# How to Best Address New Termite Infestation



## SanDiegoCool (Feb 6, 2007)

Hi,

I am looking for advice about how to best address a new termite problem. I live in a 2 story home in San Diego that was built in 1998. We have our house inspected every few years for termites. We have always received a clean report - the most recent inspection with a clean report was on July 1, 2021. Then 4 days ago my wife discovered 4 larvae in her top bathroom cabinet drawer. I emptied all the cabinets and cleaned them thoroughly but 12 hours later there was fine sawdust-looking specs in the same drawer as well as under her sink. A national pest control company that begins with the letter O came out and confirmed we have dry wood termites. 

We discussed options of spot direct treatment, whole house direct treatment, or tenting. He then went up in our attic and came down with 4 or five dead termites with wings. My wife and I are both very against tenting. First off we have a very sick dog in his final weeks and cannot deal with it. Second, we hate the idea of pesticide (no matter how safe) being sprayed throughout the house. We can have them inject Termidor foam around all exterior windows and doors and spray the mist in the attic. This treatment would come with a one year warranty and we could buy additional years up to 5 years of warranty at a time.

The exterminator said that our roof vents in our attic are covered with a mesh that will block birds and rats but is way too coarse to block termites. They suggest covering all vents with a mesh that is fine enough to block termites.

Does it seem strange that he found a bunch of dead termites with wings in our attic just 5 months after it was inspected and declared clean? Or is this known colony at the point of getting ready to swarm throughout the house?

Given our location and situation, what other treatments (orange oil, heat, etc.) are viable options?

It may be 4+ weeks before we can have someone treat our house. I do plan to have a pro treat the house in some way, TBD. In the meantime, would it make sense for me to pick up a few cans of foaming termite spray at Home Depot and drill a couple of holes in the drywall under my wife's sink and inject the foam myself just to try and keep the known colony from growing to the point of swarming?


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

SanDiegoCool said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am looking for advice about how to best address a new termite problem. I live in a 2 story home in San Diego that was built in 1998. We have our house inspected every few years for termites. We have always received a clean report - the most recent inspection with a clean report was on July 1, 2021. Then 4 days ago my wife discovered 4 larvae in her top bathroom cabinet drawer. I emptied all the cabinets and cleaned them thoroughly but 12 hours later there was fine sawdust-looking specs in the same drawer as well as under her sink. A national pest control company that begins with the letter O came out and confirmed we have dry wood termites.
> 
> ...


Nice to meet you!

Can you get some pictures of the "larvae"? 

As for the winged termites, try to get some pictures of them, too. They could be ants, which are similar but very different. If they do turn out to be termites, they likely just flew in from somewhere else and are looking to set up colonies in your house. 

I'm up the coast from you and we're all in the same termite-infested boat. The termites are everywhere, including the firewood pile. (Roasty-toasty termites, anyone?) 

The good news, such as it is, is that the termites we get here don't make your house fall down, like those "subterranean" ones back east.


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## SanDiegoCool (Feb 6, 2007)

Hi Dave,

Thanks so much for replying so quickly! I wish I could post the photos that you are asking for. My wife totally freaked out when she saw the larvae. She kept begging me to get rid of them that I did not think of taking any pictures or saving one. That was the only time we ever saw them, thankfully. The dead ones from the attic were tossed also with no pic. I have only been up in my attic one time in over 20 years for a variety of reasons. But if it's important I could venture up there and try to find more to photograph. The termite inspector from Orkin told us they were dead termites. I never thought to question the experts, but have read a few things online making me start to doubt that decision. The presence in the attic made it an easy push to go from a spot treatment of our master bath sink area for $1,000 to a whole house treatment for $4,000 to $5,000. 

What do you think about me spot treating the area with stuff bought from Home Depot? Any suggestions on a good company to call for a second opinion?


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

SanDiegoCool said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> Thanks so much for replying so quickly! I wish I could post the photos that you are asking for. My wife totally freaked out when she saw the larvae. She kept begging me to get rid of them that I did not think of taking any pictures or saving one. That was the only time we ever saw them, thankfully. The dead ones from the attic were tossed also with no pic. I have only been up in my attic one time in over 20 years for a variety of reasons. But if it's important I could venture up there and try to find more to photograph. The termite inspector from Orkin told us they were dead termites. I never thought to question the experts, but have read a few things online making me start to doubt that decision. The presence in the attic made it an easy push to go from a spot treatment of our master bath sink area for $1,000 to a whole house treatment for $4,000 to $5,000.
> 
> What do you think about me spot treating the area with stuff bought from Home Depot? Any suggestions on a good company to call for a second opinion?


You're welcome! 

I ask about the larvae, because termites don't have larvae. They have nymphs, which are basically baby versions of the adults. You'll find them where you crack open wood in which the termites are living. 

If your wife found larvae, like little grubworms somewhere, that's a different matter, entirely. Where, exactly, did she find them? Were they in foodstuffs? 

I ask because you may have another insect issue and I'd like to help you figure out what it is. I used to manage a garden shop, and I tried to help people in your situation all the time. Can you or your wife provide a description of the larvae?

I'd take the inspectors word about finding termites in your attic. I wouldn't get panicked by that, because you're going to have them all the time. I found a bunch outside my door, likely from my giant pyro-mania firewood pile. 

Dry wood termites almost never seriously damage the structural integrity of a house, except over long periods. They usually get into window frames, etc. If you got treated.

A good move on your part would be to learn about termite infestation so you can inspect for yourself. That sawdust-pellety stuff is usually a sign you have termites. 

Not sure about spot treatments, but, you know what? 

Gonna see about that because I've lived in my place in the OC since 2002 and I know there's termites somewhere in here. 

I'm going to look for something I can treat the wood with to kill the termites in it, if possible. If you find something, tell me! (Especially if it works.)


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## SanDiegoCool (Feb 6, 2007)

Hi Dave,
Will you be online in 20-30 minutes? I will take some pictures of the area and write up a description. From what I read heat kills them... but how do you heat the area behind the drywall?


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

SanDiegoCool said:


> Hi Dave,
> Will you be online in 20-30 minutes? I will take some pictures of the area and write up a description. From what I read heat kills them... but how do you heat the area behind the drywall?


I'll be here! Heaven help me, in my office in downtown LA.

In particular, it's important to know more about the larvae. Sometimes you get critters infesting stored foods, sometimes something dies in the wall or attic and flies get it, etc. 

You've got me curious to see . . . .


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## SanDiegoCool (Feb 6, 2007)

Here are a few pictures. The first shows the bathroom area around my wife's sink. The larvae were discovered in the top drawer in a plastic shelf organizer. They were an offwhite color, between 1/4 and 1/2 inch long, they moved very slowly. I do not recall seeing any legs but cannot describe them better than that.









The second pic shows the area under the sink where there are a lot of droppings. It is in the right corner:









I emptied all three drawers and thoroughly cleaned them, then the same droppings appeared in the top drawer maybe 6 hours later. Here is a close-up.


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## SanDiegoCool (Feb 6, 2007)

Oh, FYI we are nowhere near any food and my wife does not bring food in the bathroom ever. I was out of town for 3 weeks just prior to this happening. We are dealing with a sick elderly 10-pound dog and we had to bathe him multiple times in our shower to clean poop off his butt - sorry for so graphic. Most of it was flushed down the toilet but some may have been placed in the garbage under my wife's sink until it was emptied. Not sure if that is relevant.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Too bad about the doggie. I have cats, one of which was elderly.

It's evident that something is living in your wife's bathroom cabinet. I can't say exactly what it is, or was without seeing it. Based on the recurring droppings, looks like something is still living there. And, likely pooping there.

Without a picture of the critters themselves, it's hard to say what they are. I'm not an entomologist, but ID is important, if possible. It sounds like you had some kind of grub worms, which metamorphose into insects that can crawl and fly, like beetles or flies. I suspect they matured, metamorphosed, and crawled or flew off, at least to some extent.

Hmm. Usually the big place for bugs is in the kitchen because of food, though bathrooms draw their share, usually because of moisture. The temporary parking of the poop might have drawn some flies. 

In any case, in the interest of at least temporarily solving your problem, I'd suggest going to the store and getting spray-on ant and roach killer, which will contain "contact" bug killers that will kill insects crawling through it, even if they're not ants or roaches (which I'm pretty sure you DON'T have). Clean out the pellets, then spray the killer in the cabinets, the drawers and the spaces above them, and see if the pellets reappear. If you repeat a number of times and the "droppings" keep reappearing, it might be worth getting someone over there to inspect and see.

Most indoor bug killers contain synthetic pyrethrins, which are relatively environmentally safe bug killers. They won't poison your wife's cabinets over the long term, but, hopefully, get rid of the bugs.

Hope this helps, and if you can get a picture, do please post, I'm always curious.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

You might try a call to DoMyOwn.com which is a pest control supplier.

As to dry wood termites, I'm not familiar....but they were* very* informative with me in regard to some subterain ones I had.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

How long do you think you will stay in this house? 
What is your house worth in today's market? What would it be worth with a termite infestation that Joe Blow has treated?

Call around there is more than the O man for service. As long as they have a state license or what ever you all need in California to do it. If your leaving in less than 5 years time to get someone to give the wave that the place is clear.


I do have suspisions that 4 months after your contract you have termites. But I am a suspisious person to begin with.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

SW Dweller said:


> How long do you think you will stay in this house?
> What is your house worth in today's market? What would it be worth with a termite infestation that Joe Blow has treated?
> 
> Call around there is more than the O man for service. As long as they have a state license or what ever you all need in California to do it. If your leaving in less than 5 years time to get someone to give the wave that the place is clear.
> ...


I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “clean bill” when termites are invloved.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

DoomsDave said:


> The good news, such as it is, is that the termites we get here don't make your house fall down, like those "subterranean" ones back east.


What?

"Two species, the subterranean termite and the damp-wood termite, are those that are of concern for homeowners. Most native species take years to establish a colony in a house, however the voracious Formosan termite introduced in Southern California can quickly damage buildings. Kimsey warns that houses built on a former orchard site may inherit an established termite colony that was already infesting old tree roots." UCDavis





__





Termites--UC IPM


Termites management, quick tips and guidelines for control.



ipm.ucanr.edu










Subterranean and Other Termites Management Guidelines--UC IPM


UC home and landscape guidelines for control of Subterranean and Other Termites.



ipm.ucanr.edu


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Looks like we'd better be on the lookout.









Formosan subterranean termite - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





Wonder how much water Formosan termites need?


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@SanDiegoCool, any updates?


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