All posts in “damage”

Its National Termite Awareness Week.

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Information by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) – check out the info at their site.

My Top 10 Tips on preventing Termites at your home or business:

  1. Don’t stack wood or firewood against your home.
  2. Trim trees so they don’t touch your home, better yet don’t plant trees to close to your home.
  3. In Arizona our termite season is really somewhere near August through December depending on monsoon rains.
  4. If you have a crawlspace, check to be sure that you don’t have any water leaks.
  5. Check the foundation for mud tubes, inside if you see mud trails or tubes coming from the ceiling call a Pro.
  6. Don’t store boxes over the expansion joint in garage, leave a little space to inspect the wall and foundation.
  7. Any structure like shed should be installed on blocks or concrete, wood to ground allows termites to damage the shed.
  8. Slope dirt and stone away from home, don’t allow dirt or rock to be higher than the stucco.
  9. Position sprinklers away from the house.
  10. Once a year call a Professional Termite Inspector, have them give you their opinion and advice on termite activity.

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Termites are sneaky, aren’t they?

 

Termites will do everything in their power to gain access into our homes and businesses. Here is a picture of a cardboard box that was riddled with termites and their damage.

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Thanks to Carrie for the picture

 

I’m not a real big fan of those cabinets in the garage, I find that all they do is coverup the expansion joint and prevent us from getting a good treatment into those areas. So my tip of the day, check your cabinets and the rest of your home often or better yet give ProBest Pest Management a call today at 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176

Have you really ever thought about termites?

 

According to the National Pest Management Association termites do about $5 billion in damage each and every year. Are they eating your home and do you know what to look for.

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Subterranean termites enter by way of cracks or foundations here in Arizona. So if you notice soil/dirt/mud trails either outside on the foundation slab, or inside the garage or coming down from the ceilings it’s time to call a Pro.

Hey baby I smell good – would you follow me?

 

For many years researchers have used pheromones to lure insects into glue boards or catch devices.  They are really isolating these chemicals that are found in the specific insects used for mating purposes. What the guys don’t know is that its a trap. “Female Asian Longhorned Beetles pheromone may be key to pest management” Caution sex pictures when you click that link… made you look.

The researchers found that when the proper ratio and amount of pheromone is produced by females and deposited on the surface where they walk, signaling that they are fertile, males come.

So some type of fungus, trap or glue-board could be used  to kill males or females and this could possibly help to control certain beetles which damage trees. Science is producing some great and innovative ways to combat certain pests.

Western Termites

 

 

 

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Termite patching errors

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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.

 

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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.

Termites are different in Arizona.

The termites in Arizona act a bit different than the East Coast relatives, typically the Eastern Subterranean termites do damage without becoming visible. With that being said, nothing is certain and always simple, termites are termites and will often do what they want to do, not according to the book. The damage eventually becomes noticeable and then that is where it becomes a horror story.  The Western Subterranean termites will make mud tubes over the foundation or make little tubes in the drywood or make little exit type holes. The Eastern Sub’s  will make exit holes but in relation to swarming.

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The Western Sub’s also make down tubes quite often, as the picture below shows. I have actually seen tubes over 5 foot long stretching almost back to the garage floor.

 

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If you find signs, just call a Pest Management Professional and do some checking with the BBB or a referral  from a friend (Kudzu).

The Japanese, the bugs and me!

Maybe its because I had a chance to interact with Japan in my early days – I went to a BSA World Jamboree in 1972 and I feel close to their culture. I enjoyed the mulitple visits over the years and glad I was a part of possibly saving some of these hsitoric buildings.  But this got me to thinking as I watched the only sports that I watch throughout the year – The Little League World Series. The Japanese are very regimented in their training, style and honestly they are like a very well oiled clock. I have had the chance to work with many talented people from Japan in regards to termites. That same spark is there among 11 – 80 year old Japanese. I looked at temples and buildings that had termite damage and hoped that we could preserve those structures. Formosan termites are capable of doing some severe damage if not stopped. The great thing is that technology continues to work toward that goal and people around the world all must work together.

 

Here are just a few pictures of some of the work I looked at in Japan.

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Termites are active in Arizona.

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The first picture is at the tire stop and the termites decided to just continue right on to the wall. The 3rd picture is my favorite, it appears someone decided to paint right over the tube. Maybe they were trying to hide it from the dreaded Termite Inspector (Me), by the way that doesn’t work.

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