[TheChairGuy]

We got 'em, and the landlord and us have different ideas about exterminating them.

He wants to do the old style bag the house and kill everything in it...including occupants and plants if they still be in there.  We've done research and found that Orange Oil and Borates are used widely elsewhere in the world, increasingly here in the US, and safe and effective.

Anybody has knowledge or insight into this topic here?.....TERMITES.  Yuck.

John

[Charles Calkins]

Had my house tented about 5 years ago. Had to stay with friends for 3 days. No termites now. Could have done a do it yourself spray job but I wanted them critters gone NOW!!!

                                     Charlie

[ohenry]

In the SE US when infestation is found, the perimeter of the house foundation is trenched and flooded with pesticide (Termidor).  The trenches are only about 6" deep and wide.  Also, the foundation is drilled every 12-18" and filled with the same liquid.  I haven't heard of fumigation used here; maybe it has to do with the species of critter.  The treatment process I described doesn't create a smelly or hazardous situation for the occupants and you wouldn't realize treatment had occurred unless you witnessed it (and/or saw the small grouted holes in the foundation).

It seems that most houses I've considered buying for renovation lately have evidence of termites, and the two I've recently purchased needed treatment.

There is an alternative here for treatment.  You can treat only the infested areas of the house as described above, and then put out bait stations around the house perimeter that need quarterly monitoring.  If the bait is eaten by termites, the pest control operator then puts poisonous food in the bait station to kill the colony.

I choose to treat the whole house instead, because I don't trust that the home purchaser will maintain a proper contract with a pest control company to monitor the bait stations.  The whole house treatment is guaranteed for seven years in this region, so the new owner has nothing to worry about for quite a while.  And, it seems to make the lenders more at ease as well.

[satfrat]

Once you've got termites in the foundation of a home, it's almost impossible to get rid of them totally. Home remedy's might take care of the ones you see but even the bag fumigation system isn't always 100% guaranteed. But it's really is your only option, especially if you're a landlord with an investement to protect. Just don't leave your plants behind when you leave.  aa

Cheers,
Robin

[dorokusai]

Do termites thrive in one soil more than another? I live in a predominately clay and rock type of substrate and never really gave much thought to termites.

Mark

[Bemopti123]

termites are natural manifestation of the soil.  Clay or soil type seems to be irrelevant.  Two variables seem to add to the chances of they eating up your wood.  1-moisture.  They thrive in wood that is somehow wet. 
2- temperature.  They seem to be more common as you head down South of the US. 
#2- my mother lives down south (Atlanta) and the soil down there is pure red clay.  It can be as hard as rock when dry...plenty of termites down there. 

[TheChairGuy]

I had a yearly contract with Terminex in Washington DC (moist, like most of the southeast) when I lived, and owned a home, there.

Didn't know or think termites were a problem in NorCal...but about two weeks ago I found out otherwise 

John

[lonewolfny42]

Time to move....

[S Clark]

Two variables seem to add to the chances of they eating up your wood.  1-moisture.  They thrive in wood that is somehow wet. 
2- temperature.  They seem to be more common as you head down South of the US. 

It  doesn't even have to be a moist climate.  I have spent many hours along the Rio Grande in the Chihuahuan Desert and have seen innumerable termite colonies.  They just do a great job of sealing in moisture during the dry spells. The little buggers are highly evolved

[dorokusai]

Bemo & TGC - I appreciate the replies, now I'm terrified.....I think I'm being eaten right now, thanks I friend of mine suggested "Seven" or 7, as a barrier to insects. Have you ever heard of it?

Mark

[Bill Baker]

I had a serious termite problem in my home when we moved in. I even had to replace my front porch and rear patio after they were gone along with some interior walls.

 Termite colonies can be a quarter mile away from where you are noticing them.

 I looked at all different ways to get rid of them but never considered any home remedies as they never seem to work and a house is far to valuable to go cheap on. Then again, that was before they had the DIY bait systems as I talk about below. The foundation trenching method was not as good as the bait system.

 The method we used was poison bait traps. They install several traps around the home that have small wooden pieces in them. Once they have a consistent hit on one of the traps, they replace the wooden bait pieces with a poison saturated piece. When the termites devour this poisoned wood, they take this poison back to their colony to feed all the others. Eventually they all  die.


 This was 10 years ago and we have not had any problems since.

 Now they have this trapping system available for you to do yourself

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/advance_termite_bait_system.htm

[TheChairGuy]

Bill, those traps work on ground dwelling, but apparently there yet another kind involved here, flying termites.

I'm not sure if they are unique to California or can be found elsewhere in US, but we got 'em here 

John

[lonewolfny42]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcMs3cWDWOA

[mjosef]

All the termites colonies I have encountered in my very short life, has had some with wings and some without...its like the military...they got an army force and an airforce. 
And of course they got the royalty class too.

[jimdgoulding]

Those lil bastards have tore up my mailbox post.  I keep tellin my neighbors, it's "rustic", ain't it.

[Bill Baker]

HI John,
 I might be wrong but from what I remember, the flying termites only come out to find a new place to infest. Around here, they can be seen for about two weeks in the spring only. They are searchers and don't last long.
 I did a lot of research at the time. The internet is a powerful tool.

[TheChairGuy]

We tried to convince our landlord to try Orange Oil and Borates (I even went so far as to offer to pay for the whole treatment, and in 45 days upon re-inspection, credit that month's rent for it if termite infestation was gone).

I thought that was win-win solution for all.  As well, the orange oil/borate treatment is only 60% of the cost of fumigation/tenting and putting us up in a hotel for 3+ days (a cost borne by the landlord in these cases) 

http://www.orangeoiltermitecontrol.com/

The dope turned it down flat - insisting on potentially harmful tenting and fumigation with pesticides Vikane (sulfuryl fluoride) and methyl bromide.

We could have already had the treatment done (borates/boric acid around the perimeter and orange oil injected into the wood so that it never becomes a food source again for the termites) last week....and the place would be infestation free by the beginning of March if my math is correct.

Now, because the inflexible landlord insists on deadly fumigation, we won't move out until March 31...and the termites munch away on his house that much longer.  He's been a difficult guy to deal with the past 5 years (very arrogant), so parting ways will be very sweet sorrow 

John

[sts9fan]

Yeah but you are looking at it from a side with very little invested in the property. 

[lonewolfny42]

John....

Watch those speakers....if you see them tilting...then things are getting bad... 



(Might look like ....dessert  )

[JohnR]

Um... thanks for the reminder! I've just booked a termite inspection for this Friday (well overdue, been attacked before....!)