Little Termites Cause Huge Damage

Photo courtesy of Bayer Environmental Science

Termite Damaged Wood

DEAR TIM: I noticed a termite swarm outside my garage door. After careful inspection, the facia board and a portion of the 2x4 frame have suffered considerable damage. Should I replace the boards before I call a pest control company? What is the best product to use to stop termites from eating my garage and possibly my home? Donna Marie C., Franklin, MA

DEAR DONNA: Termites cause more anxiety to homeowners than any other threat to their homes. The reason is simple. These insects are just like vampires and special operation military units. Not only do they prefer to work in complete darkness, but they also infiltrate your home quietly. Furthermore, they do their best to disguise their presence. Typically you only discover termites when you see a swarm or find damage as you have described. Each year termites cause $2.5 billion worth of damage to homes and businesses that is not covered by insurance. That number sure gets my attention.

Termites are amazing insects. They are a very social organism as each colony has a queen whose job it is to lay eggs as often as possible, reproductive termites who become future queens, soldiers who defend the colony and worker termites who supply the entire colony with food. The food the workers supply to the rest of the colony happens to be small bits of cellulose found in firewood, fence posts, paper, tree stumps, your garage, my house, etc.

This caste system is the weak link of the average termite colony. Over the past 10 -15 years, scientists have figured out ways to effectively kill the worker termites or stop them from feeding. Once this happens, you can starve the queen, the reproductives and the soldiers. Kill the egg-laying queen of a colony and you stop future generations of termites.

But it is not always easy to kill the worker termites. They are very smart. The worker termites forage for new food sources constantly and randomly. They are active 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The worker termites can travel as far away as 400 feet from their colony to exploit a food source. What's more, it is common for them to develop multiple food sources for the colony. They may come to your garage on a Monday and then go to your neighbor's log pile the next day. This trait is an excellent survival mechanism.

The first thing I would do, if I were you, would be to call a trained pest management professional (PMP). These technicians know where to look for termite activity in and around your home. You saw them at your garage, but they may be in other locations near your home. It is best to be proactive when dealing with termites. Schedule an annual PMP inspection.

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There are two distinct methods of dealing with termite infestation. One method that has been used for years is the repellent strategy. A PMP injects chemicals into the soil around your home in an attempt to create a barrier that repels the foraging termites. This method works so long as the barrier is complete. The trouble is, the PMP does not have x-ray vision and can't actually tell if the chemicals have thoroughly saturated all of the soil. What's more, the chemicals used today in the liquid treatments do degrade over time

The newer technology is one that kills the worker termites. Bait stations and stakes are inserted into the ground at certain intervals around your home or garage. The chemicals in these stations do not poison the soil. The worker termites typically find the stations and ingest chemicals that have been cleverly hidden in termite food with the stations and stakes. Over time the worker termites die. So long as these stations are maintained by a PMP, your home and garage have superb protection.

One chemical company makes a system that combines the old technology with the new. It is a liquid that is injected into the soil around your home. This liquid is not a repellent. The termites unknowingly pass through treated soil and suddenly their jaws become paralyzed. They immediately lose their ability to feed which means they immediately stop eating your garage and the houses of millions of the rest of us. This liquid treatment can also degrade over time. If you want permanent protection you must have periodic applications made around your home.

Which system works the best? It is hard to say. If it were me, I would definitely want a system that has the ability to kill the colony. I also would want a system that has been proven to work through independent testing. It is also a good idea to ask very pointed questions about warranties. Ask what is and what is not covered under any warranty. Be sure what the PMP says is in writing.

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