They're the earth's most ancient recyclers. For 350 million years they've eaten and digested dead wood and other cellulose materials, then put it back into the ecosystem.
Termites also produce much of the nitrogen found in the earth's atmosphere.
We actually couldn't breathe without them. The quiet, steady, never ending labor of termites creates ecological soundness. However, they just might eat your home in the process. It's been estimated there are nearly 1,500 pounds of termites for every person in the world. With 8 billion people, that's 6,000 trillion tons of termites.