Melissa is a fast-growing north Collin County suburb just above McKinney along US-75, with a newer, family-forward feel driven by master-planned neighborhoods and recent schools. The Blackland Prairie soils underlying the area are expansive clay soils that crack during dry summers, creating direct pathways for termite forager tubes to reach wood framing from the soil, bypassing surface barriers. Collin County sits in the active range of both native eastern subterranean termites and, in southern portions of the county, the more destructive Formosan subterranean termite.