Observations of termites show that a colony of approximately 60,000 insects can consume a 2x4 piece of wood in five months. Colonies of Formosan termites, which can exceed one million insects, will cause more damage far faster. That may not sound like a lot of wood. But it is important to note that termites don’t focus on one area, but spread throughout a structure, sometimes creating second colonies, and eat in several places at once leading to massive amounts of damage.