I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help. We discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites. Recently I found a pile of dead bugs on the marble window sill in my dining room window -- everything around the window is metal. The bugs did look like very tiny termites -- yet they had the body shape of an ant. My neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who keeps up with different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) and she said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got inside ... except a very small hole between the marble and wall is possible. Today I found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have been stories in the paper about dry wood termites but I can't find any pictures of fully developed ones. Does anyone know -- are they shaped like sub.termites or are they more like ants? I have a call into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am pretty sure ..

On Aug 19, 12:51*pm, Dottie wrote:
I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help.

You've posted here 593 times over 12 years:
http://groups.google.com/groups/prof....home.rep air

We discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites.

Probably unnecessary.

I have a call into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them.

You're dealing with dead bugs. Sweep them up.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_in_household_termites

The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am pretty sure ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termidor

Just about any insecticide "works on" termites. The issue is
persistence of the active ingredient.
-----

- gpsman

On 8/19/2012 12:51 PM, Dottie wrote:
I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help. We discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites. Recently I found a pile of dead bugs on the marble window sill in my dining room window -- everything around the window is metal. The bugs did look like very tiny termites -- yet they had the body shape of an ant. My neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who keeps up with different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) and she said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got inside ... except a very small hole between the marble and wall is possible. Today I found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have been stories in the paper about dry wood termites but I can't find any pictures of fully developed ones. Does anyone kn
ow -- are they shaped like sub.termites or are they more like ants? I have a call into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am pretty sure ..


I just had the thermador treatment done on my house as a precaution here
in Delaware. We don't have the termites here that do not need the
moisture as you have in the south and that would be a concern.
Sounds like you have flying ants and it is fairly easy to distinguish by
body shape.

Terminex did my thermador and I'll be paying $225/year as insurance
against termite invasion or any termite damage. The guys that applied
it said thermador is good for about 10 years. Bayer sells stuff you can
apply yourself at much lower cost but is only good for about 3 years and
unless you are drilling the concrete like walks or porch around your
foundation it is tough to do the whole house properly.

Neighbors on both sides of me had had termites and one suffered termite
damage. I thought all the colonies got killed off with his juvenile
hormone follow up but they are back in stumps around my property so I
did treatment and contract for peace of mind.

On 8/19/2012 12:51 PM, Dottie wrote:
I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help. We
discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house
treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because
several houses around me had subterrainium termites. Recently I
found a pile of dead bugs on the marble window sill in my dining room
window -- everything around the window is metal. The bugs did look
like very tiny termites -- yet they had the body shape of an ant. My
neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who keeps up with
different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) and she
said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but
she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got
inside ... except a very small hole between the marble and wall is
possible. Today I found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have
been stories in the paper about dry wood termites but I can't find
any pictures of fully developed ones. Does anyone know -- are they
shaped like sub.termites or are they more like ants? I have a call
into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like
to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to
them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am
pretty sure ..



If you live in Florida, you need to inform yourself about termites, fire
ants and rats. Prevention is most important. You can probably do as
well at inspecting your structure for termites as a contractor can, and
you should do it, but also find a RELIABLE contractor to do annual
inspections. There are already been posts to this thread that make
assumptions about types of termites and treatment for each....wrong!
Also, termites belong in the environment where there is dead, decaying
wood...termites in a dead stump are not a sign your home is in danger.
Termites don't eat through paint....keep wood members of structure
painted, dry and in good repair. Wood should be minimum of 6" above
grade. Keep landscaping OFF the building. Caulk openings around doors,
windows, electrical and plumbing entries. Store cereal, grain and pet
food in sealed plastic containers. Sweets in the fridge.

U of Fla has loads and loads of info about pests, prevention, methods of
treatment and signs of infestation....inform yourself BEFORE you call
contractors so you are not in panic mode and get suckered into
treatments you do not need. I lived in an older condo that had been
tented for termites before I lived there...during some remodeling, it
was easy to see the old damage....it isn't the end of the world and you
can expect to have termites at some point. After bringing our condo
back into decent condition after long neglect, we were fine but the much
newer condo's on either side of ours needed to be tented. Just to be
sure of ID of bugs, you can bring or send samples to county extension
services....our co. had a staff entomologist just to ID and give expert
info.

Someone who had "termites" in California may have had a totally
different type/specie than one found in Louisiana or Florida. It is not
"one size fits all"!!

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_guide...d_pests_of_man

On Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:13:11 -0700 (PDT), gpsman
wrote:

On Aug 19, 12:51*pm, Dottie wrote:
I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help.

You've posted here 593 times over 12 years:
http://groups.google.com/groups/prof....home.rep air

We discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites.

Probably unnecessary.

I have a call into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them.

You're dealing with dead bugs. Sweep them up.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_in_household_termites

The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am pretty sure ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termidor

Just about any insecticide "works on" termites. The issue is
persistence of the active ingredient.

....and what else it "works" on.

Dottie wrote:
I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help. We
discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house
treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because
several houses around me had subterrainium termites. Recently I
found a pile of dead bugs on the marble window sill in my dining room
window -- everything around the window is metal. The bugs did look
like very tiny termites -- yet they had the body shape of an ant. My
neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who keeps up with
different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) and she
said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but
she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got
inside ... except a very small hole between the marble and wall is
possible. Today I found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have
been stories in the paper about dry wood termites but I can't find
any pictures of fully developed ones. Does anyone know -- are they
shaped like sub.termites or are they more like ants? I have a call
into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like
to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to
them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am
pretty sure ..

If they look like ants they are ants. No termite has a waist.
Additionally, termites aren't "tiny"...not huge but not tiny either. Here
are numerous pix of them...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...Bqno2QWQ_IHQBA

The usual treatment for them is gas. Their presence is most generally
flagged by little piles of fecal material that looks like sawdust.

The ants are getting in around your window(s). Many (most) windows in
Florida have
window bucks; a window buck is a piece of angled wood fastened to the block
wall...the angle on the buck is supposed to push the drywall piece tight
against the window frame but "tight" varies much. If you want to minimize
their intrusion, look at the outside of your windows and assure their are no
pin holes.

Additionally, the once popular marble sills - they aren't likely marble BTW,
most likely polyester faux marble - often provide numerous entrances for
bugs unless they are completely bedded onto the concrete sill and also
sealed at the ends.

Finally, the concrete blocks of the walls can provide homes for millions and
millions of ants. They LOVE blocks as they provide a nice dry home for
them. The most amazing thing is that they inevitably seem to find some tiny
fault in the mortar to use as an entrance. Stucco over the block helps but
even then they seem to find a way in, just fewer and less frequently.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Maybe just ready for a change? Check it out...
http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Sunday, August 19, 2012 12:51:38 PM UTC-4, Dottie wrote:
I hope I can find my way back to this board because I need help. We discussed this before I think -- I live in Florida and had my house treated with Termador(sp?) in 2007 -- did it as a precaution because several houses around me had subterrainium termites. Recently I found a pile of dead bugs on the marble window sill in my dining room window -- everything around the window is metal. The bugs did look like very tiny termites -- yet they had the body shape of an ant. My neighbor took a sample to a friend of hers who keeps up with different bugs as part of her job (not sure what she does) and she said they were not termites -- they have the body of an ant -- but she doesn't know what they are. I cannot find out how they got inside ... except a very small hole between the marble and wall is possible. Today I found ordinary ants coming in there ... there have been stories in the paper about dry wood termites but I can't find any pictures of fully developed ones. Does anyone know -- are they shaped like sub.termites or are they more like ants? I have a call into the pest control company that treated my house but I would like to know more about what I might be dealing with before I talk to them. The treatment they used doesn't work on dry wood termites I am pretty sure ..


I cleaned up the mess the ants left -- and put down Terro. Today there is no sign of ants or the ants with wings that had me so concerned.