Subterranean Termites are usually our biggest threat out here in the Hi-Desert. Because they are closely related to Ants they love our sandy soil.
Unfortunately, due to lack of water they also love our houses. A lot of our homes out here were vacation cabins or original homesteads that have had
additions to the home. When a bedroom, garage or another addition is put on your home it is always a good idea to Pre-Treat the soil prior to
pouring concrete. Subterranean Termites love to come up through cold joints or cracks in your concrete foundation to feed on your wood walls.
Although, you can’t typically see them until you remodel or get new carpet they may appear on the outside of the wall too. They like to feed on the
backing of drywall. You may notice a dirt trail on your wall or cracking around your baseboard and window casings.
It is a fairly easy solution we
drill through the concrete and treat the soil underneath. This exterminates the nest and the Termite Soldiers and Workers will die because they need
their colony to feed themselves.
Drywood Termites are not too common here in the Hi-Desert but we do have them. They can swarm after a rain and get in your house through an attic
vent or a crack in the concrete foundation. They can also enter in through new lumber. We have had a few customers that had them in the wood beams
when their house was built. You can usually find their evidence by their feces, which looks like sand. The sand (feces) is the color of whatever they
are feeding on. For instance if they are feeding on Pine their feces will be lighter color, if they are feeding on Mahogany their feces would be a
dark color.
The best treatment for Drywood Termites is fumigation. That is when you see the big colorful tents over somebody’s house. Sometimes,
you can get away with a local treatment, but the problem is, you can’t tell how far the infestation extends.
