Posts Tagged ‘damage’

Tricky termite treatments

Pavers, flagstone and tile always make a termite treatment more difficult. Sometimes it almost impossible, these pavers are in fact put in place with cement or sand.  It is possible to drill but it also is worrisome because you might crack the paver. It is essential to the treatment to get the termiticide to the area where the termites may try to get into the home.

I also run across built in cabinets and they pose another obstacle to getting the termiticide to that expansion joint. What other issues do you think we run across on our daily termite treatments and do you have any unusual obstructions at your home or business?

Hey, what’s that hanging from my ceiling?

With all the rains we have had it is not surprising to any of us that termites are still very active. This is a frequent little phenomenon that happens here with our  desert termites. They find their way into our homes and follow the wood grain, hit the next 2×4 and then follow that grain and rather than return the longer way they attempt to go back down from where they are at the moment. Tricky little bugs, right?

So before you just clean it up and disregard it, check it out – is it dirt and do you see any little white 6 legged ant type critters. Surprise, it’;s probably termites – give us a call to make sure 480-831-9328

What has smooth galleries and small 6 sided pellets?

Drywood termites do and yes I found them under a crawlspace in downtown Mesa, Arizona.

Drywood termites are social insects that live in colonies in sound, dry wood. Each colony consists of offspring from an original pair (male and female). There are three growth stages – eggs, immatures and adults. Drywood termites are larger than local, southwestern subterranean species. Drywood termites tend to cut across wood grain destroying both the soft spring wood and the harder summer growth. Subterranean termites typically follow the grain of the wood, feeding primarily on the soft spring wood. Since they don’t live in the soil you must either get rid of the wood, if possible or fumigate. Some liquid treatments may work as long as the wood has not been painted or varnarished.

How can you deal with these Arizona woodpeckers?

Is there anything more annoying than a woodpecker who decided its time to bang on your house while your trying to sleep? I have a chimney just outside my upstairs bedroom door and it actually has a metal cap on the top and this woodpecker really knew how to wake me up. I was lucky because it was an easy fix – I installed 2 Daddi Long leg spiders on my chimney and it stopped the woodpecker from getting the chimney cap. There are other products available but you’re going to love this – the woodpecker protective coating spray doesn’t work on our Arizona woodpecker. These repellents do generally work on the other 23 varities of woodpeckers in the U.S.

What can you find in your foundation slab?

This is the stuff that makes a termite treater go crazy, you never know what the construction crew left behind.