Do termites eat dry wood?
Termites eat all wood whether it be wet or dry. Wet wood is more attractive to them because it enables them to travel further from the ground and retain their needed moisture. But the fact that wood is wet is not necessarily why they have attacked it. Wood being a main source of food, they will attack it where ever they can but when it is wet, it is more palatable and therefore more desirable. Q: How much can termites eat and how fast? A: This is a difficult question because many variables are involved such as type of termite, size of the colony, the geographic location, high ground or wood moisture and even the type of wood. But, we can estimate using some basics. A mature colony of eastern subterranean termites, which is what we have in Tidewater, would take up to several years to reach a size of about 60,000 workers. This colony would eat about 1/5 of an ounce of wood per day and at this rate, would consume more than one foot of a pine 2 x 4 in six months. While the damage from a si