TERMITE PROOFING

Infestations generally develop from colonies in soil, and the termites enter the building through structural wood or foundation walls adjacent to the soil. In cases of houses built partly or completely on slabs, infestation is through expansion joints, cracks, and utility and sewer pipe openings.

Basic Treatment

The basic principle of termite control is to break the connection between wood and soil. This is done by laying down a chemical barrier to eliminate all possible points of entry. Property owners need to be aware of termites and the destruction they can cause. Consumers also need to be generally knowledgeable of when and where termite control or prevention is needed, and how prevention or control may be accomplished. When buying property, building a home or adding on to an existing structure, or making a decision on treating an existing infestation in a building, the information that follows should be useful.

Homes and other buildings can be pretreated at the time of construction to protect them against termite attack. Many houses are damaged each year by termites than by fire.
Pre-treatment is needed in four areas during construction:

• Treatment of the entire soil surface to be covered with concrete, including garage floors, entrance platforms, and filled porches.
• Additional chemical to the soil beneath those areas which lie adjacent to foundation walls, beneath interior walls, around sewer and utility openings, and at other possible points of entry.
• Treatment of footings and backfill outside foundation walls and inside walled areas where there is a crawl space. Accessible areas like these could be treated later, but it is easier to do so at construction time.
• Treatment of hollow areas or voids inside foundation walls.

Generally, make sure that no wood comes in contact with soil and that all wooden foundation forms and the soil surface in unexcavated areas should be cleared of wood scraps.

How to Check a Damage?

To check for termites, any wood near the foundation or soil should be probed with a screw driver, especially the plates, header joists, and any hardwood flooring.
Presence of earthen “shelter tubes” on foundation walls and wood is an evidence of infestation. Termites build these tubes from bits of soil to close up breaks in infested wood. The tubes resemble long streams of mud running up basement walls or along foundations. The tubes are generally less than 1/4 inch in diameter. Wider tubes indicate an even more serious infestation problem.

• One technique involves digging a V-shaped trench against the wall. It should be at least 1 foot deep or deeper if necessary to protect penetration to the footing. Soil at the bottom of the trench can be loosened with a spade or iron bar to allow further penetration.
• Second technique is Rodding. For outside basement walls, chemicals are applied by injecting them along the foundation through a hollow rod attached at the end of the hose in place of a spray nozzle. The result is a continuous chemical barrier from footing to surface.
• Another technique for Slab-Constructed Buildings involves the injection of chemicals through holes drilled in the slab at prescribed intervals next to all foundation walls, interior partitions, and utility openings, or by rodding from outside the building. Where heat ducts, radiant heat pipes or other special situations exist beneath slabs, modifications or these general treatment procedures may be necessary.
• Technique for Concrete Slabs Against Foundations is done by drilling the slab at prescribed intervals next to the foundation wall and injecting the chemical under pressure.
• Another technique is termite baiting. It’s an alternative control methodology to soil-applied termiticides is the use of termite baits. It involves implanting a piece of wood impregnated with a slow-acting toxicant contained in. Or a child-proof plastic housing. Stations are installed and then rechecked at prescribed intervals thereafter by the pest control professional for termite activity. Baiting is more environment friendly, but it might take several months to a year.