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How to Preserve Termite Mound Tunnels

Termites are a nuisance on homes and other wood products, but these insects are also masterful engineers at creating and maintaining massive mounds and tunnels. These tunnels can radiate several meters from the main mound, and the insects control the humidity and other factors. When it becomes necessary to exterminate the insects, or if they abandon the nest, the tunnels and mounds can fall into disrepair. The tunnels are fragile and easily broken, but there are ways to preserve them for study.

Things You'll Need

Ants
garden shed
Tin snips
Window pane
Caulk
Paintbrush
Sealer
Wood
Natural dessicant
Dehumidifier

Instructions

Introduce A New Species
- 1
  Build a garden shed around the termite mound. Cut a hole in the roof using tin snips the size of the window pane. Place the window pane into the hole. Caulk around the edges to keep it secure and water tight. The enclosure keeps animals and other pests out of the mound and from breaking the tunnels.
- 2
  Introduce other nests and colonizing insects, such as ants, to the mound. Dig out ant nests, including the queen, and place them in the termite mound. The ants will take care of the mound and the tunnels like it is their own nest. They can get to the tunnels below the surface and maintain them.
- 3
  Paint the outside of the mound using a wood sealer, if you choose not to use ants or other colonizing insects. Avoid painting over the entrances to the tunnels and focus on the outside structure. The sealer hardens and protects the structure from natural erosion. Paint gently so as not to break the structure.
- 4
  Place a natural desiccant in the structure, such as silicon, to reduce the relative humidity inside the structure. Place a dehumidifier in the structure if it has power. Remove the water collected from the dehumidifier on a regular basis, at least weekly.

Insects & Science