I had an exterminator in for a carpenter ant problem (a yearly event).
Next to an attached garage, I had some pieces of pressure treated
wood sitting on some 2X4's to keep the pt off the ground. The
exterminator lifted one of the 2X4's and found termites in the wood
and tunnels under the 2X4. This is about 1.5 to 2 feet from the
cement foundation. The ab ove ground foundation is about 2 feet high.
He told me that I should have the house treated, otherwise the
termites will attack the house. Now, I live in a wooded area, lots
of decopmposing wood around, I see termites all the time. Although I
don't think I've seen them this close before. I've never had a
termite problem. My question is, is it likely that the termites will
attack the house? How close do they have to be before you worry?

Thanks,

George

On 4-Sep-2004, (George Pagliarulo) wrote:

The above ground foundation is about 2 feet high.

Termites live in soil and wood. They can't travel very far out of that
environment and around here, 18" of concrete/brick/etc between soil and
any wood in a structure is considered adequate. With 2', you should be
ok. However - make sure that the 2' is consistent and unbroken. Make
sure that there are no berms or piles of wood that are against the
house. Be very diligent about not leaving wood against the house.
Double check any wood decks and porches that attach to the house.

If there are exposed wood joists or sill plates inside your basement,
your can check to see if termites get in. Any significant infestation
will result in the wood being really poor - you can drive a screwdriver
into the wood easily.

You can get a professional to check it for you, but if you don't have
a problem now, I doubt with 2' you'll need treatment. Others' opinions
may differ.

Mike

George Pagliarulo wrote:
I had an exterminator in for a carpenter ant problem (a yearly event).
Next to an attached garage, I had some pieces of pressure treated
wood sitting on some 2X4's to keep the pt off the ground. The
exterminator lifted one of the 2X4's and found termites in the wood
and tunnels under the 2X4. This is about 1.5 to 2 feet from the
cement foundation. The ab ove ground foundation is about 2 feet high.
He told me that I should have the house treated, otherwise the
termites will attack the house. Now, I live in a wooded area, lots
of decopmposing wood around, I see termites all the time. Although I
don't think I've seen them this close before. I've never had a
termite problem. My question is, is it likely that the termites will
attack the house? How close do they have to be before you worry?

Thanks,

George

Carpenter ants should set off alarms.....treating them is less important
than finding the reason for an infestation. Yikes! Do they keep
recurring in the same part of the house? Have you found and sealed
entry points? Got a rotten tree touching the house? We had carpenter
ant infestations around our condo when we bought it, and the only places
infested were damp/rotted wood.

Carp ants like to inhabit old termite burrows, but that doesn't mean you
have termites. It would be rare, at least here in Florida, to leave
wood in contact with the ground and NOT have termites in it. They are
nature's disposal service.

You state/county extension service is a good source for information
about preventing or finding pest problems. Primary would be to
carefully inspect the inside and outside of your foundation for mud
tubes. You don't need to worry if they are "close", because they are
always close. If you have openings where carpenter ants enter from
nests outside the house, then you have entry points for swarmers, too.

On 4 Sep 2004 10:14:04 -0700, (George
Pagliarulo) wrote:

I had an exterminator in for a carpenter ant problem (a yearly event).
Next to an attached garage, I had some pieces of pressure treated
wood sitting on some 2X4's to keep the pt off the ground. The
exterminator lifted one of the 2X4's and found termites in the wood
and tunnels under the 2X4. This is about 1.5 to 2 feet from the
cement foundation. The ab ove ground foundation is about 2 feet high.
He told me that I should have the house treated, otherwise the
termites will attack the house. Now, I live in a wooded area, lots
of decopmposing wood around, I see termites all the time. Although I
don't think I've seen them this close before. I've never had a
termite problem. My question is, is it likely that the termites will
attack the house? How close do they have to be before you worry?

Impossible to say, I have seen 20+ year old homes supposedly never
treated and never a termite discovered and next door to them termites
have been found multiple times in the structure. A common thought is
a home without a sprinkler system will probably have termites show up
7-11 years and a home with a sprinkler system 4-7 years. If your home
is on a slab, the bath trap area is a common place for them to be
found, but this location is never opened up until a treatment is done
from finding termites in other parts of a home. I would guess over
80% of the homes I treat will also have activity in the bath trap area
when I open up the wall, usually they being there long before termites
were discovered in other parts of the home. How much cellulose around
the home will not determine where they will feed. It is not a nest
just feeding on the wood they were found in, the same colony will also
be feeding in over a dozen other places possibly over 100 feet away
from where you saw them. There are products out there that companies
can use as a minimum treatment and still protect your home and usually
saving you a bit of money over to having to totally treat the area of
concern when you know you have termites.

Curious also on why you have to be treated yearly for carpenter
ants..is it preventative or actual nests being found on the home.


Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!


It is said that the early bird gets the worm,
but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

I live in the Northeast in a wooded are with lots of decaying wood.
Like the termites, carpenter ants are everywhere. I did have a living
tree next to the house that was infested with ants. The bottom of the
tree was eaten out and I didn't see any activity so I figured it was
inactive. When I took the tree down though, the solid part 6 ft up
and higher was infested. Got rid of those, treated the house and
figured I was ok. Then found a stump on the other side of the house
that was infested. Got rid of that last fall and thought I'd be ok
this year but started seeing ants again this summer and treated the
house again. Hopefully with those two sources gone I'll be ok next
year. I'll probably still have a preventative
treatment done in the spring.

Lar wrote in message . ..
On 4 Sep 2004 10:14:04 -0700, (George
Pagliarulo) wrote:

I had an exterminator in for a carpenter ant problem (a yearly event).
Next to an attached garage, I had some pieces of pressure treated
wood sitting on some 2X4's to keep the pt off the ground. The
exterminator lifted one of the 2X4's and found termites in the wood
and tunnels under the 2X4. This is about 1.5 to 2 feet from the
cement foundation. The ab ove ground foundation is about 2 feet high.
He told me that I should have the house treated, otherwise the
termites will attack the house. Now, I live in a wooded area, lots
of decopmposing wood around, I see termites all the time. Although I
don't think I've seen them this close before. I've never had a
termite problem. My question is, is it likely that the termites will
attack the house? How close do they have to be before you worry?

Impossible to say, I have seen 20+ year old homes supposedly never
treated and never a termite discovered and next door to them termites
have been found multiple times in the structure. A common thought is
a home without a sprinkler system will probably have termites show up
7-11 years and a home with a sprinkler system 4-7 years. If your home
is on a slab, the bath trap area is a common place for them to be
found, but this location is never opened up until a treatment is done
from finding termites in other parts of a home. I would guess over
80% of the homes I treat will also have activity in the bath trap area
when I open up the wall, usually they being there long before termites
were discovered in other parts of the home. How much cellulose around
the home will not determine where they will feed. It is not a nest
just feeding on the wood they were found in, the same colony will also
be feeding in over a dozen other places possibly over 100 feet away
from where you saw them. There are products out there that companies
can use as a minimum treatment and still protect your home and usually
saving you a bit of money over to having to totally treat the area of
concern when you know you have termites.

Curious also on why you have to be treated yearly for carpenter
ants..is it preventative or actual nests being found on the home.


Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!


It is said that the early bird gets the worm,
but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

On 5 Sep 2004 08:51:16 -0700, (George
Pagliarulo) wrote:

I live in the Northeast in a wooded are with lots of decaying wood.
Like the termites, carpenter ants are everywhere. I did have a living
tree next to the house that was infested with ants. The bottom of the
tree was eaten out and I didn't see any activity so I figured it was
inactive. When I took the tree down though, the solid part 6 ft up
and higher was infested. Got rid of those, treated the house and
figured I was ok. Then found a stump on the other side of the house
that was infested. Got rid of that last fall and thought I'd be ok
this year but started seeing ants again this summer and treated the
house again. Hopefully with those two sources gone I'll be ok next
year. I'll probably still have a preventative
treatment done in the spring.


Every large tree around the country will have carpenter ants living in
the trees, and they forage well over a 100 feet from the nest so I am
more surprised if I don't find Carpenter Ants near a home. They are
actually beneficial to the trees. They don't cause the damage areas
in the trees but just take advantage of them to live, while cleaning
out rotten wood from moisture problems and feeding on many insects
that live on the trees . Unless you live in New York you can have an
ant treatment done with a product called termidor around the
foundation that will pretty much stop all type of ants that may become
problems in and on the house.


Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!


It is said that the early bird gets the worm,
but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

I live in the Northeast in a wooded are with lots of decaying wood.
Like the termites, carpenter ants are everywhere. I did have a living
tree next to the house that was infested with ants. The bottom of the
tree was eaten out and I didn't see any activity so I figured it was
inactive. When I took the tree down though, the solid part 6 ft up
and higher was infested. Got rid of those, treated the house and
figured I was ok. Then found a stump on the other side of the house
that was infested. Got rid of that last fall and thought I'd be ok
this year but started seeing ants again this summer and treated the
house again. Hopefully with those two sources gone I'll be ok next
year. I'll probably still have a preventative
treatment done in the spring.

If you can keep the wooden parts of your house dry and fungus-free,
the chances are good that the carpenter ants will leave it alone, anyway.
In addition to that, a wood-preservative/pesticide like boracare ought
to provide fairly persistant protection, and isn't any more toxic to humans
and pets than you'd expect. (By which I mean, don't use it on food-prep
surfaces, and if you burn something treated with it, stay out of the smoke,
and don't use the ashes in your garden..)

--Goedjn.