Ugh. Termites

Discussion in 'Home Improvement' started by Beth Gallagher, May 4, 2022.

  1. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    This just in from the "It's Always Something" department... we have termites in the wood frame on one side of our front door. :confused: Our youngest son is a building contractor and came by to look at it earlier; he said he can replace the door framing but might find more unpleasant surprises once he tears it out. Oh goody.

    Sooooo, we'll be calling a termite exterminator to get our property treated in the near future. May is usually "swarm time" in the Houston area.

    Have you had termites??
     
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  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    There is evidence of legacy Powder Post Beetle activity (aka "woodworms") in my crawlspace, and I get them in my firewood, but I've not had termites. I know the PPBs love humidity, but am not familiar with what attracts termites.
     
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  3. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I think wood and moisture are what attracts termites. Our house is on a slab and we have not had any "tunnels" on the exterior, so I'm wondering where the heck they are coming from. (Not that it matters; apparently they found a way.)
     
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  4. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    We have no termites here, but we had them when we lived in Georgia. The professionals took care of them, but there was damage under the kitchen floor. I came home from work one evening and my wife had completely torn out the kitchen floor. I was met with, "there's the damage, now fix it." Roaches were another problem there, but putting boric acid behind every cabinet where the kids and the pats couldn't get to it solved the problem completely.
     
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  5. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Haha, sounds like your wife is a "giter dun" kind of gal, Don. We have a termite company coming to do an inspection; the guy said he can't "trench and treat" with that doomsday chemical unless the termites are active. If it's old damage with no active bugs he can only treat the area of the damage and a certain distance around it. Seems weird but we'll know more once he inspects the house.

    I need to visit the money tree and start shakin' the limbs.
     
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  6. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Yep, she is that. Another time when I came home the dining room wall was gone, and she decided she wanted a built in china hutch where the wall had been. She does the demo and I am left to do the repair/changes. Good luck shakin' that tree!
     
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  7. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    We had termites about 25 years ago. They ate so much of my living room floor that we had to replace the whole floor. $$$$$$$$$ I never even knew we had them until somebody stepped over near the wall and the floor caved in. The exterminators used Termidor to eradicate them. They dug holes all around the house and treated the area with it. I have had my house inspected every year since then.
     
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  8. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    We wouldn't have known about these either, except I kept hearing a squeaking noise when the door was opened/closed. I went to get the WD-40 to spray the hinges and noticed what appeared to be dry rot along the door casing. Sadly, it isn't rot. :confused:
     
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  9. Thomas Stillhere

    Thomas Stillhere Very Well-Known Member
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    Yeah their diet is pretty limited for sure. I think it is amazing that those old cabins and barns being restored or moved and re purposed don't have termites. Those structures are sometimes 150 years old.
     
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  10. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    So the Acme Pest Control guy (yeah, that's the real name--but no Wile E. Coyote) came out this morning and inspected our house and the garden shed. He was recommended to us by our daughter-in-law's parents who had their home done a couple of years ago. He was up in the attic, poking the chimney and every crevice, then outside crawling around the foundation of the house. He was quite thorough and seemed very knowledgeable; said he's been doing this for 30 years. Hubby and I got schooled on termites and their life cycle, swarms, etc. by a gabby Acme guy.

    The good news is; he didn't find any other signs of termites or any damage anywhere except at the front door. He wasn't able to determine how they got there, either, since the porch and house slab are all one concrete pour... no seam there at all. Anyway, he recommended treating that area, the surrounding ground, and inside the wall. I told him I wanted the entire house treated with the trench all the way around, so he said he didn't feel that was necessary but that it would be good insurance against future termite problems.

    So he scheduled the work for a week from tomorrow, when we will be relieved of $2500. I was expecting it to cost more so that was a bit of good news/bad news. :D Since our son is tearing out the damaged wood and rehanging the door, we will only have to pay for materials and some Shiner Beer.
     
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  11. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Oh my so far none that we know of. But we have our share of all other insects.
    Beth, hope you can get them under control before any real damage is done..
     
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  12. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Well the termite crew is here and they are "swarming" around the house. All concrete areas (patio, porch, etc.) are being drilled with 1/2" bits and the poison is injected into the soil underneath. Then they plug the holes with some kind of caulk or something. Areas that can be trenched have a 4" wide trench about 8" deep that they are filling with the liquid, plus they are spraying the slab and all the weep holes. I hope our house (and WE) don't glow in the dark later. Around the front door where the damage is, the guy drilled small holes in the sheet rock and injected some foam poison that expands in there. They seem to be doing a good job, even with my husband dogging their every step. :D:D

    1ve55c.jpg
     
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  13. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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  14. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    My parents had termites in one of there bedroom dressers! in Florida. The condo was concrete and steel.
    I have had powder post beetles in my barnhouse. They seem to like just one kind of wood in there and there is a mixture in its construction, thank goodness.
    But we have carpenter ants this year in the main house. I run around telling people Don't STep On The Ants!!!
    No I am not nuts, I need to get their trails established. (I had them a while back and used terro. But these are not sweet eating ants so I have to bring out the big guns! Fat!
    Although, sometimes I tell people not to kill the box elder beetle when we get one in the house. One is kind of cute. It walks around like a little robot bug. Hundreds, not quite so cute.
     
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  15. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Our neighbor across the street has termites in a big oak tree in his front yard. The tree overhangs his roof, so he got termites in his attic! He had the tree trimmed back but didn't take it down. o_O We had no idea that so many of our neighbors have had termites... the houses on both sides of us have had them, so I guess we were doomed.
     
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