Pest Control

[Dottie]

I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help. We discus= sed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with = Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses arou= nd me had subterrainium termites. Recently I found a pile of dead bugs on = the marble window sill in my dining room window -- everything around the wi= ndow is metal. The bugs did look like very tiny termites -- yet they had t= he body shape of an ant. My neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who= keeps up with different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) a= nd she said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but s= he doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got inside ... e= xcept a very small hole between the marble and wall is possible. Today I f= ound ordinary ants coming in there ... there have been stories in the paper= about dry wood termites but I can't find any pictures of fully developed o= nes. Does anyone know -- are they shaped like sub.termites or are they mor= e like ants? I have a call into the pest control company that treated my h= ouse but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with befor= e I talk to them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termite= s I am pretty sure ..

[gpsman]

You've posted here 593 times over 12 years:

eated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several = houses around me had subterrainium termites.

Probably unnecessary.

uld like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to t= hem.

You're dealing with dead bugs. Sweep them up.

Just about any insecticide "works on" termites. The issue is persistence of the active ingredient. -----

- gpsman

[Frank]

this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites. Recently I found a pile of dead bugs on the marble window sill in my dining room window -- everything around the window is metal. The bugs did look like very tiny termites -- yet they had the body shape of an ant. My neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who keeps up with different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) and she said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got inside ... except a very small hole between the marble and wall is possible. Today I found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have been stories in the paper about dry wood termites but I can't find any pictures of fully developed ones. Does anyone kn ow -- are they shaped like sub.termites or are they more like ants? I have a call into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am pretty sure ..

I just had the thermador treatment done on my house as a precaution here in Delaware. We don't have the termites here that do not need the moisture as you have in the south and that would be a concern. Sounds like you have flying ants and it is fairly easy to distinguish by body shape.

Terminex did my thermador and I'll be paying $225/year as insurance against termite invasion or any termite damage. The guys that applied it said thermador is good for about 10 years. Bayer sells stuff you can apply yourself at much lower cost but is only good for about 3 years and unless you are drilling the concrete like walks or porch around your foundation it is tough to do the whole house properly.

Neighbors on both sides of me had had termites and one suffered termite damage. I thought all the colonies got killed off with his juvenile hormone follow up but they are back in stumps around my property so I did treatment and contract for peace of mind.

[Norminn]

If you live in Florida, you need to inform yourself about termites, fire ants and rats. Prevention is most important. You can probably do as well at inspecting your structure for termites as a contractor can, and you should do it, but also find a RELIABLE contractor to do annual inspections. There are already been posts to this thread that make assumptions about types of termites and treatment for each....wrong! Also, termites belong in the environment where there is dead, decaying wood...termites in a dead stump are not a sign your home is in danger. Termites don't eat through paint....keep wood members of structure painted, dry and in good repair. Wood should be minimum of 6" above grade. Keep landscaping OFF the building. Caulk openings around doors, windows, electrical and plumbing entries. Store cereal, grain and pet food in sealed plastic containers. Sweets in the fridge.

U of Fla has loads and loads of info about pests, prevention, methods of treatment and signs of infestation....inform yourself BEFORE you call contractors so you are not in panic mode and get suckered into treatments you do not need. I lived in an older condo that had been tented for termites before I lived there...during some remodeling, it was easy to see the old damage....it isn't the end of the world and you can expect to have termites at some point. After bringing our condo back into decent condition after long neglect, we were fine but the much newer condo's on either side of ours needed to be tented. Just to be sure of ID of bugs, you can bring or send samples to county extension services....our co. had a staff entomologist just to ID and give expert info.

Someone who had "termites" in California may have had a totally different type/specie than one found in Louisiana or Florida. It is not "one size fits all"!!

[krw]

treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites.

like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them.

...and what else it "works" on.

[dadiOH]

If they look like ants they are ants. No termite has a waist. Additionally, termites aren't "tiny"...not huge but not tiny either. Here are numerous pix of them...

The usual treatment for them is gas. Their presence is most generally flagged by little piles of fecal material that looks like sawdust.

The ants are getting in around your window(s). Many (most) windows in Florida have window bucks; a window buck is a piece of angled wood fastened to the block wall...the angle on the buck is supposed to push the drywall piece tight against the window frame but "tight" varies much. If you want to minimize their intrusion, look at the outside of your windows and assure their are no pin holes.

Additionally, the once popular marble sills - they aren't likely marble BTW, most likely polyester faux marble - often provide numerous entrances for bugs unless they are completely bedded onto the concrete sill and also sealed at the ends.

Finally, the concrete blocks of the walls can provide homes for millions and millions of ants. They LOVE blocks as they provide a nice dry home for them. The most amazing thing is that they inevitably seem to find some tiny fault in the mortar to use as an entrance. Stucco over the block helps but even then they seem to find a way in, just fewer and less frequently.

[Dottie]

ussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated wit= h Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses ar= ound me had subterrainium termites. Recently I found a pile of dead bugs o= n the marble window sill in my dining room window -- everything around the = window is metal. The bugs did look like very tiny termites -- yet they had= the body shape of an ant. My neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers w= ho keeps up with different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does)= and she said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but= she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got inside ...= except a very small hole between the marble and wall is possible. Today I= found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have been stories in the pap= er about dry wood termites but I can't find any pictures of fully developed= ones. Does anyone know -- are they shaped like sub.termites or are they m= ore like ants? I have a call into the pest control company that treated my= house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with bef= ore I talk to them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termi= tes I am pretty sure ..

I cleaned up the mess the ants left -- and put down Terro. Today there is = no sign of ants or the ants with wings that had me so concerned.