History Main / TermiteTrouble

* In one recording of Radio/TheJackBennyProgram'', when Jack was packing for a trip, he told Rochester to pack [[TerribleMusician his violin]]. Rochester joked that when he looked inside the case, all he saw was a fat termite that spit the bridge at him. Jack isn't amused.

** In one cartoon, Porky Pig has to deal with a termite caricatured as a [[CanadaEh French-Canadian lumberjack]]. The exterminator Porky hires causes far more trouble for him than the termite. Porky and the termite soon become friends and go into business opening an antique furniture store.

-->'''Grove Keeper''': [The termites have proven to be a dangerous foe for my kind...]\\

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Comics]]

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[[quoteright:275:[[ComicBook/DonaldDuck https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/termite_trouble_donald_duck.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:275:Donald demonstrates why metal ladders are better.]]
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* In the ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' comic "The bridge on the Mississippi" the evil mayor suggests that the opening of a wooden bridge be celebrated by swinging a bottle of champagne against it. As a test a seemingly empty bottle is used, but it really contained termites, which begin to eat the bridge from the inside. Then the cavalry attempts to ride across the bridge, but it collapses under their weight. And of course, this part of the river just happens to be full of alligators...
* Termites turn out to be the savior... and the new problem... of the Smurf Village in ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' comic book story "You Don't Smurf Progress".
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Robert Kanigher run featured the Termite Queen, a one-shot villain who appeared in issue #58. She was a monster termite with a vicious hatred of humans and the ability to telepathically command termites, which she used to make them consume metal and wreak havoc.

* This is a major plot point in the ninth ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book, ''The Secret''. The team is forced to morph into termites to infiltrate a Yeerk logging front and lose themselves in the simple, overpowering hive-minded instincts of the termites.

--> '''Grove Keeper''': [The termites have proven to be a dangerous foe for my kind…]\\

* In the book ''No Score'', the narrator works for a little while with a scam company which sells termite inspection & extermination door to door; they carry small vials of termites to release so the homeowner can actually see them.

* In one episode of ''Series/FamilyMatters'', Steve creates a batch of super termites. Unfortunately, they get loose and end up devouring Eddie and Waldo's apartment building, to the point that the apartment above them caves in.
* In the third season finale of ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'', "All Fall Down", Bob catches Brazilian termites and takes them to his house to show his family. The termites escape and multiply, and despite his best efforts to catch them, Bob doesn't succeed and the Duncan house is destroyed by the termites, forcing the Duncan family to live in a hotel until they can get their house repaired (and they do in the Season 4 premiere, "Duncan Dream House").

* In an Arty Smartypants segment on ''Series/BetweenTheLions'', Arty reads a book about a termite who keeps eating the houses of other animals and forcing them to relocate. At the end, the termite meets his match when he eats the house of an ostrich, who traps him in a jar.

* In ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', Guybrush must at one point infest the baddie's cane with a handful of termites so that he can follow the resulting trail of sawdust to the villain's lair. By the time you get there, the cane has dissolved completely.
* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaga2'': The termites came closer to destroying the world than the [[BigBad Seven Heroes]] ever did.[[spoiler: Specially later in the game where they manage to take over Avalon Castle.]]

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating an acorn]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and placed on a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]] to be [[TreesIntoToothpicks turned into baseball bats]]. Luckily, Oblina and Krumm use the termites to save Ickis and turn him back to normal seconds before the buzzsaw could slice him. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines, [[KeepingTheHandicap having grown fond of his current state]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'': In "WesternAnimation/InsectToInjury", Popeye tries to defend his newly-built home from termites. These appear as only a small patch of very tiny shapes, but are capable of devouring enormous volumes of wood in seconds and manage to completely erase Popeye's house with only swollen bellies at the end. After eating his spinach, he rebuilt his house completely out of steel; the termites try to eat this too, but get only broken teeth for their trouble.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E13RuthlessPeopleWhatWoodLincolnDo Ruthless People]]", the Loud house is infested with termites, forcing half of the Loud family to stay at Sunset Canyon retirement home, and the other half to stay with [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Aunt Ruth]]. Lincoln, Lori, Lola, Luna, Lynn, and Mr. Loud manage to convince Leni, Lana, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily and Mrs. Loud to stay with Aunt Ruth, but the former group later finds out the disadvantages of staying at Sunset Canyon and that Aunt Ruth bought a lake house where the other half of the family is living it up, so Lincoln, Lori, Lola, Luna, Lynn, and Mr. Loud manage to convince Leni, Lana, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily and Mrs. Loud to stay at Sunset Canyon instead. However, the former half soon finds out that [[HereWeGoAgain the lake house is also infested by the very same termites]], thanks to [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Lana saving them from being exterminated]]. Meanwhile, Leni, Lana, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily and Mrs. Loud are having a good time on a cruise ship [[GaveUpTooSoon thanks to Sunset Canyon's air conditioning breaking down]], much to the ire of Lincoln, Lori, Lola, Luna, Lynn, and Mr. Loud.

** In one cartoon, Porky Pig has to deal with a termite caricatured as a [[CanadaEh French-Canadian lumberjack]]. The exterminator Porky hires causes far more trouble for him than the termite.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating an acorn]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]] and [[TreesIntoToothpicks turned into baseball bats]]. Luckily, Oblina and Krumm use the termites to save Ickis and turn him back to normal seconds before the buzzsaw could slice him. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines, [[KeepingTheHandicap having grown fond of his current state]].

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating an acorn]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]] and [[TreesIntoToothpicks turned into baseball bats]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, Krumm and Oblina save him and the termites turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines, [[KeepingTheHandicap having grown fond of his current state]].

JustForFun/{{Termites}} are portrayed in fiction as very fast munchers of wood who gleefully turn floors, furniture, ladders and other wooden items into sawdust [[BuzzsawJaw to the tune of saw blade sounds]]; often, they are simply a terrifying invisible force that rapidly disintegrates wood. They are often a problem in buildings and may require fumigation tents.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E13RuthlessPeopleWhatWoodLincolnDo Ruthless People]]", the Loud house is infested with termites, forcing half of the Loud family to stay at Sunset Canyon retirement home, and the other half to stay with [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Aunt Ruth]]. Lincoln, Lori, Lola, Luna, Lynn, and Mr. Loud manage to convince Leni, Lana, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily and Mrs. Loud to stay with Aunt Ruth, but the former group later finds out the disadvantages of staying at Sunset Canyon and that Aunt Ruth bought a lake house where the other half of the family is living it up, so Lincoln, Lori, Lola, Luna, Lynn, and Mr. Loud manage to convince Leni, Lana, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily and Mrs. Loud to stay at Sunset Canyon instead. However, the former half soon finds out that [[HereWeGoAgain the lake house is also infested by the very same termites]], thanks to Lana saving them from being exterminated. Meanwhile, Leni, Lana, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily and Mrs. Loud are having a good time on a cruise ship thanks to Sunset Canyon's air conditioning breaking down, much to the ire of Lincoln, Lori, Lola, Luna, Lynn, and Mr. Loud.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E13RuthlessPeopleWhatWoodLincolnDo Ruthless People]]", the Loud house is infested with termites, forcing half of the Loud family to stay at Sunset Canyon retirement home, and the other half to stay with [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Aunt Ruth]]. Lincoln manages to convince Lana to stay with Aunt Ruth, but later finds out the disadvantages of staying at Sunset Canyon and that Aunt Ruth bought a lake house, so he convinces Lana to stay at Sunset Canyon instead. However, he soon finds out that [[HereWeGoAgain the lake house is also infested by the very same termites]], thanks to Lana saving them from being exterminated. Meanwhile, Lana is having a good time on a cruise ship thanks to Sunset Canyon's air conditioning breaking down, much to Lincoln's ire.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating an acorn]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]] and [[TreesIntoToothpicks turned into baseball bats]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, Krumm and Oblina save him and the termites turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines, having grown fond of his current state.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating an acorn]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, Krumm and Oblina save him and the termites turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines, having grown fond of his current state.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating a seed pod]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, Krumm and Oblina save him and the termites turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is [[{{Transflormation}} transformed into a tree after eating a seed pod]], Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, the termites quickly turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is transformed into a tree after eating a seed pod, Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, the termites quickly turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines.

* Used benevolently in the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "[[Recap/AaahhRealMonstersS2E9RoshOMonsterTreeOfIckis Tree of Ickis]]". When Ickis is transformed into a tree after eating an seed pod, Oblina and Krumm gather up termites to free him from his wooden prison. However, it is complicated when Ickis is cut down and about to be sliced by a [[LumberMillMayhem sawmill]] [[ConveyorBeltODoom conveyor belt]]. Seconds before the buzzsaw could slice Ickis, the termites quickly turn him back to normal. Ickis even offers the termites to Gooloog, another monster who suffered the same issue he did, but he declines.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBerenstainBears'': One episode has ConArtist Raffish Ralph teaming up with a termite named Terrible Termite in order to sell termite insurance. Terrible Termite turns agains Ralph when he realizes that the insurance is really a MonsterProtectionRacket and forces him to return the money by threatening to eat his houseboat.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBerenstainBears'': One episode features a story about a termite named Terrible Termite who teams up with the episode's villain to sell bogus "termite insurance" to bears. The scam involves the termite chowing down on wooden property. At the end of the episode the termite turns on the villain and forces him to give back the money by threatening to eat his house boat.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBerenstainBears'': One episode features a story about a termite who teams up with the episode's villain to sell bogus "termite insurance" to bears. The scam involves the termite chowing down on wooden property.