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Hey, what’s that hanging from my ceiling?

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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 602-249-7378

What do you know about Formosan Termites?

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What do you know about Formosan Termites? For example did you know, that they were probably transported into the U.S. from East Asian countries after World War II. The Formosan differs from native species in the fact they have huge colonies, maybe in the millions while Eastern Subterranean often have just a million and Arizona Western Subterranean often near 250,000. The East coast termites generally swarm in the Spring while the Western Sub species usually wait until monsoon to become more active. Formosans are just a little bit different in the fact that they are Subterranean but can bring mud up into a structure and live without going back to the ground. Our native termite in Arizona is not up to par with the Formosan in damage however it is still destructive and can cause significant damage if left alone. So what can you do to prevent Subterranean termites?

Don’t let them into your structure – a proper termiticide treatment will help with that. Since they live in the ground it is important to restrict them at ground level.
Stop the moisture especially around the foundation of your home.
Keep firewood stored above the ground and on some type of either rack or stone blocks.
Do not allow stucco to come in contact with stone or dirt, it blocks the view of your foundation.
Don’t allow wood to come in contact with soil, just another way for them to get into your home.
Last but not least an annual inspection by a Termite Company.

What has smooth galleries and small pellets?

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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.

What’s behind your refrigerator?

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What’s behind your refrigerator?

Have you ever pulled your refrigerator or freezer away from the wall only to find – what? How about that spoon or fork you couldn’t find, how about rodent feces or maybe a termite mud tunnel?

Here are some excellent reasons to check behind those big items in your home:

Time to clean and remove dust from the refrigerator motor, this will help the unit run more efficiently.
You might find some unwanted bugs or other stuff, this could save you big money down the road.
Sometimes people drop liquid items and never clean it up, (kids).
Loose change – more money to pay your Pest Control service fee, oh come on I thought this was a funny one.

Any other ideas on what you might find under or behind those big items in your home?

Are you refurbishing your Home?

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Are you refurbishing your Home?

So this last week I decided to replace a piece of carpeting in my dining room. I never liked it in the dining room to begin with and finally decided to put in tile. After removing the carpet I noticed a very large crack and YES I had the termite expert (Mike) come to my house and drill it before putting in the tile.

Nothing looks worse than tile that has to be drilled after you notice the termites.

So a piece of free advice – if you are replacing a floor with wood or tile, take the time and treat for termites. Most termite companies would prefer not to drill a new tile, it will never look the same.

A few pictures of cracks in the concrete…

Before replacing a floor take the time to have it fixed, I don’t like drilling new wood or tile floors. Trust me on this one, please!

Drywood Termites in Arizona

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Drywood Termites in Arizona

So I’m guessing you probably think there are no Drywood Termites here in Arizona and you would be wrong. When people starting moving to the Wild West they started doing what humans do really well – they started to adapt to the heat and climate. They brought stuff with them and they started to plant things, creating a more abundant use of water. More pools, more fountains, drip and flood irrigation and the Central Arizona Project (that is the water supply for Arizona).

More water = more humidity and that equals the presence of Drywood Termites.Typically found down town and in older areas of Mesa.

As you can see from the pictures above, smooth galleries and across the grain. We were fortunate in that the termites were only in the trim board but we treated with TimBor.

Andon did a super job of removing, treating and correcting the issue. Master carpenter and Drywood Termite treater.

Did you know there were Drywood Termites in Arizona?

It’s the little things that matter in termite work!

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It’s the little things that matter in termite work!

One of the toughest things we do as a Termite treatment company is to drill holes and somewhat damage concrete. So it is really important that we make the damage (holes) almost invisible. While we try our best sometimes it is an almost impossible task, but I think we do a fairly good job. Check out the photo’s above to see what you think. That is one reason why you should choose ProBest Pest Management.

Mud daubers are not Termites!

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Mud daubers are not Termites!

I sometimes get called to homes to find that they see a Mud dauber nest and not a termite mud tunnel.

Picture #1 is a Mud dauber wasp nest and there are a variety of shapes and styles but basically a glob of dirt molded by the female wasp to hide/protect her eggs. She will lay an egg and usually provide it with paralyzed spiders.

Picture #2 and #3 are Subterranean termite mud shelter tubes, typically much more slender in size.

http://en.wikipedia.org

The good news – if it is a Mud dauber – just scrape the mud off the house – that’s it. The bad news if it’s termites – I think you should call ProBest Pest Management!

Incredible story of those crafty termites.

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Incredible story of those crafty termites.

As good as you may think you are, termites are probably better! What’s that you say, no way. Termites have been working out their problems over the last 250 million years and what do we do but build houses (wood) right on top of their homes. If you give them an inch they will certainly take it and that is evident of the picture posted below.

You never know how or where they will enter a home and you almost have to play detective to understand and eventually solve the problem. So be prepared to investigate and you will be rewarded with the clues to solve the dilemma for the customer.

Sometimes those termites drive you daffy…

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Sometimes those termites drive you daffy…

Every once in awhile you get that termite job that is either unique or somehow just different. No matter what you do, the termites continue to do some damage in a home.

Scenario

House is about 20 years old, no record exists for a pretreatment with the state – in Arizona (Office of Pest Management)we are required by law to report all termites treatments. I actually wrote a home seal “Termite Sleuth on the Job” same house – continued issue but in a different area.

Treated entire house with Termidor, down drilled all attached slabs and garage and have drilled various areas within the home on the wooden floors. I’m almost convinced that no pretreatment was ever done. No further issues along the exterior of the home, only on the interior and once we drill the area we notice activity later. Now I did mention Termidor, but if it isn’t where they are moving through it – it won’t work. So without taking the floor up I decided to use some bait stations – FirstLine™ by FMC. I used another product in Florida and have learned a few things on bait systems after some time in Arizona. I place the units in areas where there is some shade or something with a bigger footprint to help hold cooler temperatures and maybe water.

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