This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
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Termites build their homes inside of ours, using their poop as brick and mortar to construct their nests. A poop sublet sounds horrifying, but Deep Look’s newest video shows how scientists are studying the insects' waste for clues to help them evict these unwelcome tenants once and for all. Termites rely on their gut microbes to digest the wood they scrape from our beams and joists. One bacterium can even convert the cellulose in wood to protein. If exterminators could target these gut microbes, an infestation wouldn’t necessarily require a visit from the fumigator.