Subject: Re: Termites are testing me
From: R.Zwaagstra@ppsw.rug.nl (Ronald Zwaagstra)
Organization: University of Groningen
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 1997 09:53:57 GMT
Message-ID: <MOD$971225.1906@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$971223.28948@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
littlepua@aol.com (Little Pua) wrote:
>Help, my organic principles are being tested. I have discovered termite trails
>in the bark of a young maple tree (~8 years old). This tree is only 40 feet
>from the house front porch where carpenter ants did about $8000 worth of
>damage... which will take me another year just to pay off. I cannot afford
>termite damage. What is a way I can get rid of the termites (including cutting
>the tree down) without sending them to my house? I do live in an area with a
>lot of termites... my neighbor had to rebuild part of his house due to damage
>and he also sprayed a tree that had them. I suspect those termites just packed
>up and headed to my chemical free property.
>Sherry
"Common-Sense Pest Control" by Olkowski, Daar and Olkowski (ODO) devotes
one chapter to termites.
There seem to be 5 major termite groups, but most notable among these
are the subterranean and the drywood termites. Since the successful
treatment of the termites depends on a close match between the type of
termite and the actions taken, there is a real need to determine
correctly to which group your ones belong.
The subterranean termites occur throughout the US, and are ground
dwelling in moist sites. They build earthen tubes, but do not form fecal
pellets. The drywood termites occur in the southern and coastal states,
living in dry sites. They form oval, six-sided fecal pellets, and expel
fecal pellets in sawdust-like piles from exits in galaries.
The subterranean termites seem responsible for about 95% of the termite
caused damage, but the drywood termites are more costly to treat.
If the termites still reside in the maple, it might pay to protect your
house from entering by termites. Since termites have trouble crawling
thru sand, ODO recommend a 4 inch layer of sand or volcanic gravel next
to foundation walls. On the outside of the house, these layers should be
covered by a concrete cap to minimize disturbance of of the sand.
Direct control of drywood termites is best carried out by professionals
using an Electrogun (tm), or applying heat treatment.
Biological controls for termites include (ironically) termite eating
ants, and nematodes. These types of biological controls were rather in
development at the time the book was published (1991), so it might be
sensible to contact the Olkowskis and Daar at:
Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC)
P.O. Box 7414
Berkeley, CA 94707
and ask them for relyable pest control agencies in your area.
Please keep us informed on the problem and actions taken.
Ronald