Are there termites in Alaska?

One of the reasons that I love living in Alaska is the lack of creepy crawlies. Now, don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of them, but we also have a little bit of a protective barrier in our cold weather. There are no underground termites in Alaska, but yes, there are termites here. We also have a lot of wood ants (aka carpenter ants).

Right now I have a concern about some logs out in the backyard that are creating a retaining wall for part of the lawn back there. One of my brothers and one of my nephews thought it would be a good idea. They did not consider the fact that it would also mean the logs would eventually start to rot away and become home to things such as termites and wood ants.

We have had termite infestations before and I have heard of the battles waged by friends from online against these destructive pests. If you have ever had an infestation of either one then you know the "schrunch... schrunch... schrunch..." sound that is made as they eat away the wood of your walls. There are plenty of resources online for helping you to find information about termite treatment methods if you have a problem with them, and ways to determine through self inspection of your home if you might have a problem with termites.

With the weather in Alaska warming I am certain that there will only be worse cases of termite infestations to come. Cold weather slows the buggers down, but it does not stop them and Alaska seems to slowly but surely loosing its defense of slowing them through cold. Mind you it still hits an average low of -30 F here in the winter, but it used to hit an average winter low of -60 F where I live around 10 to 15 years ago.

This post has been sponsored by killthetermites.com