DIY Termite control

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

Ok, I've DAGS and I think I know the answer to this but thought I'd see if it matches with what the current wisdom suggests. I live in NM where termites are plentiful. I've seen them in my yard and a while back, I even had them in my house. We had a professional out that treated the entire house yet two years later, the termites were in the house chomping away. The pro came back and retreated the area but quite frankly I'm not all that confident that it's going to keep me safe. He was using Timbor (???...a borax solution of some sort). What I'm thinking about doing is applying Termidor myself. After reading the literature on it, it seems pretty simple to do. Trench to the footing and apply at the specified rate. I do have approx 30 feet of slab I will need to drill and inject so I still need to figure that piece out but overall, it seems pretty foolproof. What am I missing here? What are the cons of doing my own treatment other than no warranty (which given my previous experience, I'm not overly confident a warranty really means anything)? Cheers, jlc

[Walter R.]

I have the same problem here in Southern California. The pest control operators have a monopoly on termite work. They charge an arm and a leg for just pumping some termiticide under the slab. The last time they did it, it cost $ 2000 and they had to come back in less than a year.

I would like to do it myself, too. The trenching is easy but how to get the Termidor under the slab? I guess a 1/2 inch hammer drill will get through the slab. But, how does one go about injecting the solution under the slab?? A pressure washer with the Termidor in a siphon bottle?

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

That's one dilemma I haven't tackled just yet. I wouldn't think it'd be that difficult though. Perhaps even a garden sprayer would work....it'd be slow but might work. I do have an engine cleaning gun that would probably work actually. Got it cheap at Harbor Freight and it might just be the right size. Plug it in to an air compressor and attach a bottle of liquid and it sprays pretty strong. Hmmmm. I'm curious, when they did your slab did they use Termidor or something else? If Termidor, and it didn't work after a year, then getting a warranted job might be worth it. I have heard however, that Termidor is very effective so hence I'm willing to forego the warranty if I can save a few thousand bucks. Thanks for the response. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences. Cheers, cc

[Lar]

In article , "James \\"Cubby\\" Culbertson" says... :) What I'm thinking about :) doing is applying Termidor myself. After reading the literature on it, it :) seems pretty simple to do. Trench to the footing and apply at the :) specified rate. I do have approx 30 feet of slab I will need to drill and :) inject so I still need to figure that piece out but overall, it seems pretty :) foolproof. What am I missing here? What are the cons of doing my own :) treatment other than no warranty (which given my previous experience, I'm :) not overly confident a warranty really means anything)? :) :)

Some cons would be drilling into your copper water line and causing a $1200 sub slab leak.. drilling through your plastic drain pipes and creating a wash out under the slab a few years down the road... hanging up your drill bit with re barb burning out your drill...hanging up on re barb allowing the drill to whip around breaking a wrist bone or shattering a window or toilet porcelain....selling your house and the WDI inspector see signs of old activity or previous treatment, but there is no paperwork showing the work was done by a licensed company and the new buyers insist that termite work is done again....nosey neighbor complains to the state about you putting chemicals all over the place and you now have to deal with a smart arsed state inspector asking what part of ...to be applied by an individual/firm licensed by the state to perform termite work...

as far as your second post...since termidor came out in 2000, I have yet to have a call back on any home treated with it..and you probably won't have any ants inside your home for the rest of the Summer

[Walter R.]

Hi Lar

Your comments kind of put a damper on this project. I, too, was concerned about hitting water and drainage pipes. How does a professional avoid this kind of disaster?

Thanks

[Lar]

In article , wer25 @example.com says... :) Your comments kind of put a damper on this project. I, too, was concerned :) about hitting water and drainage pipes. How does a professional avoid this :) kind of disaster? :) :) There is a kill box that cuts off equipment at grounded metal... water lines, re bar, sewage pipes. I have never looked at rental stores to see if they rent them. With plastic pipes you need to pay attention to how they are running. Keep a water meter key handy in case of the worse and you need to hurriedly turn off the water. At this site...

is a walk through of a job I did along with a few others from around the country and shows some problems that you may encounter.

[Frank Boettcher]

When faced with this decision a couple of years ago, I did a lot of research into DIY termite control (standard subterrainian) and concluded that a baiting system was the best option for a slab on grade and particularly one with a deep perimeter turndown because of frost line.

My research indicated that it was possible to buy the bait pots and the installation and subsequent monitoring was not technically difficult.

I ended up having a local independent put in the system, (I was planning to sell the house within a year and wanted to be able to show reports of no infestation). The independent was much less expensive than the major franchise guys. And it has worked, no signs either in the house and the bait pots show no activity (initially, several of them did).

Frank

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

For me, I'm not too worried about most of the cons you list. The only places that need to be drilled, I think, are clear of any utilities either in or under the slab. I'm not too worried about drilling concrete. I've drilled enough to know how to do it and have the tools to do it as well. Your point on the inspector is well taken. The only real time I would need to produce such a document would be when I decide to sell the house. My neighbors are pretty cool with all my various projects. If I have to pay someone to do it due to the sale, well all I did was postpone the cost which is probably not a bad thing. Hmm, I'd better give this more thought. Cheers, cc

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

I would very much prefer to use a local person but unfortunately, none of them seem to be licensed to use Termidor. Terminex seems to be the only game in town (at least according to BASF/Termidor) and I know they'll charge a damn fortune. I may have to make a few phone calls just to see though. Cheers, cc

[Lar]

In article , "James \\"Cubby\\" Culbertson" says... :) I would very much prefer to use a local person but unfortunately, none of :) them seem to be licensed to use Termidor. :)

Here are a couple of links where you might find someone near you.

and if you have no luck let me know your area you are in and I might be able to ask around and get some names myself