Re: Home and garden projects
 

It depends on the termites, there are two main types subterranean which you drill and pump poison into the ground and the other type which live in the wood of your house and you tent for.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

In that case, we must only have the "subterranean" type round here, ..... but they build earth tubes up the side of the wall and then enter the framing of your house. So both sorts end up in your house.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

A new bar and chain for my chainsaw arrived in town this week. I have to go to the post office to collect them tomorrow, and then I am off to deal with some dead pines. :)

I have a broken one that is the most urgent, broken off about 20ft above ground level and overhanging a neighbour's yard, a 70ft standing trunk that lost its crown a couple of years ago in an ice storm, and a 90ft pine that died last summer, I think after a tree contractor I used in the autumn of 2013, drove his truck over its roots - pines don't much like having their roots driven over. :(

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Yes, I think it's fairly regional. I had to deal with subterranean ones here a few years back. Little mud tube up the side of the house, there was also a crack in the foundation they got in through. The crack doesn't have to be very big either! That was when I found out the previous owner had really gone overboard in gluing down the bamboo flooring.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Yes. The drywood type swarm, and get in anywhere. They look like flying ants and shed their wings once they find a home.

I had mine tented before moving in. You have to remove all food, and be out for 2 nights. The gas kills anything living! But leaves no residue to clean up- except dead things. Cost about a grand.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

First two contractors told us it was dry wood variety, third said we had subterranean. I'm reading so much conflicting information on this. Sounds like tenting will help remove the doubt as to whether we got them all. Quotes I'm seeing are around $2k, plus costs for us and next door to go somewhere for a long weekend.

Seems like it's pretty common for people in SoCal to tent fit termites, though. I've seen a few houses with them recently.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

The drilling/pumping option is to form a chemical barrier to prevent sub's getting in. If they are already in, tenting is needed. Unless it is really localised, then they can squirt stuff into the wood in the area to kill them .

My neighbors did not have to leave. Are they attached?

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Yes, we share a wall (duplex). Luckily my neighbor is my FIL. 😀

Re: Home and garden projects
 

So I got the "widow maker" down, it turned out to be 75ft, but it wasn't easy. First it refused to fall (sideways wrt to the break), and I had had to cut it about 5ft above ground level because it was a double trunk tree. Despite using logging wedges and having a rope around it above the break, it wouldn't fall, so I tried a crowbar, .... which levered it off its stump. :scaredhair: From there on I had to cut sections off the bottom, but it was hung up at the top, so as I cut sections off the bottom it got progressively closer to vertical! :eek: :scaredhair: :eek: :scaredhair: :eek:

After removing almost 20ft from the trunk, it was pretty close to vertical, though stuck into the ground from the oblique angle where I had cut it and tangled in the tree it had fallen against. I got the rope around it again, about 30ft up. Pulling on the rope wouldn't budge it, but I was able to anchor it to another tree to stop it falling the wrong way. Then one more cut, and wumph, down it came! :thumbsup:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

That sounds like a huge undertaking, Pulaski.
I don't think I have the cajones to tackle a 75ft tree on my own. :eek:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Having sharpened the blades on one of my walk-behind mowers last week, and changed the oil, I started the mower season this afternoon. It was just a tidying up of the straggly bits at the front, but it looks much better for it. Usually I leave it too late before I start mowing and it looks like a mess, but this year I am ahead of the game.

I will try to dig out the weed and feed that I bought last year and spread that in the next week or two. :)

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Mr P is know for the size of his cajones.

I used the truck when I took half a dozen trees down near the building. Climbed up as far I could and roped it to the truck and tensioned by driving in the direction I wanted it to go.

The secret with this technique is to use a rope longer than the tree is tall....

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Much of my property is too densely wooded to use my truck, so I have a boat winch mounted on 2"x6"'s that I can ratchet-strap to a tree 120+ feet away from the tree I want to bring down.

I think my next investment in tree gear will be a strap and pulley that I saw the tree guy I use from time to time using. By running a rope through a pulley strapped to a tree off to one side, you can safely pull down a tree with a much shorter rope than Boiler explained is "necessary".

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Understand, I did not have anything to attach a rope to other than my truck, but I will bear in mind the pulley concept, increase your leverage at the same time.

BTW how much wood did you get out of that tree? I am getting short and need a few warm days for my remaining major pile to melt out.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Probably just over half a cord. If you'd like to pop over with your truck you're welcome to help yourself, but you'd better be quick because I am planning on having a fire this afternoon to burn the limbs and debris, and some of the logs.