Why Do Termites Make Mud Tubes?

Think of the tunnels humans use every day. Subways to get through the city. Walking paths to get from one side of the street to the other. Termites had the same idea: mud tubes. These mud tubes are the small tunnels around a termite nest. They are about the size of a pencil and made of small particles of soil, feces, and wood.

It may be time for you to give these pests a little more credit—not only are they efficient engineers, but they also create them very purposefully for different uses:

Exploratory Tubes

As the name suggests, exploratory tubes are used to search for food. These fragile tubes can get up to 15 feet high when connected to metal or concrete. Surprisingly, they do not connect to any wood.

Working Tubes

Working tubes are the busiest of all the termite tubes, transporting hundreds of thousands of termites from the nest to the food sources daily. Can you imagine that many termites having access to your home?

Swarm Tubes

This is where the swarmer termites get ready to take off. It can be up to four feet wide and is very fragile. The problem that arises is that these swarmer termites are not always compliant when it comes to road rules. If too many of them try to take off at once, this mud tube easily collapses.

Drop Tubes

Drop tubes bring termites from high ground to low ground, “dropping” them back into their nest. It makes it easy for them to get from their wood food source back home.

Close the Mud Tubes for Good with Help

Stop this construction in its tracks with help from the knowledgeable pest professionals at Green Pest Solutions. Termites work and cause damage fast, so if you suspect termite activity in or around your home, the time to act is now. Call us today at 855-312-7157 to schedule a free estimate and get those pests out.