This includes southern Ontario, Canada, and southward through the eastern United States and into Texas.

Damage -- Termites cause more than $1 billion dollars in damage to American homes every year. That's more than fires, storms and earthquakes combined.

A full-blown colony of termites can eat several pounds of wood in your home every week.

Colony Size -- A typical mature colony may consist of 60,000 to over a million workers.

Symptoms -- A large colony can eat about a pound of wood a day. Termite damage to the wood's surface often is not evident because termites excavate galleries within materials as they feed.

Wood attacked by subterranean termites generally has a honeycombed appearance because termites feed along the grain on the softer spring growth wood.

Their excavations in wood often are packed with soil, and fecal spotting is evident.

When inspecting for termites, it is useful to probe wood with a knife or flat blade screwdriver to detect areas that have been hollowed. Severely damaged wood may have a hollow sound when it is tapped.