General Termite question

[Decoy205]

I moved into our house last year. It has a big yard and had many trees and shrubs. There are a few shrub stumps and 2 or three tree stumps in the backyard.

I think the closest one is about 20 ft from the foundation.

I checked the two of them by the pool area which is far from the house and they have termites eating them all up.

So the question is… should you treat the house and property for termites if they are eating stumps? How concerned at this point should i be?

I called a pest control place and they are coming out on Tuesday to review. I just don’t want to add an expense in this crazy time that I don’t need to but also am very paranoid about protecting and caring for my home.

Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

Yes, you should have a protective termite barrier of treatment around your house since you see they are in the area.

 

[Decoy205]

Thanks AJ. Yeah I think with all the critters around here it’s probably best to get a plan.

I treated my first home when we found them in the stump in our yard.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Unlike your location, Tucson never gets cold enough to kill anything, including termites. Around these parts, we have an annual termite service contract. When you sell a home around here, you either have to prove that you have had an annual contract at closing OR you have to provide money at closing to pay for a termite treatment for the next owner.

Be careful with exterminator services. Many will try to sell you expensive treatment plans that could be unnecessary. I wouldn’t sign up for anything without getting a few quotes and checking out reviews online. Spot treating a few old stumps shouldn’t cost a lot so they’ll have a big incentive to use your anxieties against you to try sell you a property treatment service or drill under your foundation, etc, etc. Just because you see a few termites on a stump doesn’t mean they’re infesting your home. So take your time and get multiple bids.

 

[Decoy205]

That is exactly my concern. I know they try and get you hooked up with a contract and in a lot of cases it’s unnecessary. I’m also concerned about them just drilling all around my house.

At the same time, I live near many wooded areas so there’s all kinds of pests so it might be a good move to protect the home either way.

 

[Toxophilite]

If they are eating the dead wood in the yard, that's a good sign to get a termite inspection and treatment. The stump is serving the same purpose a termite company puts those bait tubes drilled around your home perimeter. The termites go there first. On inspection, no termites in tube bait, no termites to worry. But, your bait stump already proves they are in the area.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Do you have a Do-It-Yourself Pest Control in your area? We have a local shop called DIY Pest and Weed that sells all the equipment and commercial grade chemicals to customers. You can do the treatments yourself. Of course, some states may not allow that by regulation but here in cowboy land, we get to do whatever the heck we want … still waiting on my small-scale nuclear reactor kit but I expect it will arrive any day now …

 

[Decoy205]

I would have to check to see if there is a way homeowners can do that. But I vaguely remember the terminix guy saying consumers can’t get the chemical they use.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

well, best to see what the guy says. If they start playing up the fear thing or hard-selling, that’s a dead giveaway they’re just looking to sell you a contract.

 

[Katodude]

I dont believe for one second that they have a propriety chemical that consumers cannot get. This is something that I use for whitefly that is also rated for termites.

Dominion 2L Termiticide

Dominion 2L Termiticide

www.domyown.com

You can also chat with the Domyown people, they are super helpful and have just about anything you or all pest control companies use.

 

[bertschb]

I would have to check to see if there is a way homeowners can do that.

The go-to pesticide for termites (I'm an internet expert now) is Taurus SC. It's supposed to be effective for up to ten years. I contacted a couple pest control companies in my area and that's what they use.
Taurus SC

You can find videos on YT showing how it's applied. They dig a shallow trench around the foundation and liberally pour this stuff in.

 

[Toxophilite]

I would have to check to see if there is a way homeowners can do that. But I vaguely remember the terminix guy saying consumers can’t get the chemical they use.

Depends on what they are using and what stage they are treating. There's definitely some they use that require a Federal Use License from the EPA, and the states can be a more restrictive. There's some consumer stuff that's good for pre-treating, and, there's some pre-treatments that require licensing. But, if you are at the end stage and have an infestation and require tent fog, there's very few licenses even among exterminators that are issued for that due to the toxicity and safety protocols that must be followed, logged, and submitted.

 

[bertschb]

Depends on what they are using and what stage they are treating.

Excellent point. Once they are in the house, it's a different situation altogether.

 

[Decoy205]

thanks for all the replies everyone.

well, best to see what the guy says. If they start playing up the fear thing or hard-selling, that’s a dead giveaway they’re just looking to sell you a contract.

Agree. The one I have scheduled has great reviews for the area so we shall see how it goes. Terminix definitely did that and were pushing the hard sell years ago Which is exactly want I want to avoid, I’m ok with spending it but it’s so hard to separate the truth from the fear tactics.

Depends on what they are using and what stage they are treating. There's definitely some they use that require a Federal Use License from the EPA, and the states can be a more restrictive. There's some consumer stuff that's good for pre-treating, and, there's some pre-treatments that require licensing. But, if you are at the end stage and have an infestation and require tent fog, there's very few licenses even among exterminators that are issued for that due to the toxicity and safety protocols that must be followed, logged, and submitted.

I think the one they used here was termidor.

We moved in last year and had a home inspection and it included basic termite. It was clear and I don’t believe they are in the house and I’d like to keep it that way.

I really appreciate everyone’s input! Seems my thought to at least get things check is a good one,

 

[Toxophilite]

thanks for all the replies everyone.

Agree. The one I have scheduled has great reviews for the area so we shall see how it goes. Terminix definitely did that and were pushing the hard sell years ago Which is exactly want I want to avoid, I’m ok with spending it but it’s so hard to separate the truth from the fear tactics.

I think the one they used here was termidor.

We moved in last year and had a home inspection and it included basic termite. It was clear and I don’t believe they are in the house and I’d like to keep it that way.

I really appreciate everyone’s input! Seems my thought to at least get things check is a good one,

I can be hard to separate the truth from the tying to rip you off. In my case, in the thousands. Was selling and buyer's inspection for termites came up infested. Was a local one man company, I'm sure they knew each other, and the quote was over $5K to fumigate. Little did they know that house had been on contract with pest control, annual inspections, and, a previous potential buyer had it inspected just a month prior. All the stickers were inside the cabinet showing negative WDI. We still paid $250 for another inspection. Title company ordered their own independent. No termites were ever found, not even in the places the bogus report labeled them to be.

 

[bertschb]

I can be hard to separate the truth from the tying to rip you off. In my case, in the thousands. Was selling and buyer's inspection for termites came up infested. Was a local one man company, I'm sure they knew each other, and the quote was over $5K to fumigate. Little did they know that house had been on contract with pest control, annual inspections, and, a previous potential buyer had it inspected just a month prior. All the stickers were inside the cabinet showing negative WDI. We still paid $250 for another inspection. Title company ordered their own independent. No termites were ever found, not even in the places the bogus report labeled them to be.

Wow! That is a scary story!

This is one of the reasons I ended up paying a company to do the preventetive termite service. I spray for other bugs myself every six weeks using Demand CS.

 

[Oly]

I think the one they used here was termidor.

This has the active ingredient, Fipronil the same as Taurus mentioned by Brian.

 

[Toxophilite]

Wow! That is a scary story!

This is one of the reasons I ended up paying a company to do the preventetive termite service. I spray for other bugs myself every six weeks using Demand CS.

Here, 9 out of 10 times it will be subterranean, which once infested and unlike the others, you can't fumigate to rid because they simply go back in the ground colony. You can have the soil pre-treated under slab during construction, but can't hardly, safely, keep the perimeter at sufficient levels on a regular basis to completely prevent them. Monitor, monitor, monitor, with slab inspections for tunnels and bait traps. Then, once you find them near you, bring out the big gun professional treatments.

 

[Decoy205]

Pest company inspected and said no need to treat the house for termites at this time as no evidence of activity was found near the foundation or in the home. The activity was found very far away from the house and they cannot spot treat here apparently.

We also had an ant issue as they are always in the house so we are getting an ant treatment done as they have trails around my entire foundation. They will check back in a few weeks to see how everything is. I think we’re good for this year!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Pest company inspected and said no need to treat the house for termites at this time as no evidence of activity was found near the foundation or in the home. The activity was found very far away from the house and they cannot spot treat here apparently.

We also had an ant issue as they are always in the house so we are getting an ant treatment done as they have trails around my entire foundation. They will check back in a few weeks to see how everything is. I think we’re good for this year!

Good to hear that they took a customer friendly approach rather than try to make a big sell. You can find termites almost anywhere you look, they are actually beneficial to the environment just like cockroaches are. So if you find a stump far away from the house that’s full of rot and termites, leave it alone. They’re not after your house. Now if you have evidence of tracks on the foundation or issues inside the house, like your ants, that’s a different story. But no need to go making trouble for yourself where none is needed.