▲ Photos of termites posted in the online community saying they were found in Asan
Termites belonging to the invasive 'dry tree termite family' and Cryptototal Miss, which gnaw dry trees in Gangnam, Seoul, have been discovered, and termites living in Korea are also being damaged.
In one online community, a post was posted that "a termite outbreak has also erupted in Asan, South Chungcheong Province."
The author wrote, 'In February, we signed a contract for a shopping mall with a wooden interior, and it started operating in March, but in mid-April, insects flew everywhere. I checked it and it was a winged termite.'
He went on to explain the damage, saying, "The door pillar where the ants came out was empty, and there were larvae."
He added, "We called a control company and sprayed them with medicine, and after the full moon, dozens of them came out of other places, and larvae even fell from behind the frames."
The author also posted 2 photos of the damage caused by termites.
The photograph showed about 3 winged termites.
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Professor Park Hyun-cheol of Pusan National University, an expert on termites, said after examining the photos, "It is not an invasive species found in Gangnam, but it appears to be a widely distributed species in Korea."
"In 1997, we surveyed cultural properties across the country, and termite damage was confirmed in almost all of them," Park explained.
Regarding termite control, he said, "If you spray pesticides, termites will migrate right away and cause damage elsewhere. There are very few individuals that stand out from the crowd, so we need to get professional help to accurately diagnose termite habitats and actively control them."
(Photo = Online Community Galmuri, Yonhap News)