Reticulitermes lucifugus

SPECIES: Reticulitermes lucifugus ( the subspecies Lucifugus Corsicus is present in Sardinia and Corsica)

FEATURES/SIZE: numerous, with approximately 1 million adults. The alate form is 10-12 mm long with wings, 6 mm without wings. The soldier is 4-5 mm long, and a pale yellow-grey colour. Always in contact with the ground and constantly coming and going, this termite is very primitive, with a distributed organisation that prefers the creation of autonomous secondary colonies.

HABITAT: shuns light and open air, confining itself to the stable environment of the termite mound, or protected earth-covered communication trenches. On emerging from the ground, it moves in search of food, eating cellulosic materials found in soil, or reaches the interiors of buildings (where cardboard or paper can be found, wood is being worked, etc.), where it then builds its home in suitably humid wooden structures.

DAMAGE: Starting from the ground, it enters buildings by exploiting all the passageways in the colonised environment: crevices in the foundations; cracks in walls or floors; and electrical, hydraulic and telephone ducting. Attacks are consistent in their intensity and size, making them difficult to thwart. The termites attack: wooden fixtures; load-bearing wooden beams; parquet floors; wooden lofts; wood products, and paper. The infested wood can be recognised by its distinctive appearance, with various peeling layers interspersed with gaps covered with wood-like cement. The colony moves in burrows dug through friable materials, or characteristic earthy walkways, built with a special cement, that allows the termites to move across hard or exposed surfaces.

I want to sterminate it