Should I proactively try to prevent termites, and if so, how?
I live in NE Kansas - partially wooded area with about 35" of rain a year.
The house was built in 2000. Original owner has a pest company come out and spray, set bait traps, etc. I'm inclinded to do as much as I can myself. I'll spray a perimiter pest spray to keep down spiders, etc. But what about termites? Is this a serious threat -- one worth hiring the pros to prevent?
If you cannot find the local information you need, the Kansas Agricultural Extension Dept. will advise. I do not know whether this is run by a state university or the state goverrnment.
I do it myself. Spray around foundations and keep clear of debris. Few years ago they hit my neighbor and treatment killed area colony(s). Termites are fairly easy to spot by tunnels, swarming or infested wood. The neighbor had done nothing, had an infested wood pile on dirt next to house and did not notice problem until they swarmed in his basement. I had spotted termites in the area as stumps close to house were infested. My spraying and baiting kept them away.
Would you mind sharing what preventative measures, products, etc you used?
Is there any particular "debris" that is worse than others? We have shrubs around the house - next to it - touching the house in places. I'm all for pruning them back as far as I need to - even riping some out. They are "mulched" with fabric and gravel, which I presume is good vs wood mulch. We have 20-30 good sized cedar trees about 50' feet away and in and around them of course is some fallen timber,etc. Otherwise the area around the house - other than the smaller shrubs - is clear.
I don't know the answer but...,
Here's a good website with a lot of information about termites:
coloradotrout wrote:
Second the Termidor product. It's available on Ebay and it ain't cheap!
It is, however, FAR cheaper than a commercial application.
You might use the web to familiarize yourself on the science behind the product and the studies done.
A termite nest may be a long way from your house - maybe several hundred feet - and a single colony can be simultaneously attacking several homes within its range. Typical barrier methodologies just keep the critters away from your house (temporarily) while they wait for the chemicals to degrade. Then they're back with a vengence! Termidor and its cousins eradate the nest.
Your neighbors will thank you. May even give you a fruitcake.
I used Spectracide baits and got rid of termites, about maybe 70-100$ at HD. You can with bait identify if they are there.
Take a look at this web site
Chris
My neighbor is the fruitcake.
Stuff I'm using now is more designed for ants. I assume it would kill a stray termite. Ants coming in, I just ringed the house with Spectracide and sprayed base of foundation with Termite and Carpenter Ant Killer. But when I had seen termites in the neighborhood, I put out poison stakes, forgot brand.
By debris, I generally mean wood on ground and you want to be able to see termite tunnels on foundation so you don't want things like woodpiles on dirt next to foundation. They are not going to climb up bushes and attack from there. Tunnels to get over barriers like cement keep out light and supply moisture. The mud tunnels are easy to spot but you won't see termites unless you break tunnel or infested wood.
If you live in wooded area, check stray logs or stumps to see if infested. As others said, and I observed colony can attack areas hundreds of feet away. The juvenile hormone that my neighbors treatment company used wiped out the termites attacking woodpiles and stumps on or near my lot so my concern level is far less at this time.
You cant go wrong with Termidor. I paid $850 rto have my house treated. They had to drill holes in the foundation then fill them in when they left. They really did a good job treating not only my house but my storage shed and the ground where I had a woodpile and an old rotting stump. 8 years latter I did it myself. I had a friend in the business get the Termidor for me and I reapplied it myself. The Termidor cost about $100.The Termidor not only got rid of the termites but also all the other creapy crawlies including ants and crickets and roaches.
Super roach motel, Spray(soaking wet) a paper mache egg carton with Termidor and place it where the roaches go.
Jimmie
Those are only SUBTERRANEAN termites. Dry-wood and damp-wood termites do no build mud tubes.
unless the tubes are behind overgrowth, on the inside of walls where pipes penetrate slab, inside of crawl space, etc.
It would be abnormal NOT to find termites in a dead stump. They BELONG there.
Come May-June, termites swarm. Good reason to keep home in good condition (caulked, painted, wood repaired, landscaping not touching) and to understand termites active in one's area, means of preventing infestation and signs to look for. They are not all treatable with the same remedies - good reason to check in the local or county extension service.
"I used Spectracide baits and got rid of termites, about maybe 70-100$ at HD. You can with bait identify if they are there."
I have been using baits on a town home we own.
So far we have gone through 3 or 4 "kits" (I have lost count) of 20 baits. There is no question that "something" is eating the baits but there isn't any signs of termines in the house or of termite swarms (wings, etc.). Insofar as I have had accesss to basement wood I have sprayed and put down borax powder.
Still crossing my fingers.
I assumed Kansas would only have subterranean termites. Also none of my stumps have termites after neighbor smote the colony. Termites are great for removing stumps ;)
I use a perimeter spray around the house twice a year, keep the foundation clear and dry, quick inspection every month, wood piles far fromthe house, etc. I think hiring a pro is overkill, but that works too.
What system do you mean?
I'm a satisfied customer of that business.
My mother ordered several changes to the 19th Century house where she'd grown up:
I inherited the house. A year later, a couple of hundred "flying ants" appeared in the front bedroom. There were no swarms in the following years. At the time, I didn't realize they were termites. It takes a colony at least five years to produce a swarm. Then there should be a swarm each year. Apparently a dry year wiped out that nest.
A couple of years later, I discovered that the old washer had seepage, which kept the carpet wet. The plywood floor was wrecked. I thought it was rot.
A year later, I began finding termite tunnels where the ivy climbed the underpinning from the mulch. I assumed they were coming from the mulched soil. I began pulling ivy, destroying tunnels, and spraying with diazanon. I set out bait stakes but never got a bite. Apparently they were coming from the house to the mulched soil to get moisture.
A year later, thousands swarmed in the three rooms by the interior corner where the washer was. The floor was dry but had been wet enough years for a colony to thrive. To get to the ground, they were using the post against which somebody had heaped dirt.
I checked with friends and relatives. All were blissfully ignorant about termites and nobody could give a solid recommendation for an exterminator. Decades earlier, my grandfather had saved an infested parsonage by crawling underneath to remove scrap wood and destroy tunnels. I destroyed their tunnels and sprayed with diazinon.
Each time it rained they would attack cellulose ceiling tiles in two rooms. They must have been bringing water from a roof leak, and I couldn't find it. Diazinon repels termites, so it could protect only where I was able to spray. It's useless in soil, where it breaks down quickly.
A year later, thousands more swarmed, but not as many as the first time. Besides the ceiling, they were in the kitchen floor, getting the little water from my occasional mopping of the linoleum.
That's when I discovered Borrada online. Convinced by the MSDS that it was harmless to humans, I used my hands to mix it with water, then sprayed ceiling tiles. The termites loved it. As I sprayed, they would pop their heads out to get a drink of it. Under the house, I sprayed sills and beams where I had found tunnels on the underpinning.
I've had no trouble since I used Borrada, but I was fearful because heating ducts made much of the crawlspace inaccessible. I bought Termidor and was able to spray streams 15 feet to soak the soil at cracks in the underpinning. I assumed that if there were termites now or in the future, they would sometimes use those cracks to tunnel outside for water.
I have found Termidor effective against fire ants. Some poisons require you to soak the mound. With Termidor I mix a teaspoon of concentrate with a quart of water, and put a tablespoon of that on a mound. They'll be dead in a week.
The pressure-treated sills of my cellar hatch became rotten and bug-infested. Borates are said to stop insects and rot better than pressure treating, so when I rebuilt the hatch, I painted the wood with Borrada. My primary concern was termite prevention.
I will be getting one of these kits.
Chris
What spray do you use?
Chris
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