Termites
Feb 15th 2018, 2:50 am
#1
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Termites
Has anyone here got experience of DIY termite control? We had a kitchen extension professionally treated about 8 years ago but those tubes and some eaten wood areas have reappeared recently. We would like to avoid the expense of getting a pest control company in again.
Feb 15th 2018, 4:21 am
#2
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Re: Termites
Funny you should say that.
We took our house on from a bank repo and as part of the reconstruction I removed as much wood as possible except for hard wood which termites do not like.
Also as part of the renovation I paid 28,000 for termite treatment which saw holes being drilled to form 100sqm frames with pellets put in at each corner. The floor is very thick cement over-layed by tiles. We installed a wooden kitchen with wooden based counter tops and this has been good until we returned from our XMAS trip to HK to the sounds of termites wishing us happy new year.
The little beasts have struck at 3 points in the kitchen, not an extension and treated for termites when we moved in in 2005. So we had a bait box installed which the little darlings find far tastier than wood, yet they seem to be fussy, as after 4 weeks some of the bait is still in the box, cost 1500 pesos. I have been told to wait until the end of this month to see if the box is emptied.
If not we will be getting the drill team in to send down more bait plugs deep into the foundations and two walls. I suspect this will cost us 5000 pesos. I will confirm costs once I know what our next step will be.
These termites have eaten through over 3ft of cement foundation, cement filled hollow block walls and tile cement to invade the kitchen.
Ace Hardware have paint on Termite fluid, not vastly expensive yet I suspect it prevents them from finding a surface tasty, as opposed to baiting them to poison the queen. You may wish to take a look at the small print on the tins for suitability. I am told that the usual sprays are useless as the queen does not get killed and she just reproduces more workers to take the place of the slain. You need to take the queen out!!
Apart from the kitchen; the house relies on metal trusses with artiplex boards, plastic doors, resin base boards and covings with plastic doors and frames for Crs, etc. I want to keep the little dastards out of the furniture!!
In fairness we were told that the drill and bait process should be repeated every ten years. So, I suppose we have got what we deserved. Also the drill and bait cure needs to be outside of the property so we will get that priced to prevent the little dastards thinking about underground trespass. Create a ring around the house as well as inside for the ultimate deterrent.
If the kitchen cabinets are not too damaged, that will save us heaps as a new kitchen which will not have any wood costs about 350,000 eye watering pesos......not today thank you
We took our house on from a bank repo and as part of the reconstruction I removed as much wood as possible except for hard wood which termites do not like.
Also as part of the renovation I paid 28,000 for termite treatment which saw holes being drilled to form 100sqm frames with pellets put in at each corner. The floor is very thick cement over-layed by tiles. We installed a wooden kitchen with wooden based counter tops and this has been good until we returned from our XMAS trip to HK to the sounds of termites wishing us happy new year.
The little beasts have struck at 3 points in the kitchen, not an extension and treated for termites when we moved in in 2005. So we had a bait box installed which the little darlings find far tastier than wood, yet they seem to be fussy, as after 4 weeks some of the bait is still in the box, cost 1500 pesos. I have been told to wait until the end of this month to see if the box is emptied.
If not we will be getting the drill team in to send down more bait plugs deep into the foundations and two walls. I suspect this will cost us 5000 pesos. I will confirm costs once I know what our next step will be.
These termites have eaten through over 3ft of cement foundation, cement filled hollow block walls and tile cement to invade the kitchen.
Ace Hardware have paint on Termite fluid, not vastly expensive yet I suspect it prevents them from finding a surface tasty, as opposed to baiting them to poison the queen. You may wish to take a look at the small print on the tins for suitability. I am told that the usual sprays are useless as the queen does not get killed and she just reproduces more workers to take the place of the slain. You need to take the queen out!!
Apart from the kitchen; the house relies on metal trusses with artiplex boards, plastic doors, resin base boards and covings with plastic doors and frames for Crs, etc. I want to keep the little dastards out of the furniture!!
In fairness we were told that the drill and bait process should be repeated every ten years. So, I suppose we have got what we deserved. Also the drill and bait cure needs to be outside of the property so we will get that priced to prevent the little dastards thinking about underground trespass. Create a ring around the house as well as inside for the ultimate deterrent.
If the kitchen cabinets are not too damaged, that will save us heaps as a new kitchen which will not have any wood costs about 350,000 eye watering pesos......not today thank you
Last edited by mikemike; Feb 15th 2018 at 4:32 am.
Feb 15th 2018, 7:29 am
#3
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Re: Termites
Yes, finding and knocking off the Queen is the ultimate solution...for that colony anyway. At the property in question I don't remember the pest company doing that, maybe they couldn't find the colony or, taking a cynical view, not finding it means they can justify more work on future visits. At another property in a country area, to their credit, another company did find the Queen and show it to us in a small bottle.
The colony was well away from the front gates of the house, over a wide subdivision road, with sidewalks, and about 5 meters into an empty lot. The road is a dead end, so that helped them!
However, at that same property, I recently discovered evidence of another termite infestation. This time coming from the empty lot at the side. I will try to find it one day. Many meters of mud tubes, and, as you say, one heading through a parquet floor into a concrete ceiling slab of an outhouse. The other made a convoluted journey through a dirty kitchen and into the main garage area, making for, it seems, a wooden clothes drying stand, which they had chomped away on in a few areas. Didn't seem worth the effort to me, but perhaps they were desperate. The network wasn't there 3 months ago. They seem not to be there now. I've destroyed their tubes, and it is outside, so will just observe, but at the first property the kitchen cupboards in the extension, though cheap, are at risk.
Both properties have had termicide pumped down in the past, but as you say, it is only good for a few years. Anyway, will try some of your suggestions and may also try the simple soaked cardboard bait idea offered by some when you Google.
The colony was well away from the front gates of the house, over a wide subdivision road, with sidewalks, and about 5 meters into an empty lot. The road is a dead end, so that helped them!
However, at that same property, I recently discovered evidence of another termite infestation. This time coming from the empty lot at the side. I will try to find it one day. Many meters of mud tubes, and, as you say, one heading through a parquet floor into a concrete ceiling slab of an outhouse. The other made a convoluted journey through a dirty kitchen and into the main garage area, making for, it seems, a wooden clothes drying stand, which they had chomped away on in a few areas. Didn't seem worth the effort to me, but perhaps they were desperate. The network wasn't there 3 months ago. They seem not to be there now. I've destroyed their tubes, and it is outside, so will just observe, but at the first property the kitchen cupboards in the extension, though cheap, are at risk.
Both properties have had termicide pumped down in the past, but as you say, it is only good for a few years. Anyway, will try some of your suggestions and may also try the simple soaked cardboard bait idea offered by some when you Google.
Feb 15th 2018, 8:03 am
#4
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 466
Re: Termites
We had termite infestation on two occasions. The first time was our mistake for not having the proper treatment done.We had no idea that there is a termite problem in the Philippines.Needless to say we had to replace all the woodwork in the house and get professional treatment done.
The second occasion arose when we had a major extension built. The engineer that carried out the work was given strict instructions that a trench filled with the appropriate chemicals should be constructed around the perimeter of the new works.After 6 months, all the woodwork of the extension was infested with termites. It was amazing how fast termites can devour wood.
Needless to say we got the professional termite treatment company in again. They told us that the engineer had not put the correct chemicals in the trench. We paid 25K to have the perimeter of the house drilled and the correct chemicals installed. The company we use are very efficient (unlike most Filipino companies) and inspect the property every 3 months, for a year after treatment. To carry on with the inspections after the initial contract costs 8K .....well worth the money.
Our engineer has had to replace all termite damaged woodwork at his cost, hopefully he has learnt not to cut corners.
The second occasion arose when we had a major extension built. The engineer that carried out the work was given strict instructions that a trench filled with the appropriate chemicals should be constructed around the perimeter of the new works.After 6 months, all the woodwork of the extension was infested with termites. It was amazing how fast termites can devour wood.
Needless to say we got the professional termite treatment company in again. They told us that the engineer had not put the correct chemicals in the trench. We paid 25K to have the perimeter of the house drilled and the correct chemicals installed. The company we use are very efficient (unlike most Filipino companies) and inspect the property every 3 months, for a year after treatment. To carry on with the inspections after the initial contract costs 8K .....well worth the money.
Our engineer has had to replace all termite damaged woodwork at his cost, hopefully he has learnt not to cut corners.
Feb 15th 2018, 8:20 am
#5
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Re: Termites
The bait is a very tasty but poisonous ''honey ball'' that the workers take back to the queen for food, it kills her so it is important not to break the tubes etc. You want the little monsters to scurry home with a belly full. Our guy came back late this morning and checked the bait box, it is still going down slowly. I suspect we have two entry points and they are more than 10 meters apart so we may have two nests somewhere in the vicinity.
