termites
 

I had some SYP trees sawn up a few years ago and they have been
stickered and drying since then. I planed about 300 sf today and some
of it has some termites. I plan to use this on a ceiling in the house ,
heated and ac'd. Before I put it up I will put 3 coats of polyurethane
on it ,the first thinned so it will soak in good. I figure that will
cramp their style somewhat. If they live on despite the poly, will they
not be able to survive once the wood reaches its final moisture
content, after a year or so? How might these other possibilities
work...
1 Sticker it up, wrap it in plastic and set off some bug bombs. Maybe 1
per day for 3-4 days or a week?
2 Wrap it up and pull a vacuum on it like vacuum bagging?
3 Hook some 110 volt wires to each board for 10 minutes or so, black on
one end and white on the other?
4 Put some kind of bug killer in the first coat of poly?
5 I don't really want to heat it as I imagine it might warp,but if I
made a foam sheet oven with a heater in it, what temp would it have to
reach and for how long?
Thanks, Sam

Don't believe you need to worry about termites in the wood. They live
only in the ground and can't survive out of the nest for any time.

"Mike in Arkansas" wrote:

Don't believe you need to worry about termites in the wood. They live
only in the ground and can't survive out of the nest for any time.

Actually, it depends on the species. But I think if you head down to your
local HD they will have a pesticide for spot treating. You essentially drill
a hole and pour the stuff in.

--
San Diego Joe

"Mike in Arkansas" wrote in message
oups.com...
Don't believe you need to worry about termites in the wood. They live
only in the ground and can't survive out of the nest for any time.



Sorry Mike, that is in correct. Termites have nests in the ground but can
live in the walls of a house for days. If there is a water source like in a
bath tub drain near by they may never have to go back out side.
Subterranean termites are however intolerant of light. Some types of
termites can survive in day light and swarm/fly in the spring. So they can
enter through soffit or gable vents of a house. If termites could not
survive out side the nest for any amount of time there would not be a
problem with them consuming homes in the South.

In article .com,
"Mike in Arkansas" wrote:

There are several different kinds of termites. The subterranian termite
is often viewed as the most damaging and it is possible that it might be
discouraged if its path to the ground is interrupted. There are also
dry wood termites that migrate by flying and their colony may never
reach the ground. The Formosan termite is another possiblity.

I certainly would not want to bring a live termite colony into my house.
Once inside, it can spread to the entire house structure.

You might call a local termite company to see if they would fumigate
your wood pile for some modest cost. The use of other pesticides sounds
like a risk unless the label on the can specifies that it is effective
on termites. The wood might be suitable for firewood but I wouldn't
bring a stack inside and risk the spread.

Check
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/termite.htm
or Google termite control.

Dick

Don't believe you need to worry about termites in the wood. They live
only in the ground and can't survive out of the nest for any time.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I had some SYP trees sawn up a few years ago and they have been
stickered and drying since then. I planed about 300 sf today and some
of it has some termites. I plan to use this on a ceiling in the house ,
heated and ac'd. Before I put it up I will put 3 coats of polyurethane
on it ,the first thinned so it will soak in good. I figure that will
cramp their style somewhat. If they live on despite the poly, will they
not be able to survive once the wood reaches its final moisture
content, after a year or so? How might these other possibilities
work...


Let me tell you that you do not want to entertain the possibility of
introducing termites into you home. They can take years to get rid of once
you are infested and the damage that they do is much higher than the savings
you are considering over buying termite free wood. If it were me, I would
burn the wood or keep it as far away from your house as possible.

On 5 Mar 2005 15:58:34 -0800, the inscrutable "Mike in Arkansas"
spake:

Don't believe you need to worry about termites in the wood. They live
only in the ground and can't survive out of the nest for any time.

There are 2 different types of termites. Drywood termites live in the
wood and keep eating. Subterranean termites come out to eat and then
return to the ground. Either is capable of eating your house.

--LJ, whose Vista, CA house was home to gazillion of both types and
the inspector said he'd never seen such a bad infestation in his 20+
years as termite inspector. The quote was $6,500 plus whatever they
found when they got in there. (I moved.)


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Don't react emotionally and take time to study the situation thoroughly.
Get a variety of opinions. Do some research on the net, call exterminators
and see what they recommend, etc., then make an informed decision.

The fumigant most often used for tenting is Vikane gas. It kills the adults
but does not kill the eggs. However, juvenile termites require adult care
and without it they die. Vikane is not available to the general public.

That said, there are other effective techniques: 1) freezing the wood will
do it (it will freeze the termites), 2) coating the wood with a borax
solution (you will have to do some web research to find the appropriate
percentage, application technique, etc.)

You could have possibly prevented the infestation by saturating the ground
under your wood pile with the borax solution and spraying it on the boards
when you stacked them to dry.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I had some SYP trees sawn up a few years ago and they have been
stickered and drying since then. I planed about 300 sf today and some
of it has some termites. I plan to use this on a ceiling in the house ,
heated and ac'd. Before I put it up I will put 3 coats of polyurethane
on it ,the first thinned so it will soak in good. I figure that will
cramp their style somewhat. If they live on despite the poly, will they
not be able to survive once the wood reaches its final moisture
content, after a year or so? How might these other possibilities
work...
1 Sticker it up, wrap it in plastic and set off some bug bombs. Maybe 1
per day for 3-4 days or a week?
2 Wrap it up and pull a vacuum on it like vacuum bagging?
3 Hook some 110 volt wires to each board for 10 minutes or so, black on
one end and white on the other?
4 Put some kind of bug killer in the first coat of poly?
5 I don't really want to heat it as I imagine it might warp,but if I
made a foam sheet oven with a heater in it, what temp would it have to
reach and for how long?
Thanks, Sam

Sorry Mike, that is in correct

Ah Well. Just goes to show, everyone is ignorant, just in different
areas. I'm generally pretty good about keeping my mouth shut about
things I don't know much about. This one just slipped out :)

Termites live as colonies and have a queen. Termites are sensitive to
chemicals and will die when poly is applied. I'd be somewhat
concerned about killing off the colony near the drying site. Piles of
wood will attract termites, especially in dark, moist areas. Most
insects won't survive a 120 degree temperature. You could just wipe
the boards down on all sides with mineral spirits--that won't hurt the
wood but will kill them.

On 5 Mar 2005 15:52:26 -0800, wrote:

I had some SYP trees sawn up a few years ago and they have been
stickered and drying since then. I planed about 300 sf today and some
of it has some termites. I plan to use this on a ceiling in the house ,
heated and ac'd. Before I put it up I will put 3 coats of polyurethane
on it ,the first thinned so it will soak in good. I figure that will
cramp their style somewhat. If they live on despite the poly, will they
not be able to survive once the wood reaches its final moisture
content, after a year or so? How might these other possibilities
work...
1 Sticker it up, wrap it in plastic and set off some bug bombs. Maybe 1
per day for 3-4 days or a week?
2 Wrap it up and pull a vacuum on it like vacuum bagging?
3 Hook some 110 volt wires to each board for 10 minutes or so, black on
one end and white on the other?
4 Put some kind of bug killer in the first coat of poly?
5 I don't really want to heat it as I imagine it might warp,but if I
made a foam sheet oven with a heater in it, what temp would it have to
reach and for how long?
Thanks, Sam

"Mike in Arkansas" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry Mike, that is in correct

Ah Well. Just goes to show, everyone is ignorant, just in different
areas. I'm generally pretty good about keeping my mouth shut about
things I don't know much about. This one just slipped out :)


LOL... Well some times despite out best efforts, we just can't help out
selves.