Termites

[Gary Mitchell]

I have a bad case of termites in my shop, shed, storage room, converted from an old pole barn. It has a concrete floor poured over gravel. I bought some Spectracide brand stuff the feed store guy recommended but after I got home and read all the fine print I saw that it was only supposedly good for 8 weeks, hardly worth using. My plan was to drill holes in the floor in strategic spots and funnel the stuff, (mixed as required), into the gravel to spread out under the concrete then fill the holes with cement patch. Any comment on my methodology and recommendations on a product would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! gm

 

[jacksun65]

Hire an exterminator it will be money well spent. Had a house get termites exterminator treated once never had a problem again.

 

[ohiojim]

exterminator, he has access to chemicals that will do the job right, costly but worth it.

 

[dcarp]

X 2 on the exterminator. Most have a guarantee and will retreat as necessary.

 

[David G]

Hire an exterminator, and don't assume they are just in the barn.

 

[grizz02]

X-3

 

[Dean]

Agree with previous posters.

Hire a good exterminator. There is no need to sign up for a recurring "plan."

Dean

 

[gregww]

A few years ago a pest control guy stopped by the house when the wife and I were outside. He told us one of our neighbors houses had a problem with termites, and offered to treat our house. We asked for a ballpark figure. Our house is a 3 bedroom, 1 and 1/2 bath, basic ranch with a basement. He quoted $6000. :shock: :shock: Is this normal? I can't justify paying 6K for a problem I may or may not have. Our neighbor told us they never did find termites at her house, only showed her signs of what they said was termite damage. She has no idea if it was or not. She never said what they charged her. None of our other neighbors have said anything about termites, and we do occasionally speak.

 

[Kansasredneck]

If the over the counter stuff worked, the Pro's would be out of business

 

[DoubleO7]

Make an effort to insure the wood in the building (any building) is staying dry all the time.
No roof leaks
Keep perimeter ground 10 inches or more from any wood such as siding and sill plates. Ground also sloping as much as possible away from building all around.
Gutters or lots of overhanging eaves is a good thing too.

 

[Moonlite37]

I would not use one that contacted me; I found a good one who is honest, yes they are far between, but honesty is a great virtue in any business.

 

[dcarp]

$100-300 would be about right. $6000 is criminal.

 

[john in la]

If you will treat a house for $300 I got a never ending job for you.
Just one 78 oz bottle of Taurus SC cost about $100.

 

[john in la]

I will try to give you some advise while not touching this with a 10 foot pole.

The 10 foot pole is used because there are different kinds of termites and treating them is different.
Without specific knowledge of your problem and conditions I could give you bad advise.

With that said termites can not eat threw concrete.
So drilling holes in the concrete only gives them future entry points.

There are products out there that will last for 10 years.
The stipulation is it must be buried.
Anything left exposed to the air will only last weeks.

 

[john in la]

He quoted $6000. :shock: :shock: Is this normal?

That depends on what was included in the quote.
There are some treatment plans I would not do for even $6000.

 

[kcm.MN]

(quoted from post at 15:39:53 11/09/19) I will try to give you some advise while not touching this with a 10 foot pole.

The 10 foot pole is used because there are different kinds of termites and treating them is different.
Without specific knowledge of your problem and conditions I could give you bad advise.

With that said termites can not eat threw concrete.
So drilling holes in the concrete only gives them future entry points.

There are products out there that will last for 10 years.
The stipulation is it must be buried.
Anything left exposed to the air will only last weeks.

"[i:0adc60132f]I will try to give you some advise while not touching this with a 10 foot pole.[/i:0adc60132f]"
That one sentence there sounds inspired! Well worded John.

Here's my 2 cents worth:
First of all, I wholeheartedly agree with everyone else, hire a professional exterminator!

That said, it would be fairly useless for you to drill holes and inject chemicals underneath your slab. John is correct - termites cannot go through concrete. I'll take it a step further by saying that "most" domestic termites live inside wood. Treating the ground simply helps prevent termites from reaching your nice building by simply walking. Unfortunately, there's no such thing anymore as "Domestic Termite". Several new varieties have been brought in from other countries; probably more varieties than any of us will ever realize.

Like ants, termites also swarm, and will send out hundreds or even thousands of prospective new queens to start new colonies. These queens can land on a roof, windowsill or other and try to gain access without ever having to touch the ground. So if an exterminator says that only the ground needs to be treated, I'd have to question that. Then again, there are likely other reasons I'm not aware of.

If you already know you have termites in a building, just treating the ground isn't enough. I would get Raid Flying Insect Killer and spray (heavily) all around where you find the bugs, and follow their trails as best you can in [i:0adc60132f]every possible direction[/i:0adc60132f]. Spray a good 24" around every dinky little thing you THINK might be associated with them!

Even if you have complete access to where the termites are (not hidden behind a wall, for example), there's no guarantee that just spraying will take care of the colony. You might knock it out, but then you might not. I'd recommend spraying with the Raid while locating and hiring a reputable professional. Oh...why Raid '[i:0adc60132f]Flying[/i:0adc60132f]' Insect Killer? Why not Raid Any Killer? Because the stuff meant for flying insects is much more potent as it has to work faster on flying bugs. Has to have that 'knock-down' power.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

My termite guy wants call after holes are dug for pole barn posts. Then he wants a call before I put down the concrete floor to spray the gravel. Otherwise he would drill holes in concrete every few feet and tread floor. Outside the of pole barn he would dig a trench and put down a lot of chemicals.

Premtreatment during construction is better and easier to spray footers.

 

[David G]

Do it, I pretreated my new house, but not garage, termites in garage within two years.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

David,
All my properties are termite treated an annually inspected. All it takes is a crack in cement and terramites will find a way in.
I installed a new service door in a block garage. About 2 years later the paint fall off door frame because termites don't eat paint. They came in via a crack in concrete. George

 

[ShakerPrairie]

I had termites at 36 x 48 building that sits on a slab. I trenched around it and treated it with Termidor SC. A concentrate that's mixed with water and then applied X amount of mix per foot of trench.
I haven't seen anymore sign of termites.
The Termidor SC was bought online from a place called ePestSupply. Not cheap but it looks to have worked.

 

[Texasmark1]

Get yourself some Termidor and mix per directions. I had horrible termites and had it done in 2006. Haven't had anything applied since and haven't seen hide nor hair of one. Talked to an exterminator and he said that once you put it down, you can forget it. I initially thought it would need to be done on a regular basis and was going to have him do it.....he may have not realized it but he talked himself out of not one job but half a dozen over the years.

 

[Stephen Newell]

If it has a concrete floor I would just spray around the parameter of the building and any cracks that might be in the floor. Drilling holes will just give a new avenue for them to get in.