Termite Swarm Outside

[Anonymous]

I noticed quite a few bugs outside this afternoon and realized they were a termite swarm in my front yard. We have our house sprayed every other month to keep out boxelder bugs, spiders, and the like. How worried should I be about a termite infestation? I've not noticed anything in our house.

[Anonymous]

We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

[Anonymous]

Have a professional termite inspection done by more than one company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

No. You still can find a termite company, preferably small and local, which still will inject Termidor or other liquid termicide into the ground all around the perimeter of the house. That works because it kills anything that tries to enter from underground. Need to retreat about every 8 years. Setricon bait stations might kill random termites in your yard, but do not consistently kill all of them before they attack your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

No. You still can find a termite company, preferably small and local, which still will inject Termidor or other liquid termicide into the ground all around the perimeter of the house. That works because it kills anything that tries to enter from underground. Need to retreat about every 8 years. Setricon bait stations might kill random termites in your yard, but do not consistently kill all of them before they attack your house.

That’s what we had them do. I’m the poster who wondered if we’d been snookered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

No. You still can find a termite company, preferably small and local, which still will inject Termidor or other liquid termicide into the ground all around the perimeter of the house. That works because it kills anything that tries to enter from underground. Need to retreat about every 8 years. Setricon bait stations might kill random termites in your yard, but do not consistently kill all of them before they attack your house.

That’s what we had them do. I’m the poster who wondered if we’d been snookered.

That is the correct treatment, so you were sold the right treatment. We paid several hundred dollars for that treatment at our house a few years ago. It isn’t low cost to the installer if done correctly — with sufficient termite poison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

No. You still can find a termite company, preferably small and local, which still will inject Termidor or other liquid termicide into the ground all around the perimeter of the house. That works because it kills anything that tries to enter from underground. Need to retreat about every 8 years. Setricon bait stations might kill random termites in your yard, but do not consistently kill all of them before they attack your house.

That’s what we had them do. I’m the poster who wondered if we’d been snookered.

That is the correct treatment, so you were sold the right treatment. We paid several hundred dollars for that treatment at our house a few years ago. It isn’t low cost to the installer if done correctly — with sufficient termite poison.

Did they spot treat anything inside your house, or was the outside swarm not found to be inside? I’ve searched the house and searched all outdoors and am not finding any signs of a problem. I’m assuming at a minimum I would need to set up a lot of bait stations and likely inject poison around the property as well.

[Anonymous]

Make sure they’re not flying ants. I thought we had a termite swarm and called an exterminator. Thank goodness he was honest! He told me it was flying ants and they swarm periodically but aren’t a problem. You can tell them apart because flying ants have cinched waists rather than even width torsos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

No. You still can find a termite company, preferably small and local, which still will inject Termidor or other liquid termicide into the ground all around the perimeter of the house. That works because it kills anything that tries to enter from underground. Need to retreat about every 8 years. Setricon bait stations might kill random termites in your yard, but do not consistently kill all of them before they attack your house.

That’s what we had them do. I’m the poster who wondered if we’d been snookered.

Bait stations and treatment outside is good idea (the bait stations are really just to see if there are any termites in the ground, the treatment is what kills them), but if the swarm wasn’t more than a handful of termites inside your house, you didn’t necessarily have an imminent problem. I live in a place where termites swarm every spring, and if they’re outside, they are looking for a place to live, but the best thing you can do is make sure you don’t have a habitat that is attractive to them. They like wet ground or wood. Sometimes when they swarm, you’ll even get a handful inside, but if they’re swarming from an infestation inside your house, you’ll definitely know. It’s a good idea to keep your outdoor lights off and keep your shades drawn during swarming season (usually around Mother’s Day).

[Anonymous]

You deserve it for spraying so many pesticides.

[Anonymous]

It is very easy to confuse flying ants with termites. Ants fly around during the late spring, like around now, in order to setup new nests.

Termites are just a fact of life in the DMV because it is a swamp. Many homes have termite issues here, so it isn’t like it is uncommon. Ask for an inspection first but don’t reveal anything to the pest guy who has vested financial interest in upselling you the most expensive options possible. You can even hire independent inspectors to look for WDI activity.

[Anonymous]

Be sure to have a good company do any termite treatments. A friend’s dad tried to do it himself and it cost them thousands and thousands in repairs.

[Anonymous]

Why do you spray your house every other months?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this happen and called an exterminator and they talked us into a very pricey intervention. They said the next time we’d see them it would be too late and our house would be compromised. Were we snookered? Hard to say.

Probably. Realistically the only thing you can do is keep your home paint in good condition and replace any rotting wood.

No. You still can find a termite company, preferably small and local, which still will inject Termidor or other liquid termicide into the ground all around the perimeter of the house. That works because it kills anything that tries to enter from underground. Need to retreat about every 8 years. Setricon bait stations might kill random termites in your yard, but do not consistently kill all of them before they attack your house.

That’s what we had them do. I’m the poster who wondered if we’d been snookered.

Bait stations and treatment outside is good idea (the bait stations are really just to see if there are any termites in the ground, the treatment is what kills them), but if the swarm wasn’t more than a handful of termites inside your house, you didn’t necessarily have an imminent problem. I live in a place where termites swarm every spring, and if they’re outside, they are looking for a place to live, but the best thing you can do is make sure you don’t have a habitat that is attractive to them. They like wet ground or wood. Sometimes when they swarm, you’ll even get a handful inside, but if they’re swarming from an infestation inside your house, you’ll definitely know. It’s a good idea to keep your outdoor lights off and keep your shades drawn during swarming season (usually around Mother’s Day).

I’m the PP who wondered if we’d been snookered. It was not a handful. It was a swarm of thousands. DH caught some to show exterminator.