Termites

[nimba100]

Does any one have problems with termites?  How would you prevent them if you were in a area where you needed to worry about them?

[glenn kangiser]

We have touched on this in a few places - Jonesy is in an area where termites have to be guarded against.  They need moisture so like damp wood.  Keeping it dry is one point.  Stopping them from making mud tubes up the side of your foundation to get to the wood is another thing.  There are metal termite sheilds in use in some places.  Many of the projects -commercial - are sprayed under the foundation with deadly poison to stop them - will it ever stop us???  Some day they may tell us.

I guess our discussions stayed on the old forum - here is a link to a search of it- please use your back button to get back to this forum to post replies.  The old forum is not monitored.

Well -that didn't work

Try this -  Click here and type in termites  Increase show results button on search page to 30 to see all postings.  Use your back button to come back here to post

[rampage]

I live in a 3 year old house here in FL. I've already had termites twice. There is a saying around here, "its not if you will get them but when you will get them". Just do some research on the net and know what to look for and take care of it when you see them. Like Glen was saying, look for the tubes going up your foundation, keep the wood in your house dry, and dont let any wood from the house touch the ground. a lot of the building techniques they talk about on this bourd cant be used here in FL. Glenns cool underground dwelling would be a termite farm in my neck of the woods.

[nimba100(Guest)]

I have had experience with termites well not actually had them.  The part of the country I am in also have termites.  We built a house about 10 years and we had the ground treated before we built.  I was curious what others did to prevent them other than spraying.  I have seen the metal shield, but didn't know how effective they were.

[Amanda_931]

I've had termites, both in Tennessee and in Hawaii.

Heat is, I gather, one of the more-or-less natural ways of getting rid of them--although they do get to tent your whole house to do this.

Someone on another list thought that one could (for ground termites, not the kind in Hawaii) use ants to combat the termites--that the latter would be driven off by the ants--I think she recommended putting sweet stuff all around the outside of the house (foot or three out) to encourage the ants who would in turn discourage the termites.

[highlight]I have no idea at all if this works.[/highlight]

Timbersil^tm brand wood on the lower reaches--supposed to be a nearly perfect pressure treatment--non-toxic etc.

Rammed Earth construction.

At least 18 inches from ground to any wood.

Borax/boric acid solution painted on the wood.  maybe sodium silicate (?)--water glass--what the Timbersil is treated with.

[glenn-k]

Scorpions like to eat termites too.  Lots of them around my sawmill under the bark of the trees eating bugs my native American friend told me about what they were doing.

[tjm73]

Are there any natural materials that tyermites stay away from?  Will they cross a concrete apron?  I don't know anyonein my area that has had a termite problem.  I live in Upstate New York about 70 minutes from Buffalo.  Don't even know if we have termites in this area.

Now I have something new to learn about.  :-?

[Amanda_931]

Termites may move north with climate change.

Scorpions and ants, maybe armadillos as well (I think they moved into our area with the fire ants) are repellent.

Borax/boric acid is considered pretty safe.

Less in the way of problems if you have a good 18" between any wood in the building and the ground.

Unfortunately one of the things I loved about the Nashville house was that you walked out the back door right at ground level.   Part of the reason it had termites!