Slab issues can affect the home in many ways, crack and penetrations allow termites access. This picture is the start of the problems, after the pouring of the concrete. A plumber will disrupt the soil and the termiticide and this of course allows termites into the home. From my point of view I would like the plumber to leave the dirt alone and keep the termiticide in place.
Concrete walls, can be a termite walkway right into the house. Termites are amazing and they can show up in places I can only imagine. How they find holes in concrete and then pop up is just a amazing fact of these little girls? We service a set of building at Frank Lloyd Wright and the walls are made of Coquina rock and there are spaces throughout. The termites are very crafty and they will find any crack in the rock or concrete. Typically when homes are built these days, there is a gap as to where the stucco is so that helps a lot. Not so long ago the stucco went right into the dirt and you might not see the termites until they were in the house. So what do you look for with termites or even water damage:
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You return home from vacation and there it is Carpet & termites. Now what do you do, call ProBest Pest Management of course 602-249-7378. This is a result of a crack in the foundation and the termites found their way into the home and through the carpet.
Easy fix for a termite company, take up the carpet and treat the crack in the slab. Termiticide does fail and once that crack begins to expand it moves the barrier treatment. So don’t just look around the foundation edge of the house or the ceiling, if you spot something like this connect immediately so we can assess the root cause.
If you ever decide to take up carpet and replace with tile or wood and you find cracks in the slab, call us. It is easier to fix the problem before the time is in place, never looks the same.
Well it’s that time of year again, monsoon and we know what that brings? Yep, its the termites and the bugs and they’re back. This was found in a bath-trap area under a bathtub. You really have to think about and I often say you have to think like a termite. All they want is food, a good place to hang-out and water – hey that sounds like me. In this case we found them in a door frame and it didn’t look like they were coming in from the outside foundation. With just a little investigation we located them under the bath-tub in the bath-trap and as I mentioned you have to really think like them.
termites
Below, another tube coming from an interior door way – probably a crack under carpet.
Happy Labor Day
Our Active Arizona Termites like water and there generally isn’t a lot of it for them. So after it starts raining they get a little more active. So keep a sharp look out for them. Arizona termites are sneaky. They often follow lines such as this metal bracket or they will follow concrete lines and or pipes. So what should you look for?
Normally I have noticed that they cut the extra cable and fill it in with cement. Post tension slabs, pull the concrete together by cables within the concrete. This helps to keep the concrete tight and prevent the concrete from cracking.
Workers are the main caste in the termite colony for the digestion of cellulose in the food and are the most likely to be found in the infested wood. Workers are out and about 24/7/365 and constantly searching for wood.
One of the key areas in homes in my opinion is the garage, so keep an eye for the the expansion joint. I also recommend not placing wood, boxes or anything cellulose on the expansion joint.
One of the problems with doing termite work is what is under the concrete. The picture above isn’t under concrete but in a block wall holding up a RV gate. The problem that I have run into is cups and trash that were just thrown in before the concrete was poured. Cups are a real problem because they are coated with that waxy material and takes a zillion years to decompose.
A number of years ago I had an issue with a set of steps and finally after taking it apart we noticed trash, wood and cups which prevented the termiticide from reaching the dirt in a uniform way. Love to be Superman, but I can’t see through concrete.
This is what happens when patching termites drill holes goes extreme. Patching termite drill holes should be limited to the hole not all the area around the hole. I caught this at a business site the other day and just thought it was amusing and actually sad.
This is on pebble tech flooring, but so easy to just work a little smarter to blend in and only allow concrete to be in the hole not everywhere else.
Its not always easy getting to a possible infestation from termites, but you have to do what you have to do. Sometimes there are breaks in the concrete where pipes come up. Finding the termites is esential to the cause and must be solved before leaving the job. Never give up!
