How to eradicate termites?

[CaptRory]

Upside....it kills absolutely everything. Fungus spoors...whatever is there...

[nknowland]

We had termites. Hired a pro. Shrink-wrapped the boat. Expensive fix that worked.

[lorrie]

I set off a bug bomb for carpenter ants and found thousands dead the next time I went to my cabin.
Since I wasn't there, they really moved in.
The funny thing is that it didn't appear like there was that many before I bombed.



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[SV Bacchus]

Had a house tented once and learned something no one has mentioned yet that is probably good to know. The gas has no residual effect, when it is gone, it is gone.

You get termites when they swarm from another colony, very similar to a bee hive halving itself with half heading off to new territory to start a new colony.

What I am saying is you can tent your boat and kill everything. Then the next week you could have a new swarm move in. Research termites for your area and see if there is a particular time of year they swarm. If you got em once there must be a colony close and you could get em again.

If your are moored close to an old building or near a stand of older, falling down trees that may be the source and you may want to move before tenting so it's not all for naught..

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by lorrie

I set off a bug bomb for carpenter ants and found thousands dead the next time I went to my cabin.
Since I wasn't there, they really moved in.
The funny thing is that it didn't appear like there was that many before I bombed.



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Obviously they were Ninja Carpenter Ant variety - very hard to see

[DumnMad]

Our boat had some timbers badly infested with "furniture beetle." Smoke bomb did not work but after 3 seasons of spraying the infested timbers with supermarket Surface Spray we seem to be all clear. (The beetles have a 3 year life cycle.)
I've heard anti-freeze is a good timber treatment because its full of salts.

[Jolly Roger]

Two experts came to look at the problem yesterday. One from Massey and the other from a local pest company. Both claimed they had done boats before.
The Massey man said they were drywood termites and the other said definitely Formosan termites, (from a picture I took when I caught one of the little blighters).
If anyone can confirm this from the picture, please let me know because the eradication process is slightly different. The local guy said fumigation for Formosan termites means three times more gas than for drywood termites, and consequently three times more expensive.
Both said the boat could be sealed with the, “tape and seal” method, instead of tenting. It must remain sealed for three days.
I’m waiting with bated breath for their quotes.
Thanks JR

[Phisher]

Bad news Jolly... Formosa termite.. I forwarded pic to my good friend that owns a pest control company in Tampa and has been a termite specialist for 30+ years.

I would get 3 bids. It will cost more because the company needs to use more vikane gas than for dry woods. Also Formosan are a lot more destructive so get it done sooner than later. I hope this helps.

Brian

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks Brian, every little piece of the puzzle helps.
I just need to be sure I’m not being shafted because I’ve got a nice looking schooner. It definitely happens if you’re not careful.

[Jolly Roger]

The saga continues:
I have now been recommended a bating system called Sentricon, which uses sacrificial wood bated with poison. The main dealer is coming to see me next Monday.
Obviously this would be far less intrusive than tenting—which I think is out of the question anyway, on the grounds off effectiveness and cost, or even tape sealing and fumigation.
Has anyone had experience of using Sentricon, on a boat?
I have interviewed four different companies and have prices from $1,400 to $4,300 for tenting and taping. I was not impressed with some of them.
JR

[a64pilot]

Sentricon has been the most viable house treating method for years.
First you have bait stations that are monitored, when termites show up and begin eating the bait, then the poison is introduced with the idea that they carry it back to the nest and everybody dies.

Sentricon has only become the preferred method after years ago the best chemicals to treat long term were banned, not because it is more effective. The old way kept you from ever being infested, Sentricon is a way to kill them after your infested.

This is house data, not boat data. For a boat I would go the fumigation route myself, especially if I had a nice Schooner. Trying to save a few bucks now may cost you thousands later I believe.

[Jolly Roger]

Trying to save a few bucks now may cost you thousands later I believe.

This is a good point, which I will remember as I evaluate all the options and prices.
Another thing which has been suggested. Run the boat down to Fort Lauderdale, where there are many more sailboats and more pest control people, who are familiar with the problem.
Anyone had any experience with them down there?
JR

[Schooner Chandlery]

I'd tent and fumigate. However if someone doesn't like chemicals -- here's an alternative:

It will cost more and no guarantee they'll die... BUT, since it's a boat, not a house, you can move it. Formosa termites (google tells me this) are killed by cold unless they retreat below the freeze line. You're on the east coast, take the boat north, haul out someplace nice and cold--anywhere from the Chesapeake on north--prefer farther north but hey! freezing cold is freezing cold. Just make sure it's winterized.

Boric acid works but once it gets wet it becomes ineffective. The NPS use of it in ships is very different than a boat owner using it for bug control. They use fairly large diameter rods of it, drill holes in deck beams and place the boric acid rods in the holes before closing things up. I did the same thing in a historic house in DC because we were getting carpenter ants in balustrade (porch railings) and porch columns. It was effective in that application.

[F10]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Sentricon has been the most viable house treating method for years.
First you have bait stations that are monitored, when termites show up and begin eating the bait, then the poison is introduced with the idea that they carry it back to the nest and everybody dies.

Sentricon has only become the preferred method after years ago the best chemicals to treat long term were banned, not because it is more effective. The old way kept you from ever being infested, Sentricon is a way to kill them after your infested.

This is house data, not boat data. For a boat I would go the fumigation route myself, especially if I had a nice Schooner. Trying to save a few bucks now may cost you thousands later I believe.

In the limited research I did, it seems even experts have a hard time telling if a termite is dry wood or formoson. If you do have formoson, they would need a source of water, and I think they need fresh water, not salty bilge water. Dry wood can just live in the wood (sucking moisture that they need from atomospheric humidity). So maybe you have both types of termites. Unless the boat was stored on land, where formoson termites moved between the ground (for water) and you boat, I would think you have dry wood. I do not think Sentricon will work on drywood termites. Once dry wood termites are in the wood, they stay there- they got everything they need, moisture (atmosphere) and food (wood), and they got termites of the opposite sex- like I said, got everything they need, no need to go out and eat the Sentricon bait. Now when they swarm, some termites may leave your wood and go eat the Sentricon, but they will not return to you wood they swarmed out of, they are looking for a new home (new wood). I would tent and then if you like, leave out the Sentricon to maybe kill any new arrivals.

[johnsgj]

In the Caribbean, I have not found any effective gas treatments. I am going to try heat. A friend successfully used heat and will be loaning me his heaters. We may end up hauling the boat and tenting it in black plastic to use the sun to help get the temperature high enough (120-130 deg F).