What eats Termites? Natural Predators in North America

One reason why termites don’t come out of your walls and floors is actually that there are so many natural predators that will eat termites if given the chance!

However, while this is sad for the individual termite, none of these predators will be able to help you with an infestation. Termites within their colonies are safe from all enemies – unless you break open the entire structure, which is not advisable if they’re in your home.

While birds may not be your first guess as termite predators, they do snack them if given the chance. This is mostly relevant during swarm season, though. As winged termites, Alates, come out to swarm and start new colonies, they are easy prey for insect-hunting birds.

Some birds, like chickens or woodpeckers, are in a good position to notice and eat worker termites as well. None of these birds will be able to significantly reduce a termite colony, though.

Common termite-eating birds include:

• Chickens
• Doves
• Red-Headed Woodpecker
• Sparrows
• Spotted Eagle Owls
• Starlings
• Swifts
• Weavers

Spiders are obvious natural predators of termites: Web-weaving spiders catch almost any insect that flies into the web, termites included.

Hunting spiders, those that stalk their prey rather than building webs, will happily hunt small insects like ants and termites.

However, neither will be able to get to the termites that stay safe in their colony – which is at least 99% of them.

So spiders won’t be a big help at slowing down an infestation, either.

Some other insects also eat termites if they catch them. Ants are the most common, since they often live similarly, occupy the same territory, and can even be found fighting over territory.

There are even insects that are able to get into a termite colony, and it is possible that an entire colony is destroyed by a rival insect.

Common insects that can eat termites include:

• Ants
• Assassin bugs
• Beetles
• Nematodes
• Wasps

Many reptilians eat insects, and make no exception for flying or non-flying termites. Obviously, some prefer one over the other: While frogs are most likely to catch winged termites out of the air, lizards, geckos, and snakes are most likely to catch the crawling worker termites that leave their tunnels.

Termites are not usually a major food source for any of them, but may be snacked by:

• Frogs
• Geckos
• Lizards
• Snakes

Even some mammals eat termites – some are specialized for the task, like anteaters. Primates have been observed learning how to get termites out of their colonies using sticks and other improvised tools.

Moles are also in a unique position to eat termites, as one of the only larger animals living underground. They can even locate termite colonies, break in, and feast on them like an all-you-can-eat buffet, destroying it in the process.

 Some of the ant-eating mammals include:

• Aardvarks
• Anteaters
• Armadillos
• Bats
• Moles
• Primates