp.
• Microcerotermes sp.

About 90% of property damages in Indonesia are caused by Coptotermes species making it the “public enemy number 1” in Indonesia.

Termite Society

The basic castes in a colony are queens, kings, workers, soldiers and alates.

Termite Queen & King

Giving life to the colony

The function of the Queen and King in the termite colony is to reproduce. Starting out life as an Alate, they leave their parents' colony, drop to the ground and shed their wings to seek out an environment to nest. They care for their young until they are able to take over the duties of the colony.

Dealing with termite infestation?

The key to termite prevention lies in keeping wood as dry as possible and sealing up any cracks in your home, but sometimes an infestation is inevitable.

Termites can lead to costly repairs, so you want to make sure you utilize the most effective treatment the first time. DIY solutions often prove ineffective and do not prevent re-infestation. Rentokil's careful property evaluation, bait and monitoring stations, and customized treatment plan provide your best solution to a termite infestation. Our highly qualified technicians offer treatments that are tailored to your specific situation and are safe for your family.

Termite Workers

The 'doers'

The workers make up the largest number within a colony. They do all of the work (except defend and reproduce): feeding, grooming, excavating the nest and making tunnels. In doing their jobs, they cause the destruction that effects so many homes.

Termite Soldiers

The colony's defence

Soldiers defend the colony against attack by predatory enemies such as ants, and are equipped with large jaws, sticky fluids or chemical spray to do so.

Alates

The future Queens & Kings

Alates are the winged reproductives that swarm out from the nest and establish new colonies. Male and females pair off and look for a suitable environment to mate. They are often confused with ant swarmers.

Coptotermes spp.

Family: Rhinotermitidae (subfamily Coptotermitidae)
Genus: Coptotermes
Type: Subterranean.
Castes: Queen, king, soldier, worker, reproductive.
Nest type & Behaviour: Coptotermes build nest in the soil because they are very dependent on it for moisture. In their search for food, subterranean termites construct mud tubes because they are susceptible to desiccation when exposed to air. They usually work their way above ground to reach wood or any other cellulose source. The cellulose is then broken down into simple starch with the help of the protozoans in the termites gut.

Cryptotermes spp.
Family: Kalotermitidae (subfamily Cryptotermes)
Genus: Cryptotermes
Types of termites: Dry wood termites
Castes: Queens, kings, warriors, reproductive termites
Nesting habits: Drywood termites live in wood. If a piece of wood is infested with dry wood termites, then you can be sure that the entire termite colony also lives in the wood.

The damage caused by this type of termite is very difficult for homeowners to detect, because they eat the wood from the inside until all that's left is the outer skin of the wood and finally forms a gallery inside the wood.
Damage caused: Drywood termite activity is usually detected when it is too late. This type of dry wood termites generally attack materials in houses made of wood such as door frames and doors.