Doing my homework on getting rid of my termites, I learn there are two types of concern here in the Southern California area: drywall termites, which live in the house and eat the wood, and subterranean termites, which live in the soil adjacent to the house and visit the house daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I know I have the drywall type, based on their droppings on the second floor of the house and in the attic crawl space. I plan to have the house tented to get rid of them. I wonder about subterranean termites.
Fumigation is supposed to kill all the drywall termites, and practically none of the subterranean ones. How does one determine if any subterranean ones are present? If they are present, how does one get rid of them?
Find the website for the Extension Office in your state. Not all states have been invaded by all types of termites...yet! The site should also tell you the best way to get rid of them & prevention.
In article , snipped-for-privacy@post.harvard.edu says... :) I know I have the drywall type, based on their droppings :) on the second floor of the house and in the attic crawl :) space. I plan to have the house tented to get rid of :) them. I wonder about subterranean termites. :) :) Fumigation is supposed to kill all the drywall termites, and :) practically none of the subterranean ones. How does one :) determine if any subterranean ones are present? If they are :) present, how does one get rid of them? :)
The company you hire for the dry wood termite fumigation will do a thorough inspection and should be able to locate any sub's also. As mentioned the obvious signs will be mud tubes along the foundation..
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some of the subtle signs will be pin holes in the walls capped with mud...blistering of the painted surfaces..mud where two pieces of wood may meet. Their treatment is either treating the soil with a liquid or using baiting systems. My suggestion for the best sub termite protection would be, if needed, to have the home treated with a liquid called Termidor.
look around the outside of the house for termite tubes. they look a dirt trail about the diameter of a pencil going from the ground to under the siding or stucco. If you have an older home they might of stuccoed all the way down to the ground if so you would want to get the stucco cut above the ground. I believe if you have termite tubes there Subterranean. I been told the can also get threw crakes in the slab. The bad part to all this is you can't come close to determining the damage until you start tearing into things.
They're "Dry Wood" termites. Not "Dry Wall" termites. Fortunately, we only have the subterranean and even then, they're a major concern. Good luck to you on this! Cheers, cc
Short version French for LayCrack, Mex. For Ellcracko, German Mhinecrack, Japanese oycrack, Russian Dacrack and news group's Crake. See it's right their, I guess some people don't speak News's Group.
You mean drywood? There are also damp wood termites here in FL, and lots of varieties in each species. Subterranean termites can go far into wood structure, so second story doesn't mean they are one kind or another.
If you tap around near where you found the droppings, you likely will be able to detect hollow sounding wood. If you poke into that, you likely will find their tunnels. They can eat out most of a segment of wood, but leave the surface intact and paper thin. In our condo, there is a wood partition that was infested at one time. A foot-long section of
1x12 was eaten away entirely but for it's intact coat of paint.
The droppings you found could be something entirely different, so a reputable, licensed pest control contractor should be your first call. Contact a couple of them, and be aware that some larger ones subcontract their chem applications. As a fallback, try to take specimens to your county extension service; they often have entymologists? who can ID the bug for you. Drywood and subt require very different controls, and doing a google search will probably get you info for your area. Also want to look into detection and prevention; not rocket science.
Subt., in a slab house, will build mud tubes (looks like a fat, dried out earthworm) from ground to wood. They avoid light, thus always within wood, not to outside of it. Piles of shed wings around openings, blistery appearance to woodwork or surface of drywall. They eat any form of cellulose. This is not a DIY task. Subt. often come in around plumbing entries, cracks in slabs, beneath stucco or siding, from trees and shrubbery in contact with wood. The do not go through paint, so keeping things ship shape and sealed up helps.
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