# Termites, Carpenter Ants, or Other?



## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes, termites that would be my guess as well. Google termite tunnels.


----------



## Hbmct (Sep 15, 2018)

jmon, that's what I feared. I'll check out termite tunnels.


Thanks


----------



## JoeT (May 17, 2008)

Sure looks like subterranean termite mud tubes. Not sure anything else leaves that kind of evidence. Had em in under my sun room due to previous homeowner leaving a bunch of wood in the crawlspace underneath. This was over 10 years ago. All the research I did explained that takes some time, maybe years, for the amount of wood being 'eaten' to reach a point where structural damage is occurring. Bad new is that activity can remain hidden for many, many years before homeowner has any clue and you can't really look at the wood with x-ray vision to know the extent of the tunneling if and when you do discover. Poking with a screwdriver can give you some rough idea of how badly infested the wood is. 

I also found some that some hardwood flooring in a bedroom next to the sun room had been infested at one time. I'm hoping that it's only occurred in the one place but that might be wishful thinking. At some point I'm needing to do some deconstruction of the floor and inspect but I dread the thought of what I might find. 

When I discovered the problem a decade ago, shortly after I moved into home, I did find termites in the wood under the sun room. I had a termite baiting system set up and by all appearances it killed off the colony in a few months. 

Good luck. Hope you can confirm one way or the other.


----------



## Hbmct (Sep 15, 2018)

JoeT
Just saw this, thanks for the heads up.


I checked my basement with a flashlight and screw driver to see if i could find any areas with damage. No luck. Hoping its not what you mentioned. Did you have someone setup the bait system or did you diy it.


----------



## JoeT (May 17, 2008)

Apologies for the delayed reply. I paid to have the Sentricon bait system set up. Just looked at the invoice from ten year ago which was for $1700 (ouch!!) for two years. It's been around $220 a year thereafter to maintain afterwards. There were some hits on the bait stations shortly after they were installed and in few months all bait station activity stopped. So by all appearances the colony has been gone for about a decade now. I'd like to take over the maintenance of the bait stations as a DIY undertaking but I'd need to get better educated first. I also don't know if I can buy the bait stations myself but from what I can tell it seems like that is possible.


----------



## Ebe (Jan 1, 2019)

I’ve had termites. I had a professional pest control company install bait stations and maintain them for five years. Very expensive. After the first month or two no termites were ever found in the bait stations. Very few found during that period. Literally less than 20 termites caught by the baits which surrounded my house in 5 years. 

Termites were again found in the house when I sold it even though I still had the baits. I had to have my house drilled and tented. I had some damage by then. The termite bait company made the minor repairs, but did not refund any of my money even though their bait traps did not work and cost me about 200.00 per termite!

The home inspector and the drill/tent company said termite baits do not work and are basically a scam. When I asked them to explain they replied “why would a termite leave his comfy spot in your delicious house comprised of miles and miles of termite food to go snack at a termite bait?” And then they laughed at me. When presented that way it is pretty nonsensical.


----------



## Yodaman (Mar 9, 2015)

I have had decent luck with Terro ant dust for about $10/bottle.


----------



## marcowilson (Jan 8, 2019)

Hello,

The Difference Between a Carpenter Ant Infestation and a Termite Infestation: Termites and the hatchlings of a few scarabs really eat wood. Be that as it may, woodworker ants gain no dietary benefit from wood; rather, they harm it to make homes. There are two noteworthy kinds of structure-pervading termites: underground and dry wood.


----------



## fezel28 (Feb 4, 2019)

Hello, 

I can suggest to you, you can use termite service after any issue you can ask a company after solve your problem & I share a company services details termite pest control, termite inspection, termite inspection cost etc. you should this service after any issue you can ask me.

Thanks!


----------



## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

JoeT said:


> Apologies for the delayed reply. I paid to have the Sentricon bait system set up. Just looked at the invoice from ten year ago which was for $1700 (ouch!!) for two years. It's been around $220 a year thereafter to maintain afterwards. There were some hits on the bait stations shortly after they were installed and in few months all bait station activity stopped. So by all appearances the colony has been gone for about a decade now. I'd like to take over the maintenance of the bait stations as a DIY undertaking but I'd need to get better educated first. I also don't know if I can buy the bait stations myself but from what I can tell it seems like that is possible.


Bait stations IMO have long been known to ATTRACT termites to a house. The only cure I could find (living in Florida at the time) was to purchase a termitide containing fipronil and then follow the instructions for putting a barrier completely around my house. The barrier works for ten years and is the same thing a professional will do for $100000's of dollars. You can DIY - but follow the instructions.

Get rid of your bait stations - they are a waste of money and only a gimmick to have you buy the contract. 

In truth, termite companies simply have you pay them, they walk around and look for tunnels, piles of dust, etc. If you know what to look for, you can do your own inspection just as well. Heck, I had a contract once and couldn't even get the guy to come to the house - EVER.

Go to DIYpestcontrol.com (or something like that).


----------



## doortrouble (Feb 16, 2019)

I can understand why people are suggesting pest control. Here's another thought... 

The best way to figure out what kind of a pest is in your home is to ask a bug expert. Pest control people are not experts in bugs; entemologists are. You could send that pic to an entemologist and they'll tell you in an instant if it is a termite or something else. Also, if it's a termite... what kind of termite? An entemologist will also tell you that, whatever bug it is, it's probably there because there's a water supply, so you might have a leak. If you do have a leak and if you keep using insect repellant (especially if the repellant doesn't kill the eggs), you'll be throwing your money away. I can't say for sure but I think that every state might have a state entemologist and you could find the number on Monday and call. I've called these people in the past and they have been so helpful (and they're not out to make a buck, like pest control is).


----------



## PestGuy (Jan 15, 2018)

doortrouble said:


> Pest control people are not experts in bugs; entemologists are.


You do realize that most pest control companies do have entomologists on their staff right? There is always someone available that can identify an insect.


----------



## doortrouble (Feb 16, 2019)

PestGuy said:


> You do realize that most pest control companies do have entomologists on their staff right? There is always someone available that can identify an insect.


It hasn't been my experience but I'm happy to hear what you've got. If you can name three large pest control companies with entemologists on staff, and if you can you show us how you found the info -this would help. That said, it's one thing to have a bachelors degree and call yourself an entemologist and another to have a master's degree, work in a lab, and be published in peer-reviewed journals. This cannot happen at a pest control company.


----------



## PestGuy (Jan 15, 2018)

doortrouble said:


> It hasn't been my experience but I'm happy to hear what you've got. If you can name three large pest control companies with entemologists on staff, and if you can you show us how you found the info -this would help. That said, it's one thing to have a bachelors degree and call yourself an entemologist and another to have a master's degree, work in a lab, and be published in peer-reviewed journals. This cannot happen at a pest control company.


I work at one and we have a few guys that are ACE and BCE. And it's spelled entomologists.


----------



## doortrouble (Feb 16, 2019)

PestGuy said:


> You do realize that most pest control companies do have entomologists on their staff right? There is always someone available that can identify an insect.



I know that pest control companies are notorious for misidentifying insects, and my understanding is that some pest control companies hire what they call 'entemologists' with undergraduate degrees and/or maybe a 'certificate' in entemology, given by an org that helps with pest control. This is not the same as having a master's degree, working in a lab with insects, and being published in peer-reviewed journals. So I think you might be comparing apples and oranges. Identifying an insect is one of many steps.


----------



## doortrouble (Feb 16, 2019)

I was writing my post and the screen went blank, then I started up again and they both printed, so it's written twice. Sorry about that.


----------

