Boo Termites

bobman1235

Ugh, found some evidence of termite infestation over the weekend, and just had an exterminator come in and confirm my suspicions.

Estimate for the underground baiting-type trap treatments is about a thousand bucks for the year... but he didn't recommend anything to get rid of anything in the house itself, he just said the traps are enough. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any recommendations? If all they do is throw those stupid posts in the ground with poison in them, it seems like that should cost a lot less than a thousand bucks.

pitdogg2

yep they are pricey! about the same here in Illinois also. Not all work the same you can go and buy some over the counter that look the same BUT those just kill the termites at the trap and then those termites excrete a chemical that will make the others avoid the trap. The type the exterminator is offering will be taken back to the colony and kill all of the colony. Termites most of the time will not stay in the house they eat at the house and take back to feed others in the colony. In the winter most all termites also go back underground.

bobman1235

Yeah some Googling basically shows that the bait they use isn't available to the general public. Which makes sense, I guess. I just hate that the treatment is basically "just wait it out, they'll die eventually" and in the meantime the little **** are still coming in and chewing up the walls while I sleep.

rooftop59

I just had a sentricon system installed for about 700, but that is because they were running a special. If you own this place (which I am assuming you do) then I would recommend getting it if that is what you are referring to. It is transferable, you can roll the cost into the sale of the house, and the buyer will not have to have a termite inspection to secure a mortgage (like we did when we bought our house). Also, termites can only eat a couple inches a year so its not like they are going to destroy your home before the bait affects them.

bobman1235

Oh I'm installing that **** post-haste, no doubt. I just hate that in the meantime I just have to sleep with the knowledge that things are crawling around in my walls while I sleep. I was hoping there was some toxic cloud that they'd blast through first.

rooftop59

I know what you're saying. I just had some in a shed next to the house, took down the shed which disturbed them, and then over the next couple of weeks actually saw a couple little mofos walking across my kitchen floor! Yea the termite dude was here the next day. But it was hard to swallow the cost...

VR3

I am going to go ahead an "one up" you....

I had to rebuild the back end of a house from termites... now I am (as of right now on break) of reinforcing the floor which termites have had fun with over the years! WOO HOO!

Erik Tracy

Termites suck.

I had them in my backyard patio cover -kept sweeping 'sand' or pollen off of my patio - turns out it was termite '****'.

I demo'd the patio cover, replaced it with a metal cover, had the house inspected and luckily they weren't in the house (or so the inspector said).

I don't think we have the ground type termite - the flying type - and I see tents pop up around the neighborhood from time to time as folks get termites.

I think the guy across my street has them - can see several beams that have been chewed up - I don't think it is wood rot.

Some folks don't seem to care or understand what termites can do to a home.

EndersShadow

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

now I am (as of right now on break) of reinforcing the floor which termites have had fun with over the years! WOO HOO!

Dont lie we all know its so you can buy and build really really big subs and speakers lol


jk.... and that sucks bigtime.....

cnh

Nasty stuff...if you were as north as I am,though, these things are almost non-existent. But hey, I've got carpenter ants galore, so can't really say everything is OK! Old wood, tons of RAIN...that's the ticket!

But at least the house is safe. It's the wood frame and wood clad garage that's being slowly eaten away from the ground--where it is most moist, up! Got to get a carpenter in here and redo that, and repaint!

cnh

Jstas

There's no sure fire chemical to kill them all. Bombing the house doesn't work 'cause they are in the walls. To get at them, you have to tear things down. All you can do is the bait trap. The trap doesn't even kill all of them in the trap. What it does is it makes the few who do get there take the poison back to the nest where the rest eat it. The poison kills the food supply and they starve to death.

Termite don't eat wood. They chew the cellulose up and take it to a fungus garden for fungus food. Then they eat the fungus. They don't like eat 2x4's and **** sawdust.

The traps are effective though and the reason they cost so much is because they aren't Ronco traps where you set it and forget it. The exterminator dude has to comeback out periodically to replenish the poison, check the trap and check on things. Once the termites are gone or close to it, then they treat to keep future infestations away.

Once they give you the all clear though, they will do an inspection and you should get an independent 3rd party inspector too. Have them check the damage. Most times it's nothing to be concerned about. Sometimes though, it's structural. Check your home owners insurance too. It might cover the damage and treatments and unreported infestations can, in some cases, be grounds for dropping your contract due to risk.

And yeah, I know all this because I had termite problems at my house when my grandparents still owned. Had those traps for 4 years and just had them taken out last summer. I still keep an eye out for them but been termite free for a while now.

Had a bit of scare over roaches the other day too. Found one about 2 inches long and thought it was odd that one of such size would be all by itself. But I have no evidence of them anywhere else. Just a few expired ones down by the garage door. Guess they were trying to get away from the rain and one snuck in through a door gap.

Time to spray the Ortho Home Defense MAX again.

gdb

Dursban is NLA, so something like Imidacloprid is available for DIY.

decal

rooftop59 wrote: »

Also, termites can only eat a couple inches a year so its not like they are going to destroy your home before the bait affects them.

Not true my friend. Do a bit of research.

VR3

I will post pics when I am done....

I am going to have to pretty much redo the entire underbelly of my house!

Part termite and part it was built back in 1902... so there is a 2 ft gap between joist...

Jstas

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Part termite and part it was built back in 1902... so there is a 2 ft gap between joist...

Man, you act like that's a bad thing!

VR3

Oddly enough though walking on the floor you would not suspect what is under the house - it is fairly solid feeling. It is low on the priority list to do - the kitchen we put tile on so flex is a no go!

megasat16

You need this little fellas.

http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/numbat-aboriginal-striped-termite-eater.html

EndersShadow

^ I want one of those and I dont even have termites lol.....

Jstas

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Oddly enough though walking on the floor you would not suspect what is under the house - it is fairly solid feeling. It is low on the priority list to do - the kitchen we put tile on so flex is a no go!

Why, what's under there? Trolls?

bobman1235

Jstas wrote: »

Once they give you the all clear though, they will do an inspection and you should get an independent 3rd party inspector too. Have them check the damage. Most times it's nothing to be concerned about. Sometimes though, it's structural. Check your home owners insurance too. It might cover the damage and treatments and unreported infestations can, in some cases, be grounds for dropping your contract due to risk.

Yeah I don't think they've been around that long, and it seems like they're pretty localized to one small section of the house. They basically came in the basement and went straight up into the kitchen which is how I noticed them.

I'm terrified to look behind that one wall that they've been using as their little highway. If I ever saw a thousand bugs just crawling around in there, I'd just burn this place to the gorund and not look back.

jbooker82

Here you go. This place can save you some bucks. Most of the stuff they sell is the same stuff a professional pest control guy would use.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termite-bait-systems-c-3_75.html

I got a 1lb jar of Demon WP to spray inside and out side of my house for bugs (spiders, beatles, ants). It beats the heck out of anything you can get from a hardware store.

jbooker82

Here is how to do it your self.
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termite-treatment-c-3_352.html

VR3

make a suggestion Bobman...

Go ahead and crack that wall open and get it over with...

See what I had to do to my house...

This is just one room - the whole back end of the house was like this...

All the "white" lumber is new lumber