How to Deal with Termites

Don’t lose your property to these small, voracious, xylophagous insects!

by

Owen Jones

Published by

Megan Publishing Services

Copyright Owen Jones 2023 ©

Hello and thank you for buying this book called How to Deal with Termites: Don’t lose your property to these small, voracious, xylophagous insects!

Termites are a common household pest that can cause significant damage to homes and buildings. They are small insects that feed on wood and other cellulose-based materials, and can cause structural damage to homes and buildings. In this short book, How to Deal with Termites, we will provide you with the knowledge and tools necessary to identify, prevent, and effectively deal with termite infestations.

The book will cover the basics of termite biology and behaviour, including the different types of termites and their preferred habitats. It will also provide detailed information on how to identify a termite infestation and the signs to look out for. Additionally, the book will cover the various methods of termite control, including chemical treatments, baiting systems, and physical barriers. It will also provide tips on how to prevent termite infestations, such as proper moisture management and regular inspections.

This book is written for homeowners, property managers, and anyone else who is interested in learning more about termites and how to deal with them. It is designed to be an easy-to-read and informative guide, providing the information and support you need to effectively deal with termite infestations. Whether you are dealing with an active infestation or looking to prevent future infestations, this book is an essential resource for anyone looking to protect their home or property from termite damage.

I hope that you will find the information helpful, useful and profitable.

The information in this ebook on termites and how to deal with them is organized into 17 chapters of about 500-600 words each.

I hope that it will interest those who need to look after their property.

As an added bonus, I am granting you permission to use the content on your own website or in your own blogs and newsletter, although it is better if you rewrite them in your own words first.

You may also split the book up and resell the articles. In fact, the only right that you do not have is to resell or give away the book as it was delivered to you.

If you have any feedback, please leave it with the company you bought this book from.

Thanks again for purchasing this book,

Regards,

Owen Jones

Table of Contents

Termite Damage And Property Prices

Termite Deterrents

Infrared Technology and Termite Detection

Termite Eggs

Termite Inspection Fraud

Home-made Termite Killer

Termite Fumigation Issues

Termite Control

Termite Tenting

Termites: Some Interesting Facts

The Termite Queen

What Do Termite Mounds Look Like?

Which Is The Best Termite Treatment?

The Amount of Damage Termites Can Do

What Is Termite Damage?

The NPMA-33 Termite Inspection Form

The Different Types of Termites Around The World

Contact Details

Termite Damage And Property Prices

You can put termite damage or even the suspected possibility of termite damage right up there with the worst things you can imagine for your property. Just imagine if you were looking at a house that you liked and you saw a section of timber that looked suspect or if a termite walked past your nose.

The vendor may protest that the damage was made by carpenter ants years ago, and that they have long since been eradicated or that that termite was the first he had ever seen, but would you believe him? He may sign an affidavit there and then with the property agent as a witness, but would that put you at your ease?

I doubt it. There are fake certificates, there are termite controllers who do a less than perfect job. In short, there are all sorts of scams and bogus firms going around. We’ve all heard the rumours.

This is why even the slightest suspicion of termite presence is like the kiss of death to a decent price for your property, even though there may be absolutely nothing wrong with it at all, and that termite may have just flow in the window for a rest on its way south for the winter.

The problem is of course the restitution of the damage caused by the termites, not the little critters themselves, because they are easily killed, once you know that they are there. A bona fide termite controller whose contact details you obtained from their governing body will eradicate the termites for between $1,500 and $4,000 (source: Termites In Arizona- The Termite Treatment Guide 2023), but then you may need a builder to fix the house and that could cost what? $5,000? $20,000? $50,000? Who knows until after a survey and a firm builder’s quote?

So, with all the repossessed properties on the market, why would you bother? The fact is simply that most people would not bother. If the survey says ‘suspected termite damage’ or even ‘possible termite presence’ buyers will head for the next property on their list, no matter how much they liked yours the most.

Let’s face it, you would too, if the situation were reversed, wouldn’t you?

Most people would not wait for a full survey and would certainly not want to pay for or even contribute to one, because, in the case of termite damage, they have to be very thorough. Access will be required to not only the attic and the basement, that is quite standard practice anyway, but checks will have to be made into any timber supports, the foundations and the cavity between the skins of the walls. The survey itself will cost a lot of money.

However, although this full survey will reveal every wart that the property has, it will not put any of them right. That is where the big money comes in, because you will never sell your house, once a survey exists that confirms the presence of termites.

Therefore, if you are in the market for buying a home, check whether termites are a problem in that area. If they are, then insist that the vendor provides a survey which details the damage and the cost of repairing it.

On the other hand, if you are hoping to sell your property and you live in a termite-infested area, get the survey done before you put the house up for sale, or better still, maintain a contract with specialist termite controllers so that you can show that your property has had a clean bill of health for years.

Termite Deterrents

Every home-owner has to look after their investment. This requires maintenance, regular and thorough maintenance. There are many threats to a structure, especially if there is a considerable amount of timber in it. Most properties have a great deal of wooden components. The rafters in the roof, the joists underneath the floors and the casing behind the plasterboard walls are all subject to attack by mould and insects.

The kinds of dangers that your house faces depends on the average temperature where you live. Wet rot and dry rot are pretty universal, as is attack by wasps, but the worst and fastest-working peril is from termites and they only live in warmer climes.

If you live in a termite sector, then you really have to look out for these insects. If you want to delay your checks, you can use termite deterrents and poisons to make your maintenance programme a little easier.

This will entail spreading chemicals in most cases as they are more potent and longer-lasting. These chemicals should be laid down or sprayed wherever termites are likely to commence an attack on the structure of your home.

This essentially means everywhere that there is untreated wood. There are three basic kinds of termites, the damp wood termites, the dry wood termites and the subterranean termites. The first two kinds may fly into your attic and establish a nest like a wasps’ nest; the subterranean termites will come up into the cellar via underground tunnels. Subterranean termites are by far the worst termites to have and they are usually the most tricky to discover.

If you live in a termite region, then you really ought to make quarterly checks of your attic and basement and one of those checks should be towards the end of Spring, when termites, along with other insects spread their wings, quite literally, and seek to set up new colonies.

A nest of termites can consist of between several hundred and several million termites, so it is best not to procrastinate. If you are loathe to do these inspections yourself or if you have to have written guarantees on your properties because you buy and sell them often, it is better to get a professional pest controller in to do this for you.

There are two main termite deterrents. There is the soil barrier to frustrate the subterranean termites and contact insecticides to eradicate any swarming reproductive termites that may fly into your attic in order to set up a new colony.

If you are one of the new age thinkers, who tries hard not to use chemicals unless absolutely necessary, you will probably be disappointed in your mission to discourage termites. Regrettably, there are no known effective natural termite deterrents, although there are lots of chemical ones.

Another option, which is a half-way house, is to put termite bait at strategic places around the foundations of your house. You can buy these bait boxes fairly inexpensively or have a firm install them for you.

You have to check these termite bait boxes regularly. Once you see termite damage in the bait box, you put poison in there, which the worker termites will take back to their nest and poison it with.

Infrared Technology and Termite Detection

Infrared technology has been utilized for decades to hunt for humans and other animals. It even has uses in various fields of science and technology, but until quite recently, no one had had the idea of making use of infrared to locate termites and other insects. When, you hear about it, it makes sense, because a large number of animals working and living together will produce heat, even if they are termites.

However, now that the connection between infrared and termite detection has been made and there are devices on the market, specialised pest controllers have welcomed the new technology with open arms and adopted it into their armoury of weapons against termites that occupy our homes. These days, thousands of forward-thinking pest-control businesses can offer termite location by means of infrared cameras.

Now, these infrared cameras are not cheap, but as with all other forms of new technology, the cost is dropping as there is more and more demand. This will have a big effect on the cost of a termite survey, because formerly, people had to go digging holes all over the place to find the nest. You see, the real problem is that the most destructive termites are subterranean, i.e., their nests are underground.

It was always very difficult to find and destroy the nest and nearly all the harm caused to timber in the USA is done by these subterranean species of termite. Ten-year old estimates for the cost to the US nation of termite damage range from $2-$16 billion. However, I did find a more recent estimate on americanpest.net for 2022:

(begin quote)

Termite Damage Facts

★ Termites cost U.S. property owners over $5 billion dollars each year.

★ Around 600,000 residential homes are affected.

★ The average cost to repair termite damage is $3,300.

★ Formosan and subterranean termites account for 90% of all termite damage.

(end quote)

Prior to these infrared termite location cameras coming on the market, the technique of locating termite runs, was to tap a joist and listen to determine if it was a little hollow. Then, the expert would break the timber open to see whether he was right. Discovering termite galleries or walkways by this means was unavoidably damaging and so not the best.

Additionally, disturbing termite workers in this manner causes them to signal a withdrawal and they all go back to the nest. This can reduce the effectiveness of further detection and subsequent spraying. The termite pest control industry was looking for a way around this predicament for a long time.

Then along came the infrared termite location camera. So, these days, a termite exterminator does not even have to interrupt much, he can creep quietly around the property inserting the lens of the video camera into nooks and crannies and see what is happening. The camera lens is on a stem which allows it to be inserted into galleries in timber and earth to make following them back to the nest simpler.

The infrared termite location camera has taken the battle against the termite on to a new level. It has also lowered the amount of damage that an examination for termites causes and it should bring the cost of a survey down too. The only thing that an infrared termite detection camera cannot help you with is the cost of getting rid of the termites if you really do have an infestation.

Â 

Termite Eggs

Termites are not ants, but they do behave like them in many ways. In fact, termites are not even remotely related to ants, they are more closely related to cockroaches. But, as