termites

[mo]

Hello, are there any "good" products that will help keep termites away from foundation of house? Foundation is cinderblock.

[Shopdog]

My suggestion is to bury LARGE chunks of solid oak all along your foundation that will give them something to eat other than your foundation. Make sure the chunks are no smaller than 10 inches as that is the area that termites Live breed and die in, they "never " venture further than 10" from their place of birth. Also, make sure you remove any trace of rock or cement from around the the chunks of oak as this is just like handing them a free meal as they love to eat anything made from aggregate.

Searcher

[roger61611]

I suggest termite control is one job it pays to call a contractor - pest control. Burying oak seems like a good way to provide termites with a rest stop/food supply - though I admit I've never tried it.

[Shopdog]

OH geeze, lighten up people it was a joke, the guys got a BLOCK foundation, why on earth would termites be a problem to block?

Searcher

[Dorot29701]

Foundations crack over time. I had termites come up and eat on a carpet tack strip - only place we found them and wouldn't have even known they were there but they started to swarm. There were small cracks in the foundation when we pulled up the carpet to look.

[RobertM]

Because termites will build mud tunnels up the block to the sill plates and then they'll huff and puff and blow the house down.

Bob

[Cheri]

:)

Cheri

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) Hello, are there any "good" products that will :) help keep termites away from foundation of house? :) Foundation is cinderblock. :)

Termidor is the only product I would have put around the foundation only and still expect some protection of the inside, Phantom may also do the trick. Other products will stop activity where they are placed, but may push the activity to areas inside such as plumbing areas or the interior side of foundations.

[Joseph Meehan]

I will add one idea. Remember that termite problems and solutions depend on the area in which the home is located.

[Sacramento Dave]

Termites make termite tubes Right up the foundation right to the wood. And they will eat threw redwood to get to other wood.

[RobertM]

The pro's will tell you that there are only two kinds of homes. Those that have been treated for termites and those that will need to be treated. Sounds like a marketing slogan. Termites were a big problem when I had the house in Arizona. Here in Tennessee, I've had the house inspected and no sign of termites. Soil here is one to three feet of clay over solid limestone which is several hundred feet in depth.

Bob

[Sacramento Dave]

I will agree with Themidor in my research it's the best thing going. Also do not get caught up in the Baiting station thing It's throwing money away just to sleep good at night. Have a annual inspection done. For what it's worth Terminex was the worst Co. I dealt with, there like a used car salesmen with a bug sprayer.

[Shopdog]

Our inspector discovered termites around the house foundation that we were buying, The foundation is cut boulders then stone. We too live on solid limestone, the termites that were found were NOT invading the house nor were they an established colony, it seems that the previous owners had mulch delivered which contained the termites, there was what looked to me like a pile of them. When the exterminator came he literally picked up the mulch and showed us the termites. We then had the entire house treated. Better to be safe then sorry. FWIW, I had no clue that termites could infiltrate block nor did I know they could eat redwood. (or borrow through it to get to other wood, rather)

Searcher

[RobertM]

I agree with you regarding Terminix. Over the years, I've had the best results with local independent pest control companies, both for price and the quality of the work done. I think the worst thing is to get involved with a year long contract for monthly treatments of any kind. Once you sign the contract, there is no incentive for them to do a good job. When pressed to sign a contract, I told the local man that if his work was good he needn't worry about my staying with him for several years. And if his work was bad, then the contract wasn't worth the paper it was written on. We have an understanding and no contract.

Bob

[Norminn]

Subterranean termites build mud tubes to traverse block and get at the footers and the rest of the wood.

[Norminn]

Live near a woods? Find a chunk of rotted wood on the ground and see what is in it :o) I don't know how inevitable termites are - seem almost that way here in Florida - but most times homeowners can learn maintenance measures to help prevent them, and signs to look for to find them. Best to find a mud tube before the main support beam collapses :o) Univ. of Fla. invented bait systems, or A system, and last time I looked there wasn't enough data to compare effectiveness. There are lots of varieties, different ones dominant in different areas, so the advice to research locally was good.

One clue: they don't eat through paint.

[WM]

You can complete a course over the internet to get your own license to buy some excellent termite chemicals. They are relatively safe compared to massive insecticides some so-called termite professionals use.

[The Enigmatic One]

Well, I certainly hope so, as that's what the guy I had do my house used. He had recently switched from Termidor.

The two chemicals are very similar and both come from the same company.

-Tim

[Celtfire]

Do you have any links you can post?

[Lar]

:) On Mon, 15 May 2006 11:30:48 GMT, WM :) wrote: :) > You can complete a course over the internet to get your own license :) >to buy some excellent termite chemicals. They are relatively safe :) >compared to massive insecticides some so-called termite professionals :) >use. :) :) Do you have any links you can post? :)

To be licensed in any state you must complete a number of hours of class room and field work in order to take a state exam. Not sure what the earlier poster was referring to, but some of the newer termite products, the manufactures require the various pest control companies and certified applicators to take a certification course before the product can be bought, but they still do require a certified Applicators Li #, which in Texas for example takes a number of years of experience before it can be acquired.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

Dancing dog is back!