Holdsworth, Robert P.

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AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE The Ohio State University Bulletin 389 Getting Rid of TERMITES By ROBERT P. HOLDSWORTH, JR. Extension Entomologist If you find termites in your home, take the time J.J° p t C t } O t ? to consider the best course of action. There is ll.03RARt,..1.Ire a es OD rO pera Or• need to begin control measures within a few days If damage appears to be extensive, consider the after the discovery. Termites are not rapid de- services of a pest control operator. His services may stroyers. be useful, especially, if you can't find out where Before deciding either to attempt control meas- termites are entering and if control requires exten-ures yourself or to hire a pest control operator, sive drilling. consider these steps: Before hiring a pest control operator, get esti-1. Be sure you have termites-Ants and other mates from firms that are well known in your insects are often mistaken for termites. Get posi- locality. If possible, talk to someone you know who tive identification-before you spend a penny for has had satisfactory work done by a termite control control. company. 2. Try to find the extent of infestation-Look Reputable local firms will guarantee their work. for the amount of injury to wood and find where Before making any agreement, you are entitled to the termites are entering. know what insecticide will be used and where and 3. Control-Depending on your appraisal of how it will be applied. Do not deal with anyone who damage, either try the poisoned soil barrier method talks of secret ingredients and will not tell you yourself or get estimates from two or three pest exactly what he plans to do. control operators who have locally established repu-tations for satisfactory work. Be Sure y OU Have Termites Do It Yourself? Termite control is not easy. It always requires hard physical labor (digging), often dirty work (crawling in a crawl space), generally special equip-ment (power drill for making holes in concrete walks and floors, and mortar in masonry walls), also, you will need the patience to be sure you have explored every possible way the termite can enter and the knowledge to make the right treatment. In addition, there is an element of luck. Limited control measures are a gamble; eliminating termites may take more than one attempt. If damage and points of entry seem to be lim-ited, you can save money by trying control your-self. Swarms Termites are generally first noticed when they appear in swarms indoors or outdoors. They may appear in heated buildings as early as March, or they may not appear until April, May, or June. Spring swarms are most common, but home owners have reported outdoor swarms in mid-summer and even in early autumn. Soon after appearing, the termites break off their wings and disappear. The large numbers of wings which remain behind are a positive identification of termites. Either swarms or many detached wings should warn the householder that a colony may be working in nearby timbers. This is usually the wood nearest the ground level. Identification: Ants are commonly mistaken for termites. Here is how to tell the two apart: Found Flying or Crawling Indoors or Outside Termites Four wings of EQUAL SIZE. Wing veins many and indistinct. No "wasp waist." (True of either winged or wingless form.) Ants Four wings but hind wings much smaller than fore wings. Veins few and bold. Have conspicuous "wasp waist." (True of either winged or wingless form) found Infesting Wood Termites Color pale, almost pure white. Soft-bodied, crush readily. No pinched-in or wasp waist. For positive identification, take specimens to your County Agricultural Extension Agent or send specimens to the Extension Entomologist, B & Z Building, 1735 Neil Avenue, The Ohio State Uni-versity, Columbus 10, Ohio. Send specimens in a Carpenter Ants Never white; almost always black. Generally tough bodied. Pinched-in waist very noticeable. small bottle of rubbing alcohol, well padded and wrapped to prevent breakage. Do not send speci-mens in an envelope; they may be smashed beyond recognition in the mail. Termite Tubes One other sure sign of termites (but not of ants) is termite runways or "tubes" made of chewed wood and mud. The mud tubes are important because ter-mites live in the soil, and even though they feed in wood above ground they have to go back to the soil for water. Termites build tubes in order to keep under cover and conserve body moisture. To get from their nest in the soil to wood they may have to crawl up a foundation wall. Any exposed part of their route is tubed over. Frequently the tubes are visible. Tubes may be on foundation walls, sometimes outside but more often inside crawl spaces or basements. Some-times only a few inches of tube may be visible. When termites can get from the soil through hollo\v concrete blocks directly to wood, their tubes may be entirely hidden. Try to Find Extent of Infestation Termites may enter one or several places, so make a careful inspection. Put on old clothes and go over every inch of possible entry, keeping in mind that termites are most likely to enter where wood touches soil or comes close to it. If you discover swarming termites, look first at nearby timbers, such as those above basement walls (foundation plates, sills, the ends of joists, studding or sub-flooring). Be suspicious of any wood in con-tact with the ground (porch steps, wooden cellar posts, cellar window frames). Jab all suspected wood with an ice pick or screw driver. If the wood is galleried by termites the tool will break in. (Houses built on a slab on the ground SLAB ON 51DJLV:.~lk ~ GROUND . ~ ··- ·-· -----'' !~cRA c J< dtJNCTJON ~ ;---:----S'TOOP AND STAIRS ..,_, .. .,,~ ....... ~.. ~,,.. ,-c. ... --... ,~ .......... '..NEST: ·. ... t " ........... are more likely to become infested than are other types of houses. Termites can enter through a }iH -inch crack in a slab. The first places to look for termites are baseboards, door jambs, and other wood in connection with closets and partition walls.) Inspect the house foundation all around the out-side. Look for termite tubes on exposed foundations. In unusual cases, where the foundation is covered by earth up to or over shingles, clapboard, or other fin-ish, remove the earth to expose at least eight inches of foundation. Although you may not find termite tubes at that time, termites may be forced to build a tube and thus betray their presence. Next, using a strong :flashlight, crawl under porches and steps or other additions built above the ground. Examine concrete block piers or other pos-sible supports for termite tubes. Probe with an ice pick any wood resting on the ground or on supports. Check carefully cellar window frames. Examine the junction of any concrete slab with the house (driveway, sidewalk, slab porch). Termites may tube through a small crack at such a junction. Inside, examine cellar walls and creep around crawl space walls. Go over every inch of foundation from the inside for termite tubes. Pay particular attention to beams and other wood resting on the foundation wall, and check the under-flooring above walls and piers. Termites will sometimes tube-ovel' the first beam to wood above, if the beam is treated for termites. Explore all wood which rests on con-crete, and look for cracks in cellar and crawl space floors, especially near walls, furnace or masonry pillars. If you locate termites at work in wood, try to find how much wood is galleried. This will help you determine how much the structure has been weak-ened and if carpentry is needed . . I ! . . . . CR.AWL SPACE.;, CELLAR. Control Get Rid of Infested 0 Id Wood and Dampness Termites normally live on wood buried in the soil. They may have fed on wood construction fill or on wood bulldozed into the lawn following con-struction. They will also live in old stumps and old firewood left lying around the yard. It is best to rid the premises of any known infested wood. Dampness is a requirement for termites. It might be desirable to drain or regrade wet soil adjacent to an infested foundation. An unvented crawl space may hold enough humidity to make soil under the floor attractive to termites. The installa-tion of louvers to allow circulation of air through crawl spaces, or any dead-air space will be well worthwhile. Insecticide Method Termites travel from soil to wood. An effective means of control is by pouring poison in a trench. This prevents the teri:iiite·s· from entering the house without contacting the poisoned soil. Such a barrier, if prepared properly, will last for 10 years. Make the trench all the way around the house, leaving open no possible route. Treatment will de-pend upon the type of house construction: concrete slab-on-ground, crawl space, full basement. Most houses have combinations of all three types of construction. Follow those directions which apply to your house. Poisons to Use Use either chlordane or dieldrin insecticide in the emulsifiable oil concentrate formulation. Do not use either the wettable powder form or the oil solution form. (Wettable powders do not penetrate soils evenly, and oil solutions are a fire hazard and may creep up walls to damage floors). Emulsifiable oil concentrates can be diluted with water; it is this water dilution that is used to make the insecticide barrier. Use chlordane diluted with water to 1 per cent actual insecticide. Oil emulsion concentrates of chlordane generally contain 45 or 75 per cent actual chlordane. Dilute one part of 45 per cent chlordane with 48 parts of water, and dilute one part of 75 per cent chlordane with 96 parts of water. It is advisable to make no more than a few gallons of 1 per cent chlordane dilution at a time. Dielclrin is m;ed as a 0.5 per cent dilution. The emubifiable concentrate genernlly contains 15 per cent actual dieldrin. The dilution i8 prepared by add-ing one part of 15 per cent dieldrin emulsifiable oil concentrate to 36 parts of water. Make up only a few gallons of dilution at any one time. Either chlordane or dieldrin is available from farm supply stores or chemical supply houses. Ho;v much concentrate should you buy? The average house may take between 2 and 4 gallons, but it is best to buy 1 or 2 gallons to start. When this is gone, purchase more insecticide. The job may extend over a period of weeks. Application of Insecticide Concrete Slab-on-ground construction: You may or may not be able to apply effective control meas-ures if the termites are coming through a crack in the slab under the interior. It will be necessary to drill holes through the slab to treat the soil beneath. In the case of slabs with built-in heating pipes, or, for that matter, any slab on ground, it is advisable to leave interior control to an experienced pest con-trol operator. Treat the perimeter by exposing the foundation and drilling holes through the foundation, above the footing, every five feet. Two gallons of dilute poison should be sprayed inside the foundation by means of a pressure sprayer using considerable pressure to distribute the insecticide at least 2~ feet to either side of the hole along the foundation wall. Trench the ground around the entire foundation outside, with particular attention to entries for plumbing, SLAB CONSTRUCTION HOUSE-Showing posifi.on of soil poison barriers that can be made by home owner. (No treat-ment is illustrated for area beneath slab or for control under interior partitions-control in these areas is a job for termite contr.ol operator.) 1. Hole drilled at or near juncture of side-walk or driveway slab with house. 2. Hole drilled through top of foundation from outside to admit pressure spray rod. 3. Trench along exterior of foundation. etc., b~, making a trench a foot deep. If the footing is deeper than the trench, make holes \vith a pipe or crowbar in the bottom of the trench one foot apart and as deep as the top of the footing. Where sidewalks, driveways, and porch slabs adjoin the foundation slab, it will be necessary to drench through the junction crack. If this is not possible, drill holes near the junction every two feet. Then the trench and junction of sidewalks, drive-ways, etc. with the house slab should be drenched with two gallons of diluted insecticide for each five linear feet. Apply half of the insecticide in the bottom of the trench, partly fill the trench, and apply the remaining insecticide before the trench is completely filled. Crawl Space Houses: To control an infestation inside crawl space walls or around support piers, dig a trench 6 to 8 inches wide and a few inches deep next to walls and piers. (Do no go below the top of the footing.) If the footing is more than 12 inches deep, make holes with a pipe in the bottom of the trench. The holes should be one foot apart and approach the top of the footing. Dig a trench 6 to 8 inches wide and a foot deep along the outside of the foundation. If necessary, make holes in the trench bottom as deep as 18 inches. Drench both inside and outside trenches with two gallons of diluted insecticide for each five CRAWL SPACE CONSTRUCTION HOUSE-1. Solid concrete stoop-dig alongside of foundation, or by means of crowbar holes make space for insecticide drench. 2. Shallow trenches by interior walls. 3. Shallow trench around masonry column. 4. Exterior trench. 5. Holes made in mortar joints for injecting v:oids with insecticide by means of pressure sprayer. This is an insurance measure when wall is difficult to treat. feet of trench. (Where footing is two feet deep, use 4 gallons per 5 linear feet ; for footing 3 feet deep, use 6 gallons per 6 linear feet ; for footing five feet deep, use 10 gallons per 5 linear feet of trench.) Apply the insecticide in three installments: first to the bottom of the trench, next to the partly filled-in trench, and then the last drenching when the trench is almost filled. Porch Floor TREATMENT FOR PORCH AND ADJACENT CELLAR-1. Trench 12 inches deep. 2. Pipe hole extending 18 inches down from trench bottom. 3. Shallow trenches around porch floor sup-port column. 4. Soil drenched where wooden step touches ground. 5. Shallow trench (or hole) alongside interior of foundation wall. For unit masonry foundations make holes in the mortar joints in the lower part of the wall or pier and apply one gallon of diluted insecticide per 5 linear feet of wall or pier. This measure is necessary where the footings are deep or when the source of infestation has not been definitely discovered to be outside the wall but is suspected of being in the voids. Basement Houses: Excavate a trench around the outside of the foundation to a depth of one foot and with a pipe make holes one foot apart to a depth of another 18 inches. Apply a treatment of four gallons of dilution per each 5 linear feet of trench. This should be applied in about three installments: first, pour dilution over the bottom of the trench, then cover with a layer of soil about six inches thick and put more chemical on top of that. Use nearly all of the remainder of the soil to make another layer treated with the remainder of the insecticide. If walls are made of concrete blocks with voids, make holes in the mortar joints and treat as di-rected under "Crawl Space Houses." If fireplace piers or other bricks or masonry support columns are a route of infestation, treatment in the voids will be necessary. If termites are coming from beneath the concrete :floor in the basement, remove any wood that may extend into the ground. Then poison the soil and seal cracks or holes through which termites might CD CD i@ BASEMENT HOUSE-1. Treat voids through holes in mortar to insure against infestation below level treated outside. 2. Holes drilled inside footing. 3. Holes drilled to treat around fire-place C·olumn. 4. Twelve-inch deep trench outside of house. 5. Eighteen-inch crowbar hole in trench bottom. enter. Fill large cracks or holes with a heavy duty cement mortar and small ones with a roofing-grade coal tar pitch. When the infestation it> located between the floor and the \Vall (expansion joint) or around a furnace, make a series of one-inch holes spaced about one foot apart through which the diluted insecticide can be poured. Holes along the wall should be made about 6 to 8 inches from it so as to clear the footing and reach the soil beneath. To Summarize: Termite control is complex-hard and often dirty work. Limited measures may or may not suc-ceed; it is best to be thorough. Be sure you have termites before you spend a penny. Locate the ex-tent of damage and all routes of entry. Depending on the degree of infestation and your own energy, try the poisoned soil method yourself or award a contract to a reliable pest control operator. 5/59-5.5M The Ohio State University and U. S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Agricultural Extension Service, W. B. Wood, director, Columbus 10, Ohio. Printed and distributed in furtherance of acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. 

Getting Rid of Termites

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Getting Rid of Termites

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