Help with pesty insects...

[AuburnJen92]

I need some help here...

Had a funny feeling when I saw the bat house that fell down off the tree last week and called the exterminator. The bat house fell down because it was eaten away. Come to find out, I have termites in my pine tree and neighboring stump. They are the subterranian (sp?) kind. I have to pay the trannie mechanic 1200 bucks next week to get my RV out of the shop and I don't have 1100 bucks to pay the exterminator to do his wonderful termite treatment. I need some suggestions fast to get rid of the buggers in my back yard. I have a frame house. They aren't there yet and I don't plan on letting them move in. I have some suggestions already, but they are kinda messy:

1) Napalm
2) C4
3) General backyard brush fire
4) Tilling the whole back yard and burning the tree (would probably set the shed and power pole and lines on fire)
5) Hiring the otters and peacocks to come and get them all drunk

I need more suggestions. Does Home Depot sell the good stuff? They want to drill more holes in my slabs, which was done 6 years ago. I am not fond of this, because I know who built this house. Who knows what will crack and break with more holes, filled or not filled with quick crete!

 

[medic9016]

Take a look here. Do your own pest control. Prices are not bad and shipping is pretty fast.

 

[auntie]

Wow..this information couldn't have come at a better time. ( although, I'm sorry hear about the termites, Jen..and the repairs to the MH..when it rains it pours.. )

We have a carpenter ant "issue" in our travel trailer. I think they've decided to move in. We have a seasonal site and while we saw a few last year..we've seen way to many this year. We haven't used it as often as we normally do, and I think they made themselves right at home. grosses me out. We are to the point of getting an exterminator. We also found out from neighbors that the last people who occupied this site had the same problem. (lucky us.. ).

Now..they tell us.

 

[des1954]

I need some help here...

Had a funny feeling when I saw the bat house that fell down off the tree last week and called the exterminator. The bat house fell down because it was eaten away. Come to find out, I have termites in my pine tree and neighboring stump. They are the subterranian (sp?) kind. I have to pay the trannie mechanic 1200 bucks next week to get my RV out of the shop and I don't have 1100 bucks to pay the exterminator to do his wonderful termite treatment. I need some suggestions fast to get rid of the buggers in my back yard. I have a frame house. They aren't there yet and I don't plan on letting them move in. I have some suggestions already, but they are kinda messy:

1) Napalm
2) C4
3) General backyard brush fire
4) Tilling the whole back yard and burning the tree (would probably set the shed and power pole and lines on fire)
5) Hiring the otters and peacocks to come and get them all drunk

I need more suggestions. Does Home Depot sell the good stuff? They want to drill more holes in my slabs, which was done 6 years ago. I am not fond of this, because I know who built this house. Who knows what will crack and break with more holes, filled or not filled with quick crete!

Jen...that's awful!! The stuff you can buy over the counter here in Florida for termite control is not that good. In order to get the good stuff, you need a license.

Do you know someone in the business who is willing to come and do this for you on their own time? Do you know anyone in pest management in the school district? Maybe if you just paid them to get the chemicals & you guys help out, you might get a cheaper rate. For me, I'd have to let the MH wait & take care of the house. Your house is equity...MH's are not. Subterra termites need to be dealt with ASAP! Also, check w/the pest control person you used 6 years ago. I'm thinking (could be wrong) but I'm thinking they have to guarantee for 10 years. Our former church in Sarasota got subterra termites only 5 years after the building was built. The pest control company who poisoned the ground before the slab was poured had to foot the cost for all the damage.

 

[big kahuna1]

I think Home Depot has a Do-It-Yourself termite thing but not sure.

Wow..this information couldn't have come at a better time. ( although, I'm sorry hear about the termites, Jen..and the repairs to the MH..when it rains it pours.. )

We have a carpenter ant "issue" in our travel trailer. I think they've decided to move in. We have a seasonal site and while we saw a few last year..we've seen way to many this year. We haven't used it as often as we normally do, and I think they made themselves right at home. grosses me out. We are to the point of getting an exterminator. We also found out from neighbors that the last people who occupied this site had the same problem. (lucky us.. ).

Now..they tell us.

I believe Carpenter ants generally like moisture and usualy nest in or near it. You may have a bigger problem then just the ants.

 

[auntie]

Don't I know it. I've read everything I can on them. I'm not seeing any moisture related issues in the trailer. No soft spots on the floor or roof. We have popped off the switch plates, and puffed some boric acid in there.
Our neighbors told us that the former occupants of the site had the same problem. The trailer itself is over a graveled area..and the front is a cement patio. However..we are surrounded by pine trees..which look otherwise healthy. There was one tree that came down the winter before we took occupancy..and they never removed the stump from the ground. they brought it down ground level..but didn't dig it out. Possible they are in there..but there is a garden area around it..going to check it out. Haven't actually seen them coming from there. That also has me thinking of behind the trailer, there are wood chips (my son stores his kayak there). The chips are on landscape material to prevent the weeds. The above mentioned site, said this is another place they can be hiding. At this point we keep looking for signs of moisture in the trailer..not seeing anything. Husband has crawled under that thing...and inspected every inch. He's also on the roof, blowing it off, and checking seams and around vents..again no cracks. So I'm not sure, what's up. Only from what I've read they can take up occupancy for quite a while. supposedly they don't eat the wood, but live in it. We keep NO food what so ever in there, as we haven't been there that much this summer. We have been keeping the trailer on site during the winter months (big mistake) rather than taking it home to Long Island. I think we will be taking it home this year..only I don't want them traveling from the trailer to my house either. Hoping to rectify the situation before then. At least I can hope... Any input is appreciated.

 

[AuburnJen92]

Jen...that's awful!! The stuff you can buy over the counter here in Florida for termite control is not that good. In order to get the good stuff, you need a license.

Do you know someone in the business who is willing to come and do this for you on their own time? Do you know anyone in pest management in the school district? Maybe if you just paid them to get the chemicals & you guys help out, you might get a cheaper rate. For me, I'd have to let the MH wait & take care of the house. Your house is equity...MH's are not. Subterra termites need to be dealt with ASAP! Also, check w/the pest control person you used 6 years ago. I'm thinking (could be wrong) but I'm thinking they have to guarantee for 10 years. Our former church in Sarasota got subterra termites only 5 years after the building was built. The pest control company who poisoned the ground before the slab was poured had to foot the cost for all the damage.

I am going to call the old company in a while. I can't back out of the trannie job, the parts were already on their way when I found out. I guess I will napalm....

 

[musicmama]

Where's the power saw? Cut down the tree and then have a neighborhood bonfire!

I know, it's not much of a suggestion, but it's all I have.

Oh yeah, would the pest people barter at all? Could they take a payment plan?

 

[AuburnJen92]

Where's the power saw? Cut down the tree and then have a neighborhood bonfire!

I know, it's not much of a suggestion, but it's all I have.

Oh yeah, would the pest people barter at all? Could they take a payment plan?

Yes, they take a payment plan, however, that is just adding to all the other payment plans I have already....ug.

I can't cut the tree down, it is next to the power lines.

I need Scott to come down here with his fire truck and pull the sucker out of the ground.

 

[des1954]

Yes, Steve is correct about the Home Depot do-it-yourself termite kit, however, as I said before, this is basically useless once you have termites. The chemicals you need can only be purchase by a licensed pest control agent.

Pull out the contract you should have received when you had the work done 6 years ago. It should state on there how long a guarantee you have.

Auntie....as far as the carpenter ants go, Bayer makes an ant control product especially for carpenter ants. We had those nasty little boogers in our florida room - they were nesting behind the drywall and outside wall. DH drilled small holes in the drywall & put the Bayer product in a squirt bottle like you would use for ketchup and squirted it in the wall. It was like a volcano of ants!!! (Gross) I had to close off the room (glad I could), and didn't use it for at least two weeks. Each night I would vacuum up the dead ants, and when there weren't any more, I used the room again. It was a great product, and supposedly all natural.

 

[auntie]

I'll have to look into that Deb. We did that with the boric acid powder. Well, sort of..we removed all the outlets on the walls..even the phone jack..and puffed the boric acid in there. We did that two weeks ago..and then last weekend we found about a hundred DEAD ANTS...or as my husband likes to sing..."Deadant..deadant..deadant"..you get the idea. He finds this amusing....only because if you don't laugh..well, then the trailer might meet with a "terrible" accident. Oh..and if he doesn't stop the stupid singing..he might be in it when it does... God help us...I'll look into the Bayer product. Personally if I find a hundred dead ants, like he did last week..I will be staying at the Marriot this weekend. I guess I'll just worry about bed bugs there! Camping is getting to be too much of a hassle these days. I liked it better when my camper was nice, dry and bug free on the DRIVEWAY!

 

[clkelley]

Don't you have a termite bond?? We pay like $150 a year, they come out once a year and inspect and retreat if necessary and any damage is also covered.

We've been doing that ever since we bought the house. The original owner had the bond, there was a $200 fee at closing for the official termite letter and to transfer the bond, then we continued the annual payments.

(Our mortgage company requires this to be kept up as part of our FHA mortgage)

 

[LarryJ]

I need some help here...

Had a funny feeling when I saw the bat house that fell down off the tree last week and called the exterminator. The bat house fell down because it was eaten away. Come to find out, I have termites in my pine tree and neighboring stump. They are the subterranian (sp?) kind. I have to pay the trannie mechanic 1200 bucks next week to get my RV out of the shop and I don't have 1100 bucks to pay the exterminator to do his wonderful termite treatment. I need some suggestions fast to get rid of the buggers in my back yard. I have a frame house. They aren't there yet and I don't plan on letting them move in. I have some suggestions already, but they are kinda messy:

1) Napalm
2) C4
3) General backyard brush fire
4) Tilling the whole back yard and burning the tree (would probably set the shed and power pole and lines on fire)
5) Hiring the otters and peacocks to come and get them all drunk

I need more suggestions. Does Home Depot sell the good stuff? They want to drill more holes in my slabs, which was done 6 years ago. I am not fond of this, because I know who built this house. Who knows what will crack and break with more holes, filled or not filled with quick crete!

After almost 25 years in this house we finally did a preventive treatment and most of our termites here are subterrainan also and we just had the house treated and that included drilling the front porch concrete and the cost was around $600 for a 24' X 48' house footprint. We did this when I removed a couple of 25 year old Rhododendrons which were only like 2 feet away from our house and I found terminates in one of the root and lower limbs. They never got to the house as confirmed by the terminate inspection we got when we had our house treated for the first time. We used a local company that my wife always used when she was a Realtor and the guy said subterranian termites are usually everywhere around a house and can have nests up to 25' underground so there is no way to kill them ... all you can do is to protect your actual house from them getting into it.

I'd just let them have the tree and cut it down and remove it and get a treatment to protect your house ... there is no way to do this DIY now days ... get a professional.

My dad lived in Biloxi, Ms. and after Camille he lost some pine trees that had to be cut down and one or two of them had terminates, but never had them infect the house. I don't know if he had a service or not to protect his house, but I think a service is good and after the first treatment the yearly cost is only like $100 and includes any re-treatment if required.

Larry

 

[LarryJ]

I just re read my post and Terminates just doesn't look right, but then again I can't spell "a" or "the" and had to ask the DW for the spelling of Rho ... whatever plant

Larry

 

[AuburnJen92]

Don't you have a termite bond?? We pay like $150 a year, they come out once a year and inspect and retreat if necessary and any damage is also covered.

We've been doing that ever since we bought the house. The original owner had the bond, there was a $200 fee at closing for the official termite letter and to transfer the bond, then we continued the annual payments.

(Our mortgage company requires this to be kept up as part of our FHA mortgage)

I didn't have to because the warranty was still effective. (it was five years, however I am missing a year somewhere in this mix) I followed Deb's advice and called the guy who did the original job 6 years ago. I never realized it was that long. I am getting so old. Anyway, he came out today and calmed me down, saying that the termites were only in the tree and stump and were not near the house. He offered me several different solutions at different price points. I am glad I went and got a second opinion and listened to Deb. He said if I went back with him, he would do the preventive traps around the house and the maintenance for half off, so my bill is MUCH MUCH MUCH less, like 240 and he matched the price I am getting for my quarterly service. So, I feel much better now thanks to Deb and now I have to come up with only $350 next month instead of $1100. If there is an infestation in one of the traps, then we can treat the area around the trap, etc. The only reason why I got away from this guy was because he went to yearly billing and would only take a lump payment once a year. Being that my renewal was in August and I don't get paid over the summer, it was difficult to come up with all four qtrs at the same time.

All hail to Deb, she has made my week much less painful. Thanks. The new/old guy will be out in Oct to take care of things.

 

[auntie]

I'm so glad to hear that Jen..good news for you! What a relief.
Deb comes through once again!

 

[des1954]

YaY for Jen!!! I'm one of these "wierdo nerds" that reads about stuff like this. Also - due to the experience we had at our former church, it alerted me to just how fast termites can take over & the damage they can do. Also...IIRC, the first homes built in Celebration started to crumble after just a few years due to (1) Water damage due to sloppy workmanship and building inspectors doing "drive by" inspections and (2) termite damage because once again, inspectors were signing off on the poisoning of the ground before the slabs were poured (or rather the fact that they weren't being treated). You could have the ground poisoned and not pour the slab for weeks and still smell the chemicals. So there were probably a lot of building inspectors on the "take".

BIG, BIG lawsuits abounded and was on the news daily for weeks on end. I'd sue too if I paid the price they charged for those homes. They are lovely...but they are EXPENSIVE!!!

Anyhow Jen,,, I'm glad everything worked out for you. I've gotta take care of my "kids", you know!!

Okay Phyllis...go look for the Bayer Ant Control. They sell it at my H.D. It really works on those carpenter ants.

 

[AuburnJen92]

I figured someone on here would know, so I punted. I certainly was not going to pay $1100 again just because one guy jumped up and down on the phone. Thanks again Deb.

Now, if that only worked for the MH, I would be in hog heaven right now.

 

[des1954]

The sad thing about MH ownership (like boats) is that the general rule of thumb is "if you can afford one, you can afford the upkeep". I know that's not true, but it's the mentality out there.

I wish I could help you with that one, too. Although, I'm thinking $1100 for tranny work on your MH isn't too out of line. I know it wasn't in your plans, but it's probably a fair charge.