Today's thing I did not want to see: a swarm of termites. Not in the house, thank god, but in the herb garden, which is close enough to the house to cause major concern. I found a guide to termites online that confirmed they were definitely termites, not flying ants. The key indicators: termites have straight antennae, ants have crooked; termites have four wings of equal length, ants' wings are unequal length; ants have a thorax but termites don't. I sprayed them with bug spray, which seemed to kill them even though termites weren't listed on the label. Unfortunately, the web page says that killing the flyers doesn't affect the colony.
I called Clegg's, who sent someone out within a couple of hours. He told me that it's not uncommon to find a colony of termites in the garden, because mulch is the perfect environment for them: moist, rotting wood. He didn't find any evidence of termite damage under the house, whew. He did find something that indicated our last termite treatment was in 1973. He said that back then the chemicals lasted for 20 years, which means we're 10 years overdue. Eek.
He quoted me a price of $650 to treat the house. He said that they recommend retreating after 5 years, although the manufacturer of the chemicals says you're good for 10 years. It doesn't last as long because it's safer for us and the pets. I'm not thrilled about having this surprise expense, but it sounds like we have to do it.
1 Comments
not necessarily. i get a termite inspection yearly, but not treatment. the inspection costs a lot less, and treatment usually isn't needed.
i try not to have wood mulches near the foundation of the house, only pine straw.
anyway, talk to as many people as you can about this before acting.