Termites may not be something you want to deal with, but since they cause households a lot of distress with the damage they cause, it wouldn’t hurt to know a few important things about them.

A trusted exterminator in Modesto shares these 10 termite facts with you:

Termites are not that interested in living trees.

These wood chompers prefer dead cellulose. If they start attacking a live tree, this only means that the tree is ill or that its cambium layer, for some reason, has died.

Termites and ants are often associated with each other, but they do not get along.

Drama also exists in the animal kingdom.

Although termites are often called “white ants,” they actually aren’t ants and they hate ants. The “animosity” stems from the fact that ants are actually the biggest natural predators of termites, says the expert team from AAI Pest Control.

If your property has a lot of ants, termites will most likely not be your problem.

You can eat termites.

If you ever find yourself without food in the wilderness, take a cue from certain indigenous peoples who actually eat termites. Also, it’s been reported that a lot of Singaporeans cross over to Malaysia just to snack on termites, especially the queen of the colony.

Termites are believed to relieve everything from headaches to muscle pains.

Those who have tried them say these insects aren’t disgusting. In fact, you may be disgusted more by the idea of eating them than actually eating them because termites are tasteless.

Termites aren’t prevalent in cold countries.

Subterranean termites are mostly drawn to warm locations like California, Arizona, New Mexico, and others.

Queen T (termite) lays thousands of eggs.

The queen of an African termite colony can actually lay up to 30,000 eggs a day. It really is through her that life continues. It’s worth noting as well that Queen T can live for 50 years. It’s no wonder termites are difficult to annihilate.

Termites have been around long before humans came into existence.

This is the finding that evolutionists accept. Termites have been on earth long before the dinosaurs, even. The earliest giant lizards started walking the earth 230 million years ago. Meanwhile, the earliest termites have been chomping on woody vegetation 250 million years ago.

Termites don’t like sand.

Since sand shifts very easily and it dries up fast, termites have a hard time tunneling through them.

Termites are absolute gluttons.

They eat and don’t sleep. Studies reveal that a single colony of termites can actually consume 1,000 lb of wood each year, which is equivalent to 650 baseball bats, or a standard telephone pole.

Termites release methane gas.

These insects contribute to air pollution because they release up to 150 million tons of methane gas a year.

Termites are related to cockroaches.

This is another reason to hate on termites. Although they look like ants, they are actually more closely related to cockroaches.

If you think you may have termites in your home, please contact AAI so one of our team experts can help.