Termites

[kyosan]

Perhaps this is a dumb question but I have this lot in Hawaiian Acres. I'm thinking about building on it and was wondering how big of an issue termites are there. From what I've heard termites colonies are deep in the ground but there is only a couple inches of soil covering my lot. Can termites survive under those conditions. If they can't I wouldn't have to go to great lengths to protect my house from termites. Mahalo.

[jdirgo]

There are two types of termites -- subterranean and flying. You probably won't have much risk from the subterranean kind, but you will definitely be at risk for the flying kind. Just plan to have a licensed termite inspector check the house every few years. It only costs a few hundred dollars. Its well worth it.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell

[Carey]

Interesting note: in the UHH geology lab, some termites built a HUGE nest within the built in lab cabinets, and they have spread out along all of the trim boads. (I think that they were the flying variety, but not positive.) Anyhoo, seeing a full base cabinet system entirely taken over by a gigantic nest (even went through drawer walls) has us rethinking every scrap of wood we put in our house (good thing our ol'house is aluminum framed - yes not steel but aluminum). Now if only I can get me some aluminum kitchen cabinets to replace the cabinets we had (too many critters were in them!)....Have seen stainless, but also have seen comments on how un-stainless they can be here...
Aloha, Carey

[Les C]

From what I've read, the subterranean (Formosan) termites usually form large colonies. The flying (drywood) termites usually create smaller, localized infestations. It may be that drywood termites might not choose to gnaw into painted wood; I don't know if this is true or if it applies to subterranean, too. You can tell the difference between the two by looking at the frass (droppings) under magnification. Both are short cylindrical shapes with rounded ends. The drywood variety has ridges (or grooves) running longitudinally, the subterranean's is smooth.

Termites can infest so quickly that a termite inspection (at least the one done at the sale of a house) is only valid for two weeks!

My wife has been researching on the web the chemicals used in fumigation for drywood termites. She said that there are reports of many suits about the toxicity and resulting illnesses. But the EPA, apparently, has not been willing to move on this issue.

In regards to stainless steel, (more web researching) there are different grades denoted by a code. I don't recall these off the top of my head; try looking up "stainless steel" at wikipedia.com. There are some that do corrode and others that are better at resisting corrosion. Much of the stainless steel is made in China and India. I saw a broad generalization that claimed that India typically makes the better stuff.

Les

[HADave]

Welcome to the forum Kyosan, anytime you have a question about almost anything relating to The Island/Puna check out the search function ( top of page ) there is a wealth of info there.

I brought forward, on the other forum, under appliances some great info and discussion about stainless steel appliances and such...hope you find it useful.

Aloha HADave

"Great Truths That Little Clidren Have Learned"

You Can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk

[kyosan]

Mahalo everyone for the answers. That's interesting. I've heard about drywood termites but never thought about them very much. I've lived in San Jose, CA and Tucson, AZ. and have been told that dry wood termites don't do much harm and I need to be concerned mainly about subteranian termites. And I've had 5 infestations over the years in different houses I've owned and it was always subs. But the situation is different there so I'll have to learn more about drywood termites.

quote:

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It may be that drywood termites might not choose to gnaw into painted wood; I don't know if this is true or if it applies to subterranean, too.

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It definately doesn't apply to subterranean. They get into the wood and eat from the inside out. They have eaten up lots of my painted base boards in my guest house. I didn't know they were there until they ate all the way to the surface.

[Fishboy]

This is a fascinating discussion and it's gotten me scratching my bald head over the two types of termites. I've always thought that you could avoid termites if you keep them from accessing a water source. You can do that by keeping wood, plants, or other things, from accummulating around the side of your home, and building your post-and-pier foundation far enough off the ground. The idea is that termites need access to water in the soil, so if you keep your home up off the ground and keep the wood components up off the ground, you discourage termites.

Now Buzz writes about a sofa that fell apart from being eaten by termites. I have to assume this was a free-standing sofa that was reasonably distant from a water source.

Can someone tell me that you can avoid termite problems by cutting off the access to water?

Best Aloha,
Brian (Fishboy)

[Kapohocat]

Have y'all ever seen ground termites build mud trails right up over concrete or pier blocks? You scrap it off and two days later there it is fixed. At that point, you probably have a colony of 100000 termites.

We saw that happen alot in Honomu (plenty of soil), rarely in HA.

Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
"We help make building your dream home a reality"

[Carolann R]

We had termites here in Arizona - we saw these mudtubes hanging in the garage...the only damage they really did was to the cardboard boxes we had in the crawlspace over the garage...had Terminix come out and did the whole house and we treated the ground before our addition...

I had heard some really fascinating stuff about the subs...the queen and her age and the life span of the workers, etc. just amazing that these little buggas know their jobs and are so efficient! LOL!


Carrie

"To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater." Bono

http://www.hellophoenix.com/art