All posts in “Desert subterranean termites”

Termite failures

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Termite failures on structures

What kind of issues cause failures?

Failures include:

  1. Planters next to the foundation.
  2. Stucco below grade of slab.
  3. Any wood to soil.
  4. Tree roots or stumps within the area of foundation.
  5. Improper pretreat to slab.
  6. Buried construction material below slab.
  7. To much water against the slab, drip irrigation and flood irrigation.
  8. After the slab is poured, the bath-trap is disturbed.
  9. People walking on pretreat material before the slab is poured.
  10. Digging up the post treatment, and then forgetting to notify the Termite company.

failures

There are many items that can cause problems when thinking about a structure break and thinking outside the box is helpful. So let’s imagine that you are having issues near a kitchen in the ceiling – the first step is checking outside. See if there are any mud tubes. Then examine inside, blocked by cabinets – its probably coming up within the inside of the foundation. Angle drilling may be necessary. I think it is like detective work, examining the clues and coming up with the treatment options. So good luck and keep at it and you will figure it out.

Monsoon and Termites

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Monsoon brings out the bugs

Well the monsoon has arrived and with all that rain comes the bugs. I usually say the bugs come in for 2 reasons, #1 not enough rain or #2 too much rain. Just like us the bugs need water, food and shelter and guess what that may be our home of business. Termites become more active this time of year mainly due to the increase of water, on the East Coast water is more abundant and they just seem to be active all year long. Termites create a tube in which to enter a home but that tube can often be hidden and that is the main reason to hire a Pest Management Professional to do that yearly inspection. If you live in the South I recommend a yearly inspection especially for your peace of mind.

monsoon

All that water.

So when the ground becomes saturated the other bugs make for dryer land and sometimes that just happens to be your home or business. This picture below was from last week and you can see our parking lot is flooded. If this was your home this might be right up against your foundation. The more water and over time this may diminish your active termiticide.

monsoon

Termite

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The Dreaded Termite – the House Eater

termite

Termite

5 billion in damages yearly throughout the U.S. with most of that damage occurring on the East Coast. The highest infestation of subterranean termites is really found in the Southeast, including Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. Therefore the highest levels of damage probably occur in those states. Since we build houses right on top of termite colonies, we afford them the options to go straight into our homes. Then to make matters worse we use wood to build those homes and businesses. So what can you do to prevent termites?

  • Don’t allow wood to ground.
  • Don’t overwater, and don’t allow wood to get wet.
  • Keep an eye on areas of penetration of concrete slab, such as bath-traps and plumbing.
  • If you see anything that appears to be dirt on wall in form of tubes call a Pest Management Professional, like ProBest Pest Management 602-249-7378.
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What do you want to know by ProBest Pest Management!

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Desert subterranean termites

  • Southwestern U.S. – Colorado and Gila deserts.
  • Lives on grasses, dead cacti, desert plants and can attack fences and other wood products.
  • This termite becomes active during and after the summer rainy season (monsoon), from July to September. This termite does swarm, however I have only seen 2 indoor swarms and generally swarms at dusk, after a rain.
  • These termites will openly build very narrow, free-hanging tubes from ceilings, shelves and overhangs. Don’t be surprised if you see tubes as long as six to 12 inches or longer in length. These tubes are often reused by these termites even when there is no feeding activity. They also build tubes over the foundation walls.
  • Generally speaking this termite causes very little damage to homes and buildings. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore them, they will continue to eat your home until you treat for them.
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