How to eradicate termites?

[zeehag]

empty boat and tent it. use wd40 in the holes you find in woodwork. good luck

[roverhi]

Tried Orange Oil for termites in our house and it was an expensive failure. Will only kill termites that you know are there. If they don't/can't identify the location of the termite infestation, the termites keep on eating. Called the Orange People back numerous times when a new set of droppings would appear but couldn't stay ahead of the bugs. Resulted in $1,000s of dollars in damage to wood that had to be replaced.

Tent the boat and you'll almost always get rid of all the termites. The gas, btw, is a nerve gas similar to that used in Hitler's extermination camps. Make sure all your pets and people are out of the house before the tent goes on.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by F10

Dry wood termites will live entirely in the wood (draw moisture from the atmosphere) and will push their poop out of holes in the wood (size of a pin hole so very hard to see). You will find piles of a black powder with grains about the 2x the size of a grain of salt. I have not found a way to exterminate they with off the shelf chems. I do have boric acid and if you mix it with water you can paint it on wood or soak the wood in it. That may act as a preventative but will not kill what is already in the wood (maybe it would if you could 100% soak the would, but that is nearly impossible). Here in Hawaii many boat owners have their boats tented when they have dry wood termites. Cost about $500 for a 40 foot boat and takes 3 day. Some type of gas is fed into the tented boat and that gas kills the termites. I also see adds for "orange oil" treatment for houses. the orange oil is injected into the termite infested wood and kills the termites. Tenting and orange oil is primarily used to treat houses. Tenting is known to work, not sure how effective orange oil is. If you have a major infestation I would tent it.

Here is a site that my help you. I have purchased boric acid from them:
Do It Yourself Pest Control Products & Supplies | Do My Own Pest Control

Second borax. The reason is that it is also a very effective rot preventative for wood. The Park Service even uses it to preserve historic ships and totem poles. Google it.

[Jolly Roger]

I thank everyone who has contributed to my post.
I’ve done some research since I identified the pesky bugs, and yes, gassing is the only sure way to get rid of them, but tenting - I hope not.
The conventional way for a house is to tent, but trying to tent a 50 foot schooner is another matter, and the prices I have been quoted are astronomical - $4,000 plus!
That is mainly labor of course.
I have been told that on a boat it should be possible to seal every outlet with tape, including exhaust and overboard outlets. Obviously, things like portlights are watertight anyway, so I don’t see why we can’t seal the rest if we do it carefully and methodically.
The price difference is vast.
Could CSY Man explain a bit more about how he did the taping, what tape, etc.
Does anyone else have practical experience doing this?

[YachtBroker]

We have an issue with termites in Texas also and I have been told by pest guys in Florida the taping off of all openings and putting the gas in will do it. I do think that is more of a quick fix.

In Texas I have been told that may work for termites but it WILL NOT work for beetles. Beetles take sometning like 2-4 times the gas and a stronger dose for it to take effect. I am told that Gas (that kills the beetles) will also permeate fiberglass and everything in the boat, hence the need for tenting. I am also told by the people who have done this in Texas they will not warranty any boat that has not been tented. Avergage price here for a 35-40' is $2200.

I would highly recommend you get a pesticide guy to look at the frass under a microscope because that is what determines if it's a termite or a beetle. I'm told if you gas for termites and it happens to be a beetle, you just wasted the money.

[RaymondR]

I think the gas the tent guys use is called Lithium Bromide, nasty stuff.


In Maryborough in Queensland they found termites in some of the old buildings and tented whole streets of them. Quiet a sight to see a multi story buildings plastic wrapped.


On of the things you might try is the pills that farmers use in their grain silo. They slowly give off a gas which kills the bugs like weevils that eat up grain. Lithium Bromide is used for the same purpose with export grain, particularly rice, because it is required by the receiving countries.

[Beavereater]

Fumigation is the prescribed method for drywood termites. As long as you don't call Vamonos the job should be relatively painless.

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

OK, I have to ask, what is with the spear through a guys' buttocks?

I saw that too, made me cringe a bit, OUCH!

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by Phisher

Tenting or sealing and gassing is the only way to get rid of dry wood termites. Orange oil or any do-it-yourself WILL NOT work. Best friend has been in the biz. for 35 years. Get it done as soon as you can as they are slowly eating away at your boat. They are very common around the coastal areas of Florida. I just had 2 of my properties tented in St. Augustine. My Cheoy Lee had them also..

^^^^ What he said - its the only sure way to kill 'em all once and for all!

[F10]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

I thank everyone who has contributed to my post.
I’ve done some research since I identified the pesky bugs, and yes, gassing is the only sure way to get rid of them, but tenting - I hope not.
The conventional way for a house is to tent, but trying to tent a 50 foot schooner is another matter, and the prices I have been quoted are astronomical - $4,000 plus!
That is mainly labor of course.
I have been told that on a boat it should be possible to seal every outlet with tape, including exhaust and overboard outlets. Obviously, things like portlights are watertight anyway, so I don’t see why we can’t seal the rest if we do it carefully and methodically.
The price difference is vast.
Could CSY Man explain a bit more about how he did the taping, what tape, etc.
Does anyone else have practical experience doing this?

That price seems very high. Here in Hawaii people tent whole houses that would be twice the size of a 50 foot boat for $2,000. 40 foot Boats in my harbor have had it done for $500. I would think Florida costs would be comparable (or even less) than Hawaii. Maybe try smaller local companies that have a good reputation. I have seen boats in my harbor tented where they let the tenting go down to the water line and then gas the inside and outside of the boat. this is a lot less labor than tenting a house where the need to drag the tenting tarps over the roof.

[crabcake]

Unfortunately, the OP suffers from the same malady that all of us suffer from. When a tradesman sees a nice boat they think the owner uses thousand dollar bills to light their fireplace logs. Oops, excuse me, they don't make 1K notes anymore. So it would be $100.00 bills.

IMO you need to shop this bug killing, and I would suggest not calling the people with the largest display ad in the yellow pages. Look for independents who don't have the overhead the big guys have.

Fact is, they see a 40 foot boat and dollar signs start dancing around in their head like sugar plum fairy's.

And please make sure you tell them in advance you are getting multiple bids.

[F10]

Did a little search on termites in Florida and found this post on another site. Cost is for a 50 foot boat in Ft Lauderdale from about 4 years ago:

Checked prices with 3 termite companies.
Picked the cheapest as the gas are the same, and the termites are the same.
Prices varied from $950.00 to $500.00, all 3 with a 1 year warranty.

Sealed the boat good and even taped over the exhaust port and the 4 bilge pump thru holes. Measurements of the gas 6 hours later confirmed no leakage and therefore all bugs and eggs dead..

The exterminators said most boats have termites and that it can take 4 to 5 years to form a colony and you may have them without knowing it as they have not reached the swarming stage yet..

Also check these guys (they seem to have good reviews):
Boat Pest Control Services In Southern Florida

[Capt Jerry]

In a former life I was in the exterminating business. First, it is important to confirm what kind of pest you have. The exterminator can do this. Then, if you do have a pest (like dry-wood termites) that can only be controlled by fumigation (the tenting process others have described) then $500 or so is a good investment. There are no effective do-it-yourself treatments. The poisonous gasses used in fumigation tend to pocket in foam rubber and similar materials so, take all pillows, cushions, etc. off the boat prior to fumigation.

[tinkrman69]

was infested with carpenter ants a few years ago. tried every kind of poison there was and still couldn't get rid of them. then realized I was just getting reinvested, as they were swarming. I anchored in a different place and they were gone. In the process I came accross diatomaceous earth...the food grade kind...and dusted that through the whole boat, blowing it into the areas around the water tanks in the overhead liner all around under the cabin sole...up in the dry areas... Haven't had a bug since. Used to have trouble with roaches when docking or when bringing stuff onboard, well I might see them one day, but never again.

Off the OP's question oops well I docked at a friends up the Coloosahachi and got Termites. soaked every peace of wood I could get to with Boric acid Never had a problem since. been back to my friends twice more too...no bugs.

I looked around and couldn't find boric acid straight up except on line. then found "roach powder" It's 92 % boric acid and cheap. Mix a cup with one and a half gallons of water in a bug sprayer and soak all the wood you can find. It soaks in and lasts unless the wood gets wet then you'll have to treat it again. If the woods been varnished or something like that It won't soak in...sand it maybe...you could have the boat tented, but that won't stop re-infestation and doesn't always kill formosan termites, if you got those. the acid does tho.

Hope this helps
Lance

[uncle stinkybob]

For the boric acid fans, Home Depot here in the U.S. sells 5lb's pure powdered boric acid for $16. 5lbs should last a few life times or a fleet of boats.