# Termite Treatment in Texas



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Where are you in general?


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## teknoprep (Jun 21, 2019)

Nik333 said:


> Where are you in general?


dallas


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Sounds like a slab foundation house so difficult to see termite activity thus difficult for even the pros to be sure there are none.

Consider, where did those termites come from. Every spring a colony will swarm sending out hundreds of flying termites (at least in my location). Their purpose is to find a mate and start a new colony. So, did the termites you discovered come from the neighborhood or from your house?

My thoughts would be to treat the entire perimeter and watch for any swarming next spring. Also continue treating every year.

If you have a crawlspace of basement let us know.

Also, pull that mulch back away from the house.
Bud


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## teknoprep (Jun 21, 2019)

Bud9051 said:


> Sounds like a slab foundation house so difficult to see termite activity thus difficult for even the pros to be sure there are none.
> 
> Consider, where did those termites come from. Every spring a colony will swarm sending out hundreds of flying termites (at least in my location). Their purpose is to find a mate and start a new colony. So, did the termites you discovered come from the neighborhood or from your house?
> 
> ...


Bud - thanks for the advice! You're correct, its a slab foundation with no basement or crawlspace.

Unfortunately we are required per our HOA to have mulch in the front of the house, every house has it. I know its terrible for termites, but only other option would be to replace with colored rubber mulch, which isn't in my budget right now.

When you mean "treat every year", doesn't Termidor last 10 years, thus only require one treatment? Do you mean spraying in that particular area?


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## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

Most termite inspections are useless and nothing you can't do yourself. I've always laughed at the "subscription" service where they show up, bury some bait traps, etc. They walk around and look for the tunnels that the termites build to get to the above ground structure. They also look for the dust that termites drop from their holes.

Meanwhile, less than $1000 to treat the house and have ten years of no subterranean termites seems cheap. (you can also do it yourself buy buying a termiticide that contains Fipronil and following the instructions - try doyourownpestcontrol.com and look for Taurus SC). I've done it on three of my homes... You'll need a shovel, bucket, funnel, masonry drill, wood drill if you have a stick house and protective (sensible) clothing.

Please realize that termites come from the ground (subterranean) and from the air. Any ground treatment only stops them coming from under the house. (But you can use Taurus SC as a spray in the attic and to spot treat - the concern is that it can kill any social insect - Bees, all ants, etc. So you have to apply it correctly and in the correct places - And, it's illegal to use it without proper training and license in many localities....) And, without re-reading the label and MSDS sheets I'd guess it's bad for people so wear protective clothing, mask, gloves, have good ventilation - follow instructions.

Surface spraying on the ground/foundation for termites is a waste of time, energy and money - they don't live on the surface or they'd dry up and die. That's why they build tunnels from the ground up to the wood parts of the house (which is one of the thing the "experts" look for).

Yes, your mileage may vary, your locale may not let you do it and, as with most things, using it without reading (and following) the instructions will kill good insects and possibly yourself.


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## rss0900 (Apr 12, 2021)

Hey I'm in the same boat in Alabama, no visible damage or sign other than I had 10-20 swarmer wings at one of the windows. I also have the subterranean ones they just swammed, that was my only indication. I went digging around outside next to the brick and found a small colony of them (50 maybe), then started ripping the quarter round and baseboard off and sure enough they were inside, they were building tunnels on the back of the baseboard and the insulation but don't appear to have damaged any of the wood I can see. Bad news I got to looking closer and in the front of the house in the closet I found small holes, cut in to that wall and the insulation is covered in mud, here again though they don't appear to have gotten to the wood or very minimally on the edges which is strange because I think the whole wall is affected in the closet. Only found small trace in the attic of sand grains directly above the closets no other visible signs. Based on what I saw in the closet I'm hopeful, but I don't know it could be an old inactive site but the wood looks ok (can only see 3 sides of it though).

I'm replying because I had no idea these things were behind my walls, there was no visible sign except the swammer wings on one window sill. Waiting on professionals to come out and see how bad this is but honestly like the others said above I don't know that the professionals would have found this since there were really no visible signs, a very little damage. I can only hope I caught this early, If it gets to the point you ever see swarmer wings or dead ones on your sill call someone.









Some advice/guidance on my new pets - sub terrain termites


I do plan to call out professionals later next week but hoping some can provide some guidance / advice based on the attached pictures. Over the weekend I found 20-30 wings on a window sill and a handful of dead swarmer's. They are sub-terrain I'm sure so I started digging around the outside...




www.diychatroom.com


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## rss0900 (Apr 12, 2021)

rss0900 said:


> Hey I'm in the same boat in Alabama, no visible damage or sign other than I had 10-20 swarmer wings at one of the windows. I also have the subterranean ones they just swammed, that was my only indication. I went digging around outside next to the brick and found a small colony of them (50 maybe), then started ripping the quarter round and baseboard off and sure enough they were inside, they were building tunnels on the back of the baseboard and the insulation but don't appear to have damaged any of the wood I can see. Bad news I got to looking closer and in the front of the house in the closed I found small holes, cut in to that wall and the insulation is covered in mud, here again though they don't appear to have gotten to the wood which is strange because I think the whole wall is affected in the closet. Only found small trace in the attic of sand grains directly above the closets no other visible signs. Based on what I saw in the closet I'm hopeful, but I don't know it could be an old inactive site but the wood looks ok (can only see 3 sides of it though).
> 
> I'm reply because I had no idea these things were behind my walls, there was no visible sign except the swammer wings on one window sill. Waiting on professionals to come out and see how bad this is but honestly like the other said above I don't know that the professionals would have found this since there were really no visible signs, a very little damage. I can only hope I caught this early, If it gets to the point you ever see swarmer wings or dead ones on your sill call someone.
> 
> ...


Just an FYI , they are coming up through my slab at the wall, going under the baseboards and digging in to the laments flooring glued to the slab. Nothing visible until the quarter round and baseboards were taken off. I'm wondering if I'm going to have to pull up the floor to see how far they have gone, I don't see any signs of them in the floor.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

When I said treat every year what you need to do depends upon what you have been doing. If doing the Termidor that would be good but still need to inspect and maybe spot treat.

You mentioned a HOA so I'll assume a group of condos which begs the question, are you the only one or do others have the same problem but maybe haven't seen it yet. Could be disappointing to treat your house if others do not.

Note, a common failure with new construction is they may have buried a lot of scrap wood instead of paying to haul it off. That makes for a good breeding ground for termites.

Does the HOA get involved with your treatment?
Bud


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## rss0900 (Apr 12, 2021)

Looks like learning to tape drywall is in my near future. This nest was inactive and in my closet and hallway, has been there for years, no one knew...... Only after pulling the baseboards off, seeing the mud and then cutting holes in the wall did we find it  The active issue in the kitchen was found by swamers. Lucky for me there is little wood damage a couple pieces I need to cut out and replace and they did not go to the top / attic. Most of the activities was just building mud on the insulation paper and up some of the wood. Will replace the insulation, couple pieces of wood, then drywall it back up. 

There were subterranean. Got active ones in my kitchen and living room posting this picture also after removing baseboards and quarter round, appears damage is minimal and this was caught in time after identifying the swarmers on the windows sill and their exit hole locations


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Remember "subterranean" so what you are seeing is just where they travel to find food, the wood in your house. I suspect there is still a large number hiding somewhere.

Best
Bud


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