Doc wrote:
I'm in central Florida and have a stucco over frame house, monolithic
slab, drywall interior walls. I saw some swarms of carpenter ants
around a bedroom window a while back. Pulling away the drywall, I
found carpenter ant damage as well as what to me look like some
non-active termite mud tubes running up either side of one of the
2x4's.
Carpenter ants often move into termite excavations. CA and some
termites like damaged or damp wood.


Since then I've knocked away some of the stucco along one outside wall
at a different location (the garage) at ground level exposing the edge
of the slab and found a few mud tubes, then looked inside the wall
with a boroscope. I found more mube tubes along a couple of the 2x4's
running along the point where they contact the presswood under the
stucco.

Any chance the house was treated in the past and you weren't advised?
Possible the tubes are old and inactive. If you scrape some away and
they don't form again, safe to say that tube isn't active.


I knocked away some of the drywall to get a closer look. I have no
idea how old these mud tubes are, some extend higher than the area
where I've opened the drywall, some just stop. The 2x4's I've checked
so far seem solid when jabbing at them with a screwdriver. I don't see
any of the classic "swiss cheese" bored into look that I've seen on
some damaged wood. If the termites have done significant damage to the
2x4's, should it be obviously detectable from the outside? How do they

No. They can eat up a 2x4 and leave a paper-thin layer of wood intact.
You should be able to poke around and dig into damaged sections. The
thin surface over their borings does usually take on a different
appearance, but it goes with the grain, so can be hard to spot. Does
your stucco stop well above grade - like at least 6"? It should.

We found a few mud tubes that entered damp wood outside in our atrium.
Found the tubes long after we found the damage. A sprinkler head had
been hitting the wood panel partition for 10 or 20 years, and had
blasted a hole in it. Wood was full of carpenter ants. When I helped
hubby with repairs, we found the remains of a section of 1x10 with only
the coat of paint intact. About 1' of the board was missing, and the
paint was in great shape ) Sections of at least three 2x4 structural
members were missing, along with part of the upright exterior paneling
and part of the base trim board. Folks in our condo don't worry about
much ) Mommy and daddy will buy them another if this one falls down )

The U of Fla has great info on their website, he
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/
They originated one of the baits for sub-t. termites. I see we have a
brand new variety, called a "tree termite", around Dania. That should
make life interesting. Formosan have also shown up in Florida, but I
don't remember where.

operate, do they munch as they go or do they build a tube to a
particular destination? As I check other walls with the boroscope, if
I don't see mud tubes along the 2x4's can I assume they haven't gotten
in at those points? I also plan to look up in the attic (or what
passes for one here in Florida) to see what I can see there.

A local do-it-yourself pest control place told me that if you do a
trench and fill termite treatment around the perimeter of the house,
cutting the termites inside the house off from the outside, any
termites inside will die out. Does this sound correct?

If there is a nest under the house, it won't stop them ) Who am I to
say? ) Check inside your plumbing access panels - they are a prime
location for entry around holes in slabs and into damp wood. I believe,
but don't know, that when subterraneans swarm they can enter around an
opening above ground - uncaulked window or door, wood in attic - and
start building tubes down. If there are signs of leaks in the attic, I
would look carefully there. Get a couple of good, guaranteed, licensed,
bonded, insured ) pest control people to take a look. Then educate
yourself and make an informed choice.


Thanks for all input.