Locate Drywood Termites & Destroy Them!
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2023
- Learn how to find Drywood Termite nests through a contractors perspective and kill them for good. I have years experience working with Ag pest control and can teach DIYers how to crush these home destroyers. Don't forget to seal up places of entry for these pests after killing them. Cost for chemicals and scope are are very affordable for the every day DIYer. See below.
5.5mm Teslong Borescope Inspection Camera with Monitor @ Amazon $56
Spectracide Terminate Termite Killing Foam @ Amazon $9 ea - Jak na to + styl
If anything is incorrect, please correct me. I am not a professional exterminator or a general contractor. I am very detail oriented and have done a lot of research in a very little time. I read and try to understand everything to ensure that the person I'm hiring isn't handing me a line of cow dung. That means you need to understand the product and the method in which they are using just as good, if not better than they do so you can speak to them intelligently about it. Anything stated here is from an untrained and inexperienced perspective. I work with cabling, know how to navigate attics properly and know to turn off the electric and wait a few hours before turning it on and how to stay away from the electric wires. It is always best to use a professional.
Thank you for the video. I have some of the same tools. I have termite specialists telling me that they want to drill a hole at the top of the drywall in between the studs, not into the studs, and then spray Termidor foam in that hole to fill the void which expands 30:1. The representative for manufacturer of Termidor told me the same thing. The issue that I have is that there is R13 Bat insulation in those voids so they aren't voids anymore and there are walls. The paper on the R13 insulation is going to provide resistance to the foam and the termidor foam does not have any agents for which to penetrate into the wood. This means the foam will only get to a few millimeters onto the wood and then we have to "hope and pray" the termites walk through that? When I brought this up to the manufacturer, he said, the termites will walk through it. I am not sure he understands there is no void.
Let's discuss the product for which you use. I also bought the same product as you shown at Home Depot because I could not get Termidor right away to spray into the kickout holes. I sprayed it into the kickout holes and then caulked the holes. The only thing that we know about that product from your video is that it has borate in it. I wish you would have researched the product rather than a statement of "I've never used this before". Most everyone that sees this video is going to go purchase that product based on what you've shown then because you are a general contractor. If that product has no wood penetration and only lasts 6 weeks maximum then spraying foam where the drywood termites have no gallies does nothing. That is the hope and pray method because that product does not penetrate into the wood and it requires the termite to walk across it for it to be effective. Treating is okay but it was not the right product for those holes. I think a product like Bora-Care injection or foam would have been better for those holes for which you did not find a gally. I was told by an inspector that Terminate, shown in this video, is also a repellant. The termites can smell and taste it.
I have 15 kickout holes I've spotted for drywood termites. We had swarmers coming out of those holes. It takes around 5 years for a colony to mature enough to produce swarmers from what I am told and have been reading. This means there is a tremendous amount of damage to that wood behind that wall. The thing is that we purchased this place 3 years ago and had a termite inspection completed. There were no wings or termites present when we purchased it. Now we find wings in the eves in the attic and on the 2nd and 3rd floor balconies even though they are screened in.
I have a stud finder, the same exact camera as you. I have a thermal imaging camera and have a General Tools MMD950 moisture meter on its way.
My approach is different than yours. From my research, I am going to use Bora-Care misting and bora-care foam in the attic. I have blown insulation up there. Bora-care can be used with a 2:1 combination for foam or mist and a 1:1 combination for injection into the wood. This uses Ethylene Glycol to penetrate the active ingredient into the untreated wood that we would find up in the attic and in between the walls. I am going to drill like what you've shown and use Termidor to spray within the gallies. I will use Bora-Care on all the holes for which I do not locate gallies and in between the studs.
For those reading this: (Drywood Termites)
Termidor is a non-repellent foam spray that works over months to get rid of the termites. It works by coming into contact with the workers. Termites are very social and climb on top of each other. They pass this off to one another and finally to the food and queen. It is slow acting so the termite colony doesn't get stressed out and leave. You don't want termites to know you're killing them. You don't want a repellent, you want them dead. The Termidor foam does not penetrate the wood so it must be sprayed into the kickout holes and into the gallies. It is odorless. If you read my entire comment, you will see that the termite professionals tell me to spray it into the void between the between the 2x4's, but common sense says, there is insulation in there and the paper on the insulation will provide resistance to the foam. The paper is supposed to be stapled to the edge of each 2x4 which common sense would ultimately dictate that the paper would interfere with the foam from actively coming into contact with the wood and therefore the foam would be absorbed by the paper on both the drywall and the paper on the insulation. I understand the pest control remediators are trained in how to do their job, but I must question whether any of them have seen behind a wall before because when I bring this up, the only answer I receive is a long pause and then "It will work, don't worry about it" or "They will walk through it". Great, but after your money is gone and they don't walk through it, you are left with "Oh, well the remediator didn't follow our instructions" or some other excuse. So spraying it with insulation in the void makes 0 sense other than hope and pray. Termidor foam is around $30.00 to $35.00 a bottle and for each void in the wall, a typical 8 foot ceiling or 10 foot ceiling might take and estimated 2 to 3 bottles to fill the void. This is math without experience so don't take it for gospel. I don't know what that estimated number is with insulation in the wall.
Bora-Care is a non-repellent liquid that requires an actuator or sprayer. It also requires mixing water into a bucket for around 5 minutes or until there is no resistance in the water as per the manufacturers specifications and using foam, injector or misting onto the wood. It penetrates the wood up to 4" but expect it to penetrate up to 1" in reality. It is mentioned multiple times in the instructions Do Not Over Treat the wood. Nowhere can I find what that means or what the consequences are if someone does overtreat the wood. Remediation means you actively have termites and need to get rid of them. Injection is 1:1. This means 50% water and 50% bora-care. This means you are drilling holes into the wood, like shown in this video and you want the liquid to penetrate the wood so if the termites eat it, the bring it back, vomit and poop it out for other termites to eat it all the way to the queen. It also is slow acting so it doesn't stress the colony seeing dead bodies suddenly. Foam and mist is also either 1:1 or 2:1. 2:1 means 66% water and 34% bora-care. For preventative, non-remediation methods, it is a 5:1 ratio for misting and foaming which means 83% water and 17% Bora-Care. Warm water makes it easier to mix. Bora-Care is around $85.00 per gallon. A gallon is estimated to cover 400 sqft of raw wood. I do not know if that square footage extends further with a 1:1 ratio, 2:1,etc, nor if bora-care will leave a stain since it is mixed with water nor if it should be distilled water in the mixture as I am still researching this as well. Bora-Care has a 30 year limited warranty, but it is only for professionals that inspect the home every year, not for home owners. Inspectors and remediators only provide a 1 to 5 year warranty with the product and they will typically have a renewal inspection fee yearly to maintain that warranty.
Termidor comes in contact with the termites and slowly kills them by transferring the poison from one termite to the other and it takes up to 90 days to kill them. The foam residual is gone after 6 weeks.
Bora-care requires them to eat the wood, which they are doing anyway and kills them slowly.
MY OPINION ONLY AND MY APPROACH TO THIS SITUATION
In my untrained, inexperienced, but extremely well-researched opinion, spraying Termidor foam from the top of the wall down in between the 2x4's with insulation will do almost nothing. Locating the gallies as shown in this video and spraying Termidor in the gallies, absolutely necessary.
Treating with Termidor or any non penetrating foam into non infested wood with no gallies, as shown in this video, does nothing because it dissipates after 6 weeks and termites must walk through it for it to work.
Check for activity like shown in this video. Bora-care as a foam. Drill a hole 4 inches from the ceiling, in the middle and about 4 inches from the bottom to the left or right of the 2x4. Spray the bora-care as a foam that way ensuring contact with the wood.
Bora-care as an injection. In each of the holes where a gally was not located, use bora-care injection or foam method to penetrate that wood.
Attic: Use bora-care misting to get all the wood in the attic. Use bora-care foam for the wood covered by insulation on the attic floor, paying attention to not step on your ceiling as you will fall through it. Use bora-care foam for the crevices where the mister cannot reach.
Remediators make money and use the least amount of product possible. Not everyone will do a good job. It's best to have the knowledge of how to do it properly so you can ensure they do a good job. I hope this has helped someone, and thanks again for this video in showing the proper tools to use and how to locate them.
Hi. Thanks for your comment. I had not used this foam before but have been in the AG pest control field and know how to kill bugs. I am also a general contractor which gives me a different perspective. You are correct in that spraying foam between the food source (wall studs) is not as effective than locating the nesting areas within the wood studs and spraying the foam within those nesting areas. This kills off the workers and queen. Their maybe multiple nesting areas so that is why I use the scope to find the frass. This tells you which studs have nesting areas and by drilling 1/4" holes about every 2 inches up and down those studs that show frass at the bottom will help you find all of the nesting areas. Treating those nesting areas will kill off all of them. I also sprayed foam into all of the holes I drilled in case there are travelers that would come across those treated holes. The holes are then easily filled with caulking or compound, sanded and painted. Don't waist the money treating areas that are between studs. The reason pest control companies do this is to get the job done quickly and cover a larger area fast (even though the results are not as effective) If there is a very large infestation, they will tent the whole house and fumigate which is effective but very costly. Blessings my friend.
@@thepennywiseguys
Thanks for writing back. This is a townhouse and they cannot tent it without every home owner's permission. There are 6 of us. 5 of 6 own but the 6th rents and the owner will not give permission. The house could be on fire and if the fire department said it would be $300.00 to put your fire out, she would say let it burn. Additionally, tenting kills everything in it at that time, but what people don't tell the homeowner is that the termites can come back immediately after the tenting unless you treat and use preventative measures.
My main concern with treating in between the studs was the insulation between them. The Termidor will not penetrate would nor is it designed to do that. Neither was Termicite, what you showed in the video. The Terminate product shown in the video is also a repellant so it will stress the colony and make them move rather than kill them. So treating with Termidor in between the walls that have insultation is useless and a waste of money. The insulation will provide resistance and you will have a 1/8" gap for which the foam will be absorbed by the paper on the insulation and on the drywall.
The same thing goes for the spray in the non infested wood. It's useless because you must hope the termites walk it within the next 4-6 weeks which may not happen. I think the better method would be to spray bora-care in those holes as it penetrates the wood. Then caulk, sand, apply texture and paint. If they do start chomping later even after 6 weeks, they bring it back to the queen and she dies.
I think a good plan for anyone reading this would be:
Drywood Termites
Look for kickout holes so those 2x4's are easy enough to know where the gallies located in those 2x4's. We have kickout holes and a lot of them (around 15 of them).
For searching for other potentially infested studs:
1. Drill holes in between the studs and look for frass with the camera, just like your video.
2. Find gallies by drilling up those studs where frass is located.
a. If no gallies are found, use bora-care as a foam or injection.
b. If gallies are found, use Termidor foam.
3. Use Bora-care in the attic if possible. Mist on exposed wood and Foam on wood under blown insulation.
4. If you have skipped a stud in between the walls because you didn't see any frass but the next one over has frass, go back and treat the ones in between where you saw frass.
Your thoughts on this plan?
@@SoloBoss Hi friend. That is a perfect plan. You have a great handle on the process. Blessings.
THANK YOU for this video! I have had mud trails come thru the wall in my bedroom at the ceiling area and I know now it's termites. I did pick up a spray foam can of that exact stuff you used a few months ago but have been reluctant to start using it. And I also have a scope a lot like yours that I bought on amazon several months ago for another project, and now I think I'm going to get it out of the box again and use it to look into the wall area at the top and see what I can see. I also have a stud finder that I can use that will assist me in finding the studs so I can treat the area...I really do appreciate your video. You don't know how much! I do have a question....you showed where termites leave their waste, what about the mud tubes that come thru walls? (I live in an older mobil home) if that helps anything. And I plan on getting someone this fall when it cools off to replace the exterior siding and any damaged wood framing that I may have...
Hi. Thank you so much for the compliment. I am so sorry you are dealing with termites. The mud tubes are made by Subterranean termites. These tubes are used for them to travel from the ground to a place they enter the home. You can use these tubes to find out where they entered the exterior so you will know at what point to drill your holes to investigate for the nesting areas for treatment. Once you find all the nesting areas and treat them, you then can clean off the mud trails from the exterior. I also would treat the ground area at the beginning of the mud trails with pullets or sprays. If you have extensive trails and entry points into the walls and if the siding is in bad condition, you may decide to remove the bad sections of siding and "Foam Spray" treat all found nesting areas and replace any badly damaged framing before installing new siding. If you have any other questions, please ask and I will do my best to aid in your task to find and eliminate these destructive pests. Blessings my friend.
Well, what about repairing all these holes in the wall?
@@charlesmyers8150 Hi. Thanks for the question. I have a second video on how to repair the termite damage. Please look under my playlist for Home Construction and you will find the 2nd video on how to inspect and repair damage. Have a blessed day.
He was doing a dry wood treatment the on the studs your problem is subterranean termites they make mud tubes and get in your home underground moisture underground you have to treat all around your house make a ditch and put Taurus SC with water in a bucket and that solution to kill off the colony😊🙏🙏👍👍 there you tube videos👍😃
Id like to know how it worked out?
I love this video and i loved that you are a fellow worshipper of the Lord. Great advice my friend God bless you and your family.
Hi. Thank you for the kind comment. Yes Jesus is my Lord and I love serving Him. Blessings my friend.
I have found some hollow wood in my hardwood floor, the pieces that are hollow look like they’ve been eaten, but I haven’t seen any signs of termites.. no holes, no sawdust, none of those tube like structures I’ve seen in some videos. Is there some other type of pest that could be eating my floor?
Hi. Other than termites, there are no other pests that do this kind of damage on dried processed wood. Live trees have issues with bores and bark beetles that create the kind of damage that looks like what you are describing. This damage could have been before the tree was harvested and processed for lumber. Or it was termites that did the damage, but were killed off during lumber processing or after, and possibly before the flooring was installed. I have even seen lumber that I purchased at a lumber yard have live termite activity and plenty of times have seen lumber have the damage but the termites were killed off before the lumber was sold. If you do not see any evidence of live termite activity, but you want to make sure there are no live termites, you can treat those areas. After treating, if the wood is solid enough to remain a good sound flooring plank, I would leave them and be at rest that nothing will do any other damage. If the planks are weak, I would replace them for safety. I hope this helps. Thanks for reaching out. Anytime you have a construction question, please feel free to ask. Blessings my friend.
Well done, thank you
Thank you for the kind word. blessings my friend.
Im wondering why you would not just cut out that portion of the wall. Get in there and treat the termites then just throw up some drywall to fix the hole.
Hi. Thanks for your question. I drill the holes to find the nesting areas. There are more than one at most times. This way you can spray the foam into the nesting areas directly killing off the entire colony. The holes are then easy to fill with dry wall compound and sand and paint. I treat all the holes to make sure any that are migrating are taken care of. I hope this helps. Blessings.
The biggest problem with these foams is that they state it Kills termites on Contact so if your not getting it directly on the termites they aren't gonna die...I have read many remedies for killing drywood termites and the best seems to be borax spray that lasts up to a week in the area for termites to eat and take backnto the colony which will Hopefully kill them all! Have you had any Experience using this method?
Hi. Thanks for the question. I drill plenty of holes to get the foam into the nesting area. The foam residue will last up to 6 weeks just in case the foam made in around the activity and not directly. This 6 weeks is enough time to get a few worker termites to get the chemical on them to carry back to the nesting colony. Then the colony will get eliminated in due time. Borax is a good product. I like the spray foam because of the ease to get it were you want it without drilling to big of holes. The smaller holes makes it easy to patch and paint the wall. In my second follow up video, I show how to cut the wall open and repair the damage. I show one termite that was already sick and dying and I found no other living termites. I patched the wall shortly after treatment and have had no signs of activity. I hope this helps. Have a blessed day my friend.
how do you fixes the holes that you drilled?
Hi. Great question. I drilled a lot of holes to find all the nesting areas. I went on either side of the stud that had the "kick out holes" to make sure no new nesting areas were present. It is worth drilling those extra holes to treat the entire area. It is a simple fix to fill each hole with sheetrock "joint compound" or you can use "spackle" sheet rock patch. lightly sand and paint the area. You have a blessed day.
I usually do not comment on anything. But the termite do not live in the metal studs and all the holes he made are extra. You need to find the colony in the wood not the metal studs. Around the windows there is usually wood. That’s where 😊you should treat.
Hi. Thanks for your comment. You are right that termites only feed on wood. That is exactly what I am working on in this project (wood). I drill the extra holes to investigate for any other nesting areas other than next to the kick out holes. It is worth the extra time to make sure. The treatment in the nesting areas do most of the kill, but areas around the nesting holes that have "searchers" seeking new areas can come across these extra treated areas within 6 months and will be eliminated. Patching the extra holes takes very little time. Have a blessed day my friend.
The author of life is King JESUS 👑 🙏 the KING of kings and LORD of lords and the GOD of the UNIVERSE 🙏🙏😊
Amen brother! While I sat during the filming of the ending segment, I asked the Lord what He wanted me to share and these words instantly came to me, so that is what I stated. The Lord is good! Blessings my friend