I have active termite infestation. Can this be dealt with by me or do I have to call a company? Hey, I’m a contractor, I have to try to fix everything myself, that’s why I have no life!
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Replies
I think you can only get the strong poison with a pest control license.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
call a professional licenced treatment contractor
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"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image, when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." Anne Lamott
Thanks, that's what I figured but thought I'd get some opinions. I am not interested in biting off more than I can chew.
What part of the world do you live in? I imagine termites are more of a problem the further south you are. Before you spew toxic stuff all over your house and commit to a lifetime contract with the Orkin Man, try to eliminate the environment that attracts termites. They need contact with soil. Get soil and landscape materials away from wooden parts of your house. (Code is 8" around here.) Replace damaged wood with pressure-treated lumber where possible. Clean up and block all channels they can travel in. make things clean and dry. These steps will also help eliminate rot and carpenter ants.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Termites do not need ground contact once they have infested the house. While your advice would be helpful in preventing termite infestation it would do little to stop an active infestation.
>>Termites do not need ground contact once they have infested the house. While your advice would be helpful in preventing termite infestation it would do little to stop an active infestation.
Depends on the type of termite.
Bottom line is that sooner or later you'll sell the home and it is likely the pest inspection will find evidence of infestation. Without proof of treatment by a licensed constrator prior to the sale, you'll pay for it at the sale.
Not to mention potential damage to your home or your health if you screw it up.
_______________________
Tool Donations Sought
I'm matching tool donors to a church mission to Haiti - we're shipping a bus converted to a medical facility in (now it looks like) April and can fill it with clothes, tools and all sorts of stuff needed in that poorest of all countries. A few hand tools or power tools can provide a livelihood for an otherwise destitute family. Please email me if you have tools to donate.
Thanks to Jeff and David and Jim and Rich and Steven and Mark and Jason and Shep and Jen and Mike and Joe for their offers!
The first donation just arrived! Thanks and God bless!
"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image, when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." Anne Lamott
No matter the type of termite they would only need food and a source of moisture, not ground contact once they have infested the home. I would agree that the formosan is much less dependent on ground contact to get established than the subterranean. The home sales that I have been involved with only require proof of no active infestation, not proof of previous treatment. I would still recommend getting professional treatment. Probably 90 percent of the homes here over 30 years old have had some termite infestation.
"Probably 90 percent of the homes here over 30 years old have had some termite infestation."
Just out of curiosity, where do you live?
Matt
Edited 1/14/2004 6:22:20 AM ET by DIRISHINME
Mobile Alabama, near the gulf coast. We are just starting to see formosan termites that supposedly came in through the port in New Orleans, which are more destructive and seem to cause more extensive damage. I have seen houses where they eat the paper off the drywall and the window trim on their way to the roof framing. Most houses only get minor damage though. Once a year inspections are a good idea here. I could probably make a living doing just termite repair but it is nasty work and most just want it done as cheaply as possible because it is usually covered up or on an unseen part of the house.
I suppose practices vary from state to state and region to region.
So far as I know, there is no legal requirement in Ohio specifying when treatment is required in connection with a home sale - the practice where I am is that the termite/wdi inspectors recommend treatment when the there are signs of infestation and no evidence of prior professional treatment AND evidence of performance of periodic reinspections.
They are, of course, the experts, and when they recommend treatment few will be willing to recommend otherwise given the potential liability.
One reason for that, I believe, is that in northern climates termites become inactive in cold months, so that there is a 4-6 month period where there will no no signs of active infestation even where there is such infestation.
And, it is my understanding from the licensed termite inspectors with whom I work everyday that subterranean termites live in colonies in the ground. The information that I found in a quick internet search supports that view:
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-503/444-503.html
http://doityourselftermitecontrol.com/inspections.htm
But we agree that active infestations should be professionally treated.
_______________________
Tool Donations Sought
I'm matching tool donors to a church mission to Haiti - we're shipping a bus converted to a medical facility in (now it looks like) April and can fill it with clothes, tools and all sorts of stuff needed in that poorest of all countries. A few hand tools or power tools can provide a livelihood for an otherwise destitute family. Please email me if you have tools to donate.
Thanks to Jeff and David and Jim and Rich and Steven and Mark and Jason and Shep and Jen and Mike and Joe for their offers!
The first donation just arrived! Thanks and God bless!
"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image, when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." Anne Lamott
Subterranean termites need soil, but others don't. I live in Los Angeles and we have both kinds.
John
California: Mountain lions, earthquakes, Jacko....Now, flying termites!? What a place!
Are those Formosan termites? Pretty scary. I've seen them devastating native palm trees in the Carribbean. At least there is some logic to the attack of subterranean termites. The infestations of the flying kind seem frighteningly random.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
I haven't heard them called Formosan. But they're busy critters, and when we get a hot spell they swarm, which gets ugly if they're inside your house.
John
I am not interested in biting off more than I can chew.
But I'll bet your termites are.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
poor foresight - didn't you stockpile a 55 gal barrel of Chlorodane in the late '70's before it was restricted?? - or were you only 10 YO then? That'll kill'em all dead.
Only 10 in '79!
The type of termites that infest homes here in the SE prefer damp wood. That's why the termite company's inspector always does a wood moisture check in the crawlspace whenever he comes to our house for the annual inspection. If you have damp conditions, resolve those too. I think I read somewhere that termites in California are a different critter, and the dampness is not as much of an issue, but not sure. Also, get rid of any scrap lumber or firewood you have laying around your house in the basement, crawlspace, or whatever.
As for you actual question - yes I think you need a pro. exterminator.
Thanks, I'll call a pro.Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.
There are subterranean termites that live underground and only come up into the wood to eat. They build mud tubes for the commute.
The ones we have around here are called drywood termites, they live entirely inside the wood they're eating. Despite the name, they do need regular access to water, so they eat the damp wood first. They start new colonies by sending flying males and females out to land on some new wood. They then drop their wings, mate, and start eating. So they can be most anywhere in the house, but they seem to especially like window sills. Perhaps that's the easiest place for bugs from outside to find food on a new house.
To get rid of drywood termites, SOP for the exterminator is to tent the building with tarps and fumigate overnite with Vikane gas. This is definitely not a diy operation, no way would you want to bother with the poison license and store the massive amount of tarps and sandbags for a two day job every 2-5 years. My 3100 sf two story was tarped and fumigated a few years ago for $1100, so figure on putting aside a few hundred a year in the termite fund.
-- J.S.
California - right?Matt
dont get talked into the bait traps.
Your saying they are ineffective? My neighbor has them...Matt
state regulators in my state say , off the record, that they do not like the bait stations. on the record they say it is an approved method.
pest companies like it cause it increases their income (more trips to your house each year). your house is a big bait station. the regulators say the hardest part is training the termites to go to the bait stations (they see cases where the termites go past the station to eat your house.
a neighbor (in the pest business) sez that there is a tendency for a company to assign its techs too many station equipped houses to check in one day, thereby causing the tech to short cut the checking (malpractice).
my advice is use a new chemical like termidor that the pest sdo not detect, they track it back to the termite nest.
As a former PCO..I can agree that : Bait stations are for PCO profit. The best longest lasting termitacide WAS chlordane..banned because of improper use and handling NOT because it was any more of a carcinogen than anything else out there.
The other PC chems. that had have fallen to the EPA axe include Dursban (conc, not the so called Dursban found in some products), Malathion will be totally gone from products very soon.
The best defense is still a good offense, keep the areas dry as possible, free from debris (esp. the backfill, NO scraps) and the foudation plantings not the dense shrubs like YEW, and Junipers, think airflow. Inspect the crawl areas for "MUD TUNNELS" if you find them scrape them awaay..they need a sealed environment to thrive, and the tunnel is the highway , bridge and overpass..DESTROY them.
As far as what to do if ya got them? Gotta go with a Licensed PCO..you simply cannot treat a house safly and effectivly as a DIY project.
I agree strongly -- don't get talked into the bait traps.
Think about it -- the only way that a pest control company is going to use them, is when there is no other way for them to make money.
If there are no termites found in a house, then they put out some bait. For a monthly fee, they will then watch the bait for you, until they find bugs. And note that the bait is quite effective, so they will find them eventually -- even when they've never been seen on your property before.
And once the bugs are there, then the pest control folks have you in a service contract that you'll gladly pay for the rest of your life. Think about it.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
My understanding is that both systems have their place.
I'm not an expert, but I deal regularly with several termite companies and have respect for some of the operators I know.
The guy I have highest respect for seems to generally prefer the barrier treatments to the bait stations, but he uses the bait stations in certain circumstances.
I do not know all of the circumstances where he feels the bait stations are better: one that I do know is treatment of a house on a slab with heating ducts in or below the slab.
In that case I believe he feels that a perimeter treatment, if fully done, is too risky because of the chances of the termicide getting into the ducts and thus the house's air.
I know there are other times when he prefers bait stations to perimeter. As I say, I don't know all of the details, but believe it is connected to instances where he cannot be sure the entire house perimeter will be protected.
Remember, a perimeter treatment has to assure that there is a 100% perimeter of poison around the house.
If one small area goes untreated, the house is at risk.
The bait stations use the concept of establishing a feeding station for any local colony of termites. When their presence is confirmed by examining the original bait stations (which are basically appetizers set out in the stations) then a slow acting poison is set out which the termites carry back to the colony and the entire colony is killed.
My understanding is that both systems have their applications. Both require expert use.
Someone talked about an expert seeing termites go right past the bait stations. I have seen termites which have gotten around perimeter systems.
Someone said some companies overwork their operators.
That's a criticism of the company, not the treatment system. (And it only takes a few seconds (maybe 1/2 minute?) to check a bait station for the presence of termites.)
_______________________
Tool Donations Sought
I'm matching tool donors to a church mission to Haiti - we're shipping a bus converted to a medical facility in (now it looks like) April and can fill it with clothes, tools and all sorts of stuff needed in that poorest of all countries. A few hand tools or power tools can provide a livelihood for an otherwise destitute family. Please email me if you have tools to donate.
Thanks to Jeff and David and Jim and Rich and Steven and Mark and Jason and Shep and Jen and Mike and Joe for their offers!
The first donation just arrived! Thanks and God bless!
"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image, when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." Anne Lamott
> California - right?
Yes, Hollywood, just south of the Paramount lot.
-- J.S.
You can do it if you know how to do it . I do all my buildings , but I learned how . This is one of the few jobs ya cant screw nothin up. Mostly you need to know how to treat what type of building . The internet will give you an up to date line up of chemicals to use . There was some roaches that had everything i had thrown at them but they were still alive . I went to the site and found out about NEW drugs . LOL!
Tim Mooney
Edited 1/13/2004 11:41:55 PM ET by Tim Mooney
Put the wheels back on it and bring it up here in Minnesota for a winter! I promise you within a month you'll see little cardboard signs out on the highway with termits attached hitchiking back home! ;-)