Termites

[SQLGeek]

Couple weeks ago my wife noticed termites were eating a couple of our fence boards. We had our pest company come out and take a look.

Turns out they are feasting on several fence boards but no evidence at all that they're inside the house. We got a quote for $1600 to treat the fencing that comes with a 12 year warranty and also install perimeter defense around the house.

This seems high but I know we have a lot of fence to treat and I don't have anything to compare it to. Has anyone else had this done?

[Archery1]

When dealing with termites, or suspected, always get several opinions and quotes. Some of these field technicians are not true "specialists", and there's good money to be made off fear of the things. Plus, confirming what kind of termite you are dealing with and if right treatment for it.

Was selling a house recently and buyer's inspection didn't pass termite inspection - was told needed house tented and showed on report where found - to tune of thousands of dollars. This was from a long-standing company that happens to be one of only a couple that are licenced for tenting.

I knew this was bunk because I had under contract for years on annual inspections. I also knew bunk because a month before another potential buyer had a termite inspection and tags were all still under the sink and panel where required. Needless to say, another inspection was ordered and no termites found.

Luckily, I can't testify to what a post-infection treatment should cost but only caution to be knowledgable that opinions can vary, and assume, so can cost.

[Zombified]

I own a pest control business in Deep South Texas and the cost for treatment could vary greatly based on total linear feet of fence to be treated and materials used. I have yet to get paid to treat someone's fence in the last 30 years I've been doing business. Opinions vary greatly and treatment strategies as well. I would get multiple quotes before making a decision. A 12 year warranty is a lot longer than most companies give. Are there annual payments/inspections included? Unless your fence is some kind of exotic wood I would think it's cheaper to replace some of the infested lumber. However, I understand that if it's the posts it might be more difficult. Did the company say what kind of termites your fence had? Subterranean or Drywood? I might be able to help if you post some pictures of the damage.

[SQLGeek]

Thanks for the response.

I'll snap some pictures when I can get out there to do so. I'll have to ask my wife about what kind they were. I know we're supposed to get an inspection report from the company this evening.

Does it make sense to do the perimeter defense since there's evidence of termites in the yard or should a one time treatment be enough?

[Archery1]

Does it make sense to do the perimeter defense since there's evidence of termites in the yard or should a one-time treatment be enough?

I am not an exterminator, but as said above by one, it matters what kind, subterranean, or flying. They require different methods to get rid of. If flying, treating the ground perimeter does nothing, as they don't live or come from the ground - they live in the wood. That's why multiple opinions on what type, treatment methods, and costs are best so you can be assured the best outcome.

[crazy2medic]

I did pest control for 30yrs, I had TPCL 11G, the only termites native to Texas are the Subterranean Termites, the flying termites are their alates (reproductives) there are cases of formosan termites but most are killed before they can establish a colony! To deal with the termites in the fence go online order a guart bottle of DOMINION, if you have a back pack sprayer (4 gallon is what I have) mix it as prescribed for termites in the fold out label, this will protect the fence and CAN possibly kill the whole colony! Becareful with the dominion as it's what is contributing to Bee Colony Collapse! Just spray the wood fence!
Subterranean Termites Swarm every year around this time, when the temprature and humidity hits just right the Alates swarm out of the swarm tubes mate and the males die, females attempt to create another colony!
Any question you can ask me!

[Zombified]

The termites found on the fence could also be what are sometimes call agriculture termites or grass termites. They don't actually do any damage to the wood, they just feed on dead grass or the dried surface of the wood. They don't actually burrow into it.

Subterranean termites may not go away by treating the wood on the fence. Subterranean termites damaging your fence via the wooden posts will require a soil application to the posts.

If perimeter defense refers to treating the exterior of the home, that depends on what kind of termites they found in your fence. You may go the rest of your life without having termites in your home or you may get them next month. A lot depends on how old your home is. When a new home is built it is supposed to be pre-treated by a professional pest control company. However, most of the time the pest control company does not complete the exterior treatment once home is ready. Typically those homes get subterranean termites within the first three years of being completed. If your home is really old, it is possible it was treated with chlordane and might stay termite free for a long time. Lots of variables here and hard to really go over all of them without inspecting your home.

Pictures of the damage to the fence and more background on your home will help. Ideally a copy of the treatment proposal would help me know a lot more about what they plan to do.

There is also a really good baiting system for subterranean termites. You can find more info about it here: https://www.sentricon.com/

I have also provided a link to A&M's information page on subterranean termites. Within the page there are also links to describe drywood termites and formosan termites.

https://extensionentomology.tamu.edu/pu ... -termites/

[crazy2medic]

The interesting thing about Dominion is the fact that it's very persistant and deadly to hive insects, termite like ants don't waste anything, they will eat their dead! They have found that Dominion can kill an entire colony of ants, bees, termites just by the workers cleaning or brushing up against each other! This why I said becareful where you put it! My Bread and Butter was Termites, Termite Inspection, Termite Jobs, Pretreatments! Unless you have a certificate or something saying that your house was Pretreated for termites then it probably wasn't!

[SQLGeek]

Thanks for the info.

They are subterranean per the inspector. The newer looking damage is on a few boards in one section of the yard.

[SQLGeek]

There's also some damage in another part of the yard that looks old

So we've had this before. Probably a season or two prior.

The house was built new in 2017 and we are the first owners. Has slab foundation, brick and cement board veneer.

I don't recall a termite treatment flyer or anything when we closed on the house.

The thing that makes me wonder if this is an upsell job is that there's this long thing in the estimate about conducive conditions for termites, none of which apply to our house. They also tried to sell us on rodent sealing and a bunch of other stuff.

The actual quote is $500 for spraying the fence. Then $1100 to install Sentricon bait pods around the house perimeter and monitoring those for a year.

I got another quote for $1350 from another company for digging a trench around the house, filling with non attractive pesticide and then spraying the fence.

I'm not sure if I should be DIYing this or not. :)

[crazy2medic]

There's also some damage in another part of the yard that looks old

20200505_185934.jpg

20200505_185948.jpg

So we've had this before. Probably a season or two prior.

The house was built new in 2017 and we are the first owners. Has slab foundation, brick and cement board veneer.

I don't recall a termite treatment flyer or anything when we closed on the house.

The thing that makes me wonder if this is an upsell job is that there's this long thing in the estimate about conducive conditions for termites, none of which apply to our house. They also tried to sell us on rodent sealing and a bunch of other stuff.

The actual quote is $500 for spraying the fence. Then $1100 to install Sentricon bait pods around the house perimeter and monitoring those for a year.

I got another quote for $1350 from another company for digging a trench around the house, filling with non attractive pesticide and then spraying the fence.

I'm not sure if I should be DIYing this or not. :)

Get you another estimate from a reputable company! That Is Not Termites!

[SQLGeek]

Wow. Ok I'm a little flummoxed now. What is causing that?

[SQLGeek]

Also I forgot to mention, the fence is cedar.

[JakeTheSnake]

I think that is some type of worm. We just found some in a few boards we had to replace.
When we were cutting up the pickets to get rid of, there were some still in the boards, dried up dead.

[Boxerrider]

I'm more carpenter than exterminator.
Termites will build a tunnel to cover themselves, and you usually see damage starting at the ground and moving up. That looks like borer beetle larva damage to me. The beetle lays eggs in the tree while it is alive and the larve eats the wood as it grows and develops. Do a search for cedar borer beetle and see if it matches up.

Jeff