Termites?

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Ctwoodtick

Minister of Fire
Jun 5, 2015
2,110
Southeast CT
My next door neighbor has mentioned seeing a swarm of termites last year. I didn’t think much of it rather than hoping he wasn’t going mention my firewood ( which I’ve never seen any termite evidence in). He told me that the previous homeowners had to deal with termites in the past. Today, he tells me that he saw some termites or evidence of termites on some surfaced dead roots of a pine tree we cut down years ago on our side of the property line. He sort of hinted that I should remove the old roots. I told him that while I may get around to doing that, I’m sure that root system is extensive given the size of the old tree and there’s no way I’d come close to getting anything but what’s visibly above ground level. I said that I would not be excavating the yard or anything close to that. Me and this guy are friendly and good neighbors to one another so I want to do the right thing here, but I also question if he’s worrying to much about what’s on my property. Any legitimacy to his concerns?
Thanks in advance
 
I see your point and everybody will pass the buck here and not be the blame--I understand--but the problem right now is to check "your property out" and make sure they have not advanced to your home--take care of your side and forget about who did what and where and when and they can abate this and fix it but you might have to be out of your home for awhile while they fix it---IF you have any---I sure hope not and will keep you in my prayers....sure hope not...call a termite person to check out the situation and also ground that tree root down and it will give you more room too in your yard...Only suggestions here but this is a serious problem especially in "flying stage"...
 
There are termites in the ground no matter what. Taking a few roots out won't make a difference. The trick is to not give them a path from the ground to the wood in your walls.
 
You can check the area where he saw them to confirm whether he saw termites or carpenter ants/ant reproductives. I see lots of mis identification.

Inspect your house for mud tubes. You can easily install monitors.

Personally, I wouldn't panic, but I'm biased as I can treat them, lol. But I'd work to confirm he actually saw termites before spending money on unneeded treatments or excavation, etc.
 
I asked my Orkin guy about termites and is there any here and he said that they are in assorted city blocks and usually if you find a home in one block--those houses all might have termites..so check your home out and if he has them next door it is likely you could have them--maybe not--but what a drag..My girlfriend who lives in California just had her house done because she had them...she was out of town for about five days while they did the work...c
 
Thanks all for the responses. Hearth sure is a great place for hearing people thoughts on things. I will have a local company come out to do a free inspection of the house. My neighbor did tell me that the previous owners of his place appeared to have some termite treatment done there in the past. I may just grind down the exposed roots so I can stay on good terms with the neighbor. It will make grass planting easier in that spot anyhow.
 
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Termites are everywhere....mostly feeding on roots and such. Like said before, the key is to keep the away from your house. I had them in my garage about 15 years ago. Orkin came and drilled holes and trenches, pouring a liquid. No prob since (knock on wood). Our house, and most houses built in the last 30 years, are pre-treated. (Garage is detached at the back of the property). I also have a yearly protection plan for the house - if they are found during a yearly inspection, all the cost to get rid of them and fix the damage is covered. It’s piece of mind. But like I said, they’re everywhere, so seeing some swarming or feeding on a tree is not too much cause for concern.

just a side note, I also buy the termite spray concentrate at Home Depot and spray it along my garage foundation, wood stacks, etc every month. More piece of mind. U could buy the same and kill the ones around the dead roots. It’s not too expensive.
 
Honestly, that's very surprising. The pest and wildlife industry is very emotion driven. We need to get out to do our inspections as soon as possible. Like 1-3 days. We don't want to be more than a week, week and a half from starting the job.
 
The timing was at my request- will have the time off of work at that point.
 
I was atva job this afternoon and found old termite damage. I remembered this thread. Did they find any?
 
They’re going to come out next week. I’ll definitely update the thread after that.
 
Exterminator came out. Said no visible evidence of termites.
 
Excellent!

Just FYI, I buy a commercial termite poison called Termidor, from https://www.domyown.com/ it will kill termites as well as carpenter ants and anything in between. Has a long residual as well, cheaper than one Orkin call. Not affiliated just a happy customer. I buy other things from them too, just follow label instructions no need to over apply. I actually learned about this from a professional exterminator. We had a carpenter ant problem and he traced it back to an Oak tree, He sprayed a band on the trunk of the tree about 6 feet high and then a band on the ground. We we went back a week later, there were thousands of dead carpenter all around the base of the tree.
 
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Just FYI, I buy a commercial termite poison called Termidor, from https://www.domyown.com/ it will kill termites as well as carpenter ants and anything in between. Has a long residual as well, cheaper than one Orkin call. Not affiliated just a happy customer. I buy other things from them too, just follow label instructions no need to over apply. I actually learned about this from a professional exterminator. We had a carpenter ant problem and he traced it back to an Oak tree, He sprayed a band on the trunk of the tree about 6 feet high and then a band on the ground. We we went back a week later, there were thousands of dead carpenter all around the base of the tree.
Thank you for the info, I appreciate it!
 
Just FYI, I buy a commercial termite poison called Termidor, from https://www.domyown.com/ it will kill termites as well as carpenter ants and anything in between. Has a long residual as well, cheaper than one Orkin call. Not affiliated just a happy customer. I buy other things from them too, just follow label instructions no need to over apply. I actually learned about this from a professional exterminator. We had a carpenter ant problem and he traced it back to an Oak tree, He sprayed a band on the trunk of the tree about 6 feet high and then a band on the ground. We we went back a week later, there were thousands of dead carpenter all around the base of the tree.
That stuff is amazing. Just follow the label to the letter for mix rates.
 
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I just brought some. Pretty sure this is the same stuff they treated my garage with about 15 years ago. I figure it’s good stuff to keep around just in case now that I know u can buy it online. Thanks for the link
 
Check to see if it's legal to buy in your state. Not all states have similar laws on sellng pesticides.
 
I checked. Termidor can't be shipped to NY from that site (need a prof. license).
So I assume that website takes into account what they can ship legally (i.e. it's customer fool proof).
 
Yeah, I have those licenses and some places still won't ship to me, lol. NY DEC has a great big ban hammer you dont want to play with.
 
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Check to see if it's legal to buy in your state. Not all states have similar laws on sellng pesticides.

Good point, cannot be shipped to
SC, MN, CT, IN, NY, VT