Alates fly in the late winter or early spring. Gardens and yards can provide a plentiful supply of food and shelter for termites. Any wooden item in contact with the soil is a potential meal for termites. These should be raised above the ground to prevent termite attack. One of the biggest concerns in your yard should be stumps and dead trees.
Termites can also attack dead branches and limbs of a tree.
They can build shelter tubes up the side of a live tree in order to reach the dead wood. The unseen root systems of dead trees and stumps spread out far and wide underground, providing an ideal transport network for termites to travel along foraging and looking for additional food sources. A stump or dead tree's root system can reach across property boundaries and contact neighbouring buildings making it easier for termites to spread and putting buildings at risk of infestation. If you are within an area that has termites, you should look for ways to minimize the risk of getting termites established on your property. Once established in the yard they threaten invasion of your buildings and surrounding properties.