Can Termites Enter Human Body?

Termites may and do bite humans. Termites prefer wood over mammalian flesh and blood. Hence attacks on humans by these insects are uncommon.

Termites are herbivores, meaning they eat plant matter and pose no threat to other insects or animals unless they are directly threatened.

Termites aren’t interested in you at all, but they are interested in the yummy cellulose present in the wooden components of your home. This starkly contrasts other insect pests like bed bugs, lice, and fleas.

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Biting humans is an unusual occurrence for soldier termites. If you are looking for termites that pose a risk to humans, you need only worry about them. In the same way, that soldier ants don’t forage for food, mate, or raise offspring, soldier termites also don’t perform any of these things and will only attack if provoked.

Instead, they scamper throughout the tunnels, eat enough wood to sustain themselves, and are ready to defend the colony if threatened. Unlike the more well-known human-feeding pests, termites do not require blood from their hosts to survive.

Although termites can bite and sting if they come into touch with human flesh, they are harmless and unlikely to spread disease. Unless handled, starved, or otherwise threatened, these insects pose little danger to humans or other animals.

A study found that while termite bites are uncommon, an allergic reaction or asthma attack is more likely to occur. Heat and air conditioning systems may spread termite droppings, dirt, and dust throughout the home if installed near areas where termites have built nests in the walls or vents.