So I was very unhappy to learn a couple of days ago that the "flying ants" that have invaded my house in the last couple of weeks are actually termites. They, and the strange brown long-legged spiders that appeared about the same time, are not welcome additions to my home. Though the pest guys are coming to spray while I am out of town, I wonder if any readers have any helpful hints on keeping these pests at bay?
My house is made of stone and mortar so termites wasn't a concern I thought I would have; I now wonder if this might help explain my falling tree from a few weeks ago, and perhaps if they are coming indoors because the tree they used to live in is now gone. Now that they are in the house, I am concerned about my wooden furniture and carpets, and not speaking the language of the pest control people has me turning to the internet for help.
After getting completely freaked out by everything I've read about termites, I thought I would turn to readers to see if anyone has any success stories in dealing with an infestation. How did you get rid of them, and how did you keep them out once they were gone? Did you lose any furniture or carpet to the bugs? What will help make me house and all my stuff less atrractive to these unwelcome guests? Any advice would be appreciated!
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You need to get pros to eradicate termites. Termites can do a lot of damage in a very short time to a house, which I'm sure you've read by now. Treatment consists of drilling holes around the perimeter of the house and injecting extremely toxic poison into the ground. When there is a slab foundation, they will drill holes every foot or so around the perimeter inside the house and inject the poison into that, then fill the holes with concrete. Actually, I think they do that in basements, too. You can't just spray termites to get rid of them! It's a serious business. The poison has a very long half life and once it's done, you'll be set for as long as you own the house (and beyond, most likely).
As for the spiders, they might be Brown Recluse spiders. A professional exterminator can deal with those, too. At least they won't eat your house down.
For a non-toxic way to keep bugs out, diatomaceous earth is great! Its a fine sand made up of microscopic shells which cuts through the exoskeletons of bugs, killing them. It's totally safe to have around kids and pets and can actually be used on pets as a natural remedy for fleas & ticks. :-)
"spanky" is right, it's useless to spray for termites. It's sad that also your tree fell, but coincidental, because dry wood termites eat dead wood--including furniture, unfortunately--and your tree was alive, with lots of green leaves. On the up side, although there are other pests that do, termites don't eat carpet.
Also on the up side, the spider-like creatures aren't spiders, and are harmless to people. As far as discouraging pests, a simple, nontoxic first step is to tighten barriers against their entry by filling holes and cracks. It seems that Saudi Arabia has many similarities to Miami!
I came downstairs one day to find swarmers in my kitchen! I sat with the vacuum hose in one hand and searching the internet to identify them with the other. All this 5 months after my home inspection. I had damage to some floor joists and I try not to think about hidden, undiscovered damage. The company that treated my house said to remove any vegetation close to your home. The roots hold moisture which attracts termites. And as mentioned above, spraying might not be enough to get rid of termites. I needed the drilling every 12 inch and insert bait into each hole treatment. Even that isn't 100%. I just saw a swarmer yesterday.
Termites can swarm as spring and summer set in. I'm from Louisiana where we have termite issues down to a science:
Finding termites in your home doesn't mean your home is infested - your home may be in the path of their migration. Termites swarm just after sunset for about an hour and will be very attracted to the light emanating from your home. They will come in through any crack they can find, so make sure your windows and doors are weathertight. Limit light in the house (we just go to bed early for those few weeks) and/or set up a bright spotlight outdoors to lure them away.
Hope this helps!
omg your post brought back nightmare memories of my first rental place in LA. i came home AFTER they had swarmed...and was confused by what i was seeing (some dead ones on the carpet, etc) until later i noticed by the wood dust trails that they had bored into burl wood photo frames, furniture, even wooden curtain rods! coming from apt living in NYC where we had--ahem--other types of insects, i really didn't know what i was dealing with. landlord didn't want to pay to tent the place before i moved. i refused to move any of my furniture to another location because i knew the buggers were in there. finally got him to do it. had to move out for a few days while entire house was tented. ugh bugs!
I live in NW Florida and I do not mess around with termites. Here, you can't sell a house unless you have a "termite bond" - sort of insurance with an extermination company that you have poison stations set up and your house is inspected often. It runs me 500 dollars every five years for the treatment and $250 annually for topups.
There are 2 types of termites...one is subterranean termites, and they live in the soil and come up through tubes into your home. The other is drywood termites, and they live in the wood structure of your home. If you have a professional come out to your home, they can identify which termite it is. The treatment will be different for each. If you have subterranean termites, they have to treat your soil...and like "Spanky" says, they have to drill holes and inject a chemical into your sub-area around your home. If you have drywood termites, and depending on how severe your infestation is, they will recommend a local treatment (but they will only guarantee that area), or you can tent your entire home (and they should offer you a guarantee for your entire home).