Has anyone ever had a Termite problem?

[4402tuff4u]

Recently working in my garage on my Charger's grill, I found along the outside of the garage wall by the overhead door what appeared to be very fine loose mud/dust. From being in the engineering field I recognized it as Termite residue. On the other side of the wall - the inside of the garage I have a spare refrig where I keep soda, beer, extra food, ect. In the winter the refrig generates heat that attracts the termites. I move the refrig yesterday and poked the 2x4 sill plate and surely enough it was hollow. The nitwits that constructed the garage, my guess nearly 40 yrs ago, placed the sill plate on dirt because they screwed up the layout of the garage in conjunction with the slab. So the termites had perfect access to the untreated wood. I went to ACE Hardware store and purchased two quarts of termite chemical and dug out the dirt, saturated the hole with this chemical and then placed approx. 5" of concrete beneath the sill to create a barrier.

Does anyone have experience with these critters and how to get rid of them, besides spending several hundred dollars on treatment by an exterminator? I kind of don't trust these "exterminators". I also sprayed the perimeter of my home with this chemical and I'm going to drill holes in the concrete slab in the breezeway between the garage and the house to introduce some of the chemicals beneath the slab. Any other suggestion and/or recommendation would be appreciated?   

[derailed]

Im currentl dealing with a termite problem myself at my mothers house, had to gut a whole room, studs and all. Im not sure its the heat from your refridge attracting them as they generally survive on moisture. They trail back and forth from a moisture source to the wood source. Take away the moisture and they will dry off. My mother hired an exterminator that basically took the $800 up front a year ago and has been blowing her off since the problem has gotten bad so ive been tackling it myself. Seal off all passages,cracks,holes etc. where they can possibly come in from outside and you might want to refrain from the holes you were drilling. Most importantly get rid of the moisutre source and the contaminated stuff to start with and keep an eye on them.

[SeattleCharger]

     We had some major carpenter ants once in a big house rental, the landlord got an exterminator and he sprayed some stuff into the holes where the ants were and hundreds crawls out and died in minutes.   He didn't tent the house or do anything major, these ants were in the walls.   Sounds like you have maybe just trapped them in there, unless the poison is something they will take back into the nest and somehow contaminate the rest of them, killing the egg layer or males.      I don't know, spray something into the holes you found and get it in there somehow maybe.

[4402tuff4u]

Thanks guys for the tips. I replaced the damaged wood with CCA treated wood and treated the perimeter of the house. You are right about the moisture. Termites need moisture to survive and travel. I also added extensions to my gutter leaders/downspouts to divert the water away from the foundation.

[Nacho-RT74]

I Know he had some termite problems once or twice:

[andy74]

make sure your siding doesnt touch the ground either-if you have a few inches of bare concrete,you can see the little tunnels that termites make-and moving your down spouts was probably a good idea also.if you already replaced the effected wood,and dont see any more signs of them,your probably okay-sears and terminix etc,usually only monitor there little termite stations any way,so save your cash,the stuff you buy at a store is probably pretty close to what they use,and a hell of a lot cheaper too-i did that for a short period of time,so pm me if you have any questions, i have the books at the house-andy

[4402tuff4u]

Thanks Andy74. I might if those critters dont move out. Thanks.

[ChargerRob]

Termites SUCK!!!

[mopar_madman]

had them a long time ago and used a exterminator. They had to, every 3 feet or so shoot something in the ground, inside the house and outside, it worked never came back.

[SLIKK 70]

Termites" BITE"!!!!     I had the swarmers they are the ones that fly in infiltrate  areas. I called a Professional, for $3,000 they cut into the wall and then drilled and sprayed and then they set traps and montiored for a year for me. Hard to get rid off. Better to nip it in the bud.

[derailed]

It was to late for my mothers room in her house. I ended up having to tear all the sheetrock and some studs out. I first noticed it when the paint on the casing around one of the outside windows looked like it was peeling and then i noticed it on the sheetrock as well. When i went to touch it my finger went right through and it turned to dust and fell to the ground. The little suckers hollowed out half the room. They were still real active when i was gutting the room. They looked alot like little maggots wtih a bunch of legs. They even made it up as high as the ceiling in some places and the pest control guy said that its not really usual that they go that high because of lack of moisture. I havent really seen any since i tore the room apart but im waiting on the jerk my mother hired to come back and give me the ok to start putting things back together.

[KMPX2]

They can mess up wood big time

[Steve P.]

The best stuff on the market is called TERMADOR...  You cannot buy it yourself. Only a liscensed exterminater can buy and use it.. We have plenty of trouble with those little basserds here in Florida. The best way is to use the termador. It is sprayed into the ground under pressure at 16" on center and sometimes they will drill into a slab if need be.

The little shits walk through it not knowing so, and as they pass eachother they clean eachother and spread it to the entire colony. This of coarse kills off ALL OF THE LITTLE HOME WRECKERS...

Do a Google search on Termador. I know many schools have done a ton of testing.. They say it can work for up to 4 acres away from spray point... 

I have done both of my Florida houses with it and it was worth every penny... I give it 2 thumbs way up....