I started to clean up my basement and found some issues. There is a
place by my foundation that I can see light through and is filled with
spiderwebs. Its on my to do list to fill with some of the minimum
expanding foam. Its a "partially exposed" basement and the area I am
talking about is where the foundation turns into a short wall with the
rest being the wood part of the house. While someone else was over I
asked what this funky looking stuff on my basement wall was. I
thought it was saw dust and mud or some kind of construction goop that
was spilled. He was like that looks like something the bugs did.

So I get online and start doing research about termites and sure
enough thats what it is. They are the little mud tunnels that they
build to get places. Most of it looks like "exploratory tunnels".
There are a few paths going up to the floor above but they are very
small. There was also a few running up the partially exposed wall. We
discovered a few more tunnels by pulling out the insulation. Some of
the boards do have mud and dirt splattered on them which I still
assume is most likely from construction. The good news is that I broke
a few chunks in different places and they appear to be in

The house was built 6 years ago. The realtor had mentioned termites
have been found in the area. I also found out recently that termites
were found in a house down the road. I'm a bit spazzed that these
little *******s are or were chewing on my house. The good news is that
I checked little places in the different tubes and they are totally
dry and appear to be inactive. The boards around the foundation are
treated so thats a good thing too.

If they are active or not I want to get the treatments anyway.
Termidor sounds like the best solution. I guess it last for years and
does truly get rid of the problem. Will stop other bugs too? I do
wonder how safe it is for pets though. I called orkin but hear reviews
that go both ways. I just want a proper treatment and get a idea on if
they have done any major damage.

thanks

On Jun 12, 7:41*pm, Spork wrote:
*I started to clean up my basement and found some issues. There is a
place by my foundation that I can see light through and is filled with
spiderwebs. Its on my to do list to fill with some of the minimum
expanding foam. *Its a "partially exposed" basement and the area I am
talking about is where the foundation turns into a short wall with the
rest being the wood part of the house. While someone else was over I
asked what this funky looking stuff on my basement wall was. I
thought it was saw dust and mud or some kind of construction goop that
was spilled. He was like that looks like something the bugs did.

So I get online and start doing research about termites and sure
enough thats what it is. They are the little mud tunnels that they
build to get places. Most of it looks like "exploratory tunnels".
There are a few paths going up to the floor above but they are very
small. There was also a few running up the partially exposed wall. We
discovered a few more tunnels by pulling out the insulation. Some of
the boards do have mud and dirt splattered on them which I still
assume is most likely from construction. The good news is that I broke
a few chunks in different places and they appear to be in

The house was built 6 years ago. The realtor had mentioned termites
have been found in the area. I also found out recently that termites
were found in a house down the road. I'm a bit spazzed that these
little *******s are or were chewing on my house. The good news is that
I checked little places in the different tubes and they are totally
dry and appear to be inactive. The boards around the foundation are
treated so thats a good thing too.

If they are active or not I want to get the treatments anyway.
Termidor sounds like the best solution. I guess it last for years and
does truly get rid of the problem. Will stop other bugs too? I do
wonder how safe it is for pets though. I called orkin but hear reviews
that go both ways. I just want a proper treatment and get a idea on if
they have done any major damage.

thanks

I don’t know if this in any way relates to your situation but many
people don’t know and the exterminator won’t tell you that ants eat
termites. In some places where a house was treated for termites the
ants were killed as well which made it easier for termites to re-
infest.

On Jun 13, 11:37*am, Molly Brown wrote:
On Jun 12, 7:41*pm, Spork wrote:





*I started to clean up my basement and found some issues. There is a
place by my foundation that I can see light through and is filled with
spiderwebs. Its on my to do list to fill with some of the minimum
expanding foam. *Its a "partially exposed" basement and the area I am
talking about is where the foundation turns into a short wall with the
rest being the wood part of the house. While someone else was over I
asked what this funky looking stuff on my basement wall was. I
thought it was saw dust and mud or some kind of construction goop that
was spilled. He was like that looks like something the bugs did.

So I get online and start doing research about termites and sure
enough thats what it is. They are the little mud tunnels that they
build to get places. Most of it looks like "exploratory tunnels".
There are a few paths going up to the floor above but they are very
small. There was also a few running up the partially exposed wall. We
discovered a few more tunnels by pulling out the insulation. Some of
the boards do have mud and dirt splattered on them which I still
assume is most likely from construction. The good news is that I broke
a few chunks in different places and they appear to be in

The house was built 6 years ago. The realtor had mentioned termites
have been found in the area. I also found out recently that termites
were found in a house down the road. I'm a bit spazzed that these
little *******s are or were chewing on my house. The good news is that
I checked little places in the different tubes and they are totally
dry and appear to be inactive. The boards around the foundation are
treated so thats a good thing too.

If they are active or not I want to get the treatments anyway.
Termidor sounds like the best solution. I guess it last for years and
does truly get rid of the problem. Will stop other bugs too? I do
wonder how safe it is for pets though. I called orkin but hear reviews
that go both ways. I just want a proper treatment and get a idea on if
they have done any major damage.

thanks

I don’t know if this in any way relates to your situation but many
people don’t know and the exterminator won’t tell you that ants eat
termites. In some places where a house was treated for termites the
ants were killed as well which made it easier for termites to re-
infest.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Will those termite stake people put around the house kill ants? If
they do not, they might be a better option. There are a few DIY sites
on the Internet.

Frank Lardino

On Jun 13, 10:37*am, Molly Brown wrote:

I don’t know if this in any way relates to your situation but many
people don’t know and the exterminator won’t tell you that ants eat
termites. In some places where a house was treated for termites the
ants were killed as well which made it easier for termites to re-
infest.

I learned this when doing research. They are mortal enemies. The
worker termites are no match for a ant however the soldiers hold the
ground. For the most part termites are able to stay completely hidden
but when one of their mud tunnels is busted open the soldiers run up
to defend until its repaired.

I wouldn't count on ants taking care of a termite problem. Thats why
I'm going to request termidor which is most likely what they use
anyway. Its carried back to the nest and takes out all of them and
will keep any new ones from coming in.

It appears they have gone. I may have found a place in a floor joist
with some damage. I will just have to see what the pest control guy
says. They have a better trained ear for tapping wood to see if there
are hollow places. I'm confident they can get rid of any that may be
in the house. I'm just worried about any damage that may have been
done and how it could affect a house sale.

thanks again for responding

clipped

It appears they have gone. I may have found a place in a floor joist
with some damage. I will just have to see what the pest control guy
says. They have a better trained ear for tapping wood to see if there
are hollow places. I'm confident they can get rid of any that may be
in the house. I'm just worried about any damage that may have been
done and how it could affect a house sale.

thanks again for responding

You can often tell by looking at exposed wood that there are termite
tunnels...it sometimes has a little bit of wrinkled appearance on the
surface. Termites build mud tubes to avoid sun exposure, but where they
connect to wood would be the place to start poking around.

The extension service for your area might know which termite species are
predominating and what treatment is most effective for those.

Wallboard and baseboards also often have a wrinkled appearance because
termites burrow close to the surface...just tap around on baseboard near
where the tubes communicate.

The professional inspections I've seen aren't as thorough as my own, but
need to know what to look for. We just had inspection of our condo and
the guy didn't even look at the areas where old damage is still evident )

The "funky stuff" you referred to sounds like termite poop...there
should be pin-holes near that where they push the stuff out of their
tunnels. Their poop looks granular, brown, red to dark blackish.

Spork wrote:

If they are active or not I want to get the treatments anyway.
Termidor sounds like the best solution. I guess it last for years and
does truly get rid of the problem. Will stop other bugs too? I do
wonder how safe it is for pets though. I called orkin but hear reviews
that go both ways. I just want a proper treatment and get a idea on if
they have done any major damage.


Termidor is applied underground. The only other bugs it might affect are
grubs that happen to blunder into it. Further, since ants are surface
critters, it won't affect them.

It is safe for pets, unles you have a pet mole.

You can get the Termidor stuff on Ebay - about $300. It is applied by
digging a 6" trench around the building, slathering the ditch with the
stuff, then recovering the trench. It's not brain maths.

On Jun 14, 11:20*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Spork wrote:

If they are active or not I want to get the treatments anyway.
Termidor sounds like the best solution. I guess it last for years and
does truly get rid of the problem. Will stop other bugs too? I do
wonder how safe it is for pets though. I called orkin but hear reviews
that go both ways. I just want a proper treatment and get a idea on if
they have done any major damage.

Termidor is applied underground. The only other bugs it might affect are
grubs that happen to blunder into it. Further, since ants are surface
critters, it won't affect them.

It is safe for pets, unles you have a pet mole.

You can get the Termidor stuff on Ebay - about $300. It is applied by
digging a 6" trench around the building, slathering the ditch with the
stuff, then recovering the trench. It's not brain maths.

try www.domyownpestcontrol.com These guys will sell you just about
anything the pros can get. A lot better than buying that watered down
"safe" crap at the big box stores. But you need to be serious about
following the instructions and reading the data sheets.

Orkin came out and looked things over. It was the branch manager along
with a new guy. The manager seemed to know his stuff but I think I was
more knowledgeable than the new guy. Anyway they didn't do a real good
inspection. Mostly just looked over the basement and around the
foundation. Once they find the evidence I guess they figure its not
needed to go around and tap the baseboards and check the attic. They
did also find carpenter ants though! Maybe they could be the reason
that every tube I'm finding is inactive.

They are coming out and going to use termidor. I realize the guy is
just a salesmen but it sounds like to be done properly the stuff needs
to be measured out. They are also filling the ground by the support
posts of the house. They are spraying something on the surface outside
as well for the carpenter ants. Will this work as well to get rid of
them?

So now for a few more questions. Even though they are treated wood the
guy suggested using metal supports in the house and removing the wood
ones. How necessary do you think this would be? He also said its
better to pull all the insulation from the area between the foundation
and the floor above and leave it open so it can dry easier. The other
thing he noticed in the room we are finishing was the foam board. He
said foam board is a no no for bug prone areas. Its hard to treat
behind if there ever is a problem and makes a good hiding place for
bugs.

I'm still concerned about the possible damage that could of been done.
My cousin who builds homes said my floor joists are probly ok. It
would take several in a row with serious damage to cause problems.
After poking around it appears they may have just made some small
paths through it. It didn't sound hollow to me nor was I able to poke
into the wood on either side. Once the carpenter ants are gone I'm
going to do some more poking around in the outside sheeting that I can
get to to see if there are any more problems. Its driving me nuts that
I can't see inside the wall above this area.

Just wanted to give everyone a update and see if the advice checks
out.

Spork

Spork wrote:
Orkin came out and looked things over. It was the branch manager along
with a new guy. The manager seemed to know his stuff but I think I was
more knowledgeable than the new guy. Anyway they didn't do a real good
inspection. Mostly just looked over the basement and around the
foundation. Once they find the evidence I guess they figure its not
needed to go around and tap the baseboards and check the attic. They
did also find carpenter ants though! Maybe they could be the reason
that every tube I'm finding is inactive.

They are coming out and going to use termidor. I realize the guy is
just a salesmen but it sounds like to be done properly the stuff needs
to be measured out. They are also filling the ground by the support
posts of the house. They are spraying something on the surface outside
as well for the carpenter ants. Will this work as well to get rid of
them?

So now for a few more questions. Even though they are treated wood the
guy suggested using metal supports in the house and removing the wood
ones. How necessary do you think this would be? He also said its
better to pull all the insulation from the area between the foundation
and the floor above and leave it open so it can dry easier. The other
thing he noticed in the room we are finishing was the foam board. He
said foam board is a no no for bug prone areas. Its hard to treat
behind if there ever is a problem and makes a good hiding place for
bugs.

I'm still concerned about the possible damage that could of been done.
My cousin who builds homes said my floor joists are probly ok. It
would take several in a row with serious damage to cause problems.
After poking around it appears they may have just made some small
paths through it. It didn't sound hollow to me nor was I able to poke
into the wood on either side. Once the carpenter ants are gone I'm
going to do some more poking around in the outside sheeting that I can
get to to see if there are any more problems. Its driving me nuts that
I can't see inside the wall above this area.

Just wanted to give everyone a update and see if the advice checks
out.

Spork

You may find carpenter ants in any damp/damaged wood, which includes
termite tunnels. I would not give any confidence to any other pest
eating the termites...it is give and take among rather massive
populations. What helps keep out termites also helps keep out carpenter
ants...wood no closer than 6" from ground, all wood kept properly
finished/painted, all gaps betw. structural components closed up and
caulked, including plumb./elec. entries. Check your plumbing access
panels. Keep shrubs and trees from contacting wood structure. Crawl
spaces should be inspected inside and out...one bad practice that almost
guarantees termites is to extend stucco or siding to the soil...they
don't even have to bother with mud tubes, as it is "laying out the
welcome mat".

When my husband and I were making repairs around our condo, there was an
outdoor wood partition badly damaged by misdirected sprinkler and then
by termites...neglect that had taken place before we lived here...and
there was about a 1 foot length of 1x12 board that had nothing left but
the coat of paint...rather amazing to see every particle of wood cleaned
out of it. They also favor the paper coating on wallboard....it was
interesting to learn about all the critters and conditions that had
affected our condo for a long time...to watch carpenter ants evacuate
nests when disturbed by applying insecticide. After a few large bags of
insecticide did nothing for our carpenter ants, we eventually got things
cleaned up so that they went away...pruned dead wood from hedges,
repaired damaged wood, caulked, etc. Trying to spray and entire
foundation for carpenter ants is foolish...they forage beginning at dusk
and it is easy to find their trails and put out baits.