Termites Have Eaten People’s Entire Life Savings

Termites Have Eaten People’s Entire Life Savings

Money doesn’t grow on trees. It takes many people several decades in order to save up enough money to afford a modest retirement. Having your own stash of cash eaten away by termites would be a disappointing and disheartening experience to say the least. Termites will feed on absolutely anything that contains cellulose. In fact, termites will even chomp through materials in order to reach sources of cellulose. Termite colonies can number in the millions, and they are all on a constant search for cellulose. Of course, paper money also contains cellulose, so your cash makes for a great termite snack. If you keep your money in the bank, then it will likely remain safe from ravenous colonies of cellulose-craving termites. But if you keep your money in your own small safe at home, then a termite infestation may find its way into your safe. Termite infestations are not just a threat to the structure of your home, they also threaten the money you keep stashed under your mattress. Believe it or not, but termites have managed to access and consume cash that had been kept in personal safes.

One woman opened up her safe one day expecting to see her thirty two thousand British pounds of cash. Sadly, only a few torn bills remained. This did not stop her from attempting to put the sorry looking scraps in the bank, but the manager refused. Luckily, her home country’s Investigation Bureau agreed to honor her money by replacing the leftover scraps with crisp bills. But, she likely still lost much of her savings. The woman had been saving the money in her safe for eight whole years in order to study abroad. After this woman’s problem was investigated, the Bureau urged all citizens to keep their money in a bank. You know, in case termites eat it.

Have you ever witnessed termites consuming paper?