Termites?
Tenants came to me and said there were termites in their bathroom this morning. A bunch of the little buggers. Had the building a little over a year now, never had a problem before. Is this something I should try and fix myself first with appropriate chemicals or given the potential downside, just get an…
Tenants came to me and said there were termites in their bathroom this morning. A bunch of the little buggers. Had the building a little over a year now, never had a problem before. Is this something I should try and fix myself first with appropriate chemicals or given the potential downside, just get an exterminator in to nuke the place? They were in the bathroom extension, outside corner furthest away from the house proper . . . if that makes any difference. Any advice greatly appreciated!
John
Call a professional to take a look. They might be termites, but they might also be carpenter ants, and this is the time of year they emerge. The ants have a very short life span so they don’t last very long. It’s best to be sure what you’re dealing with at the outset.
Call Peter Scala at Parkway http://www.parkwaybugs.com
He’s an entomologist and a very nice guy.
He did a termite inspection for us last year that ran us $70.
Thanks everyone! Sound advice.
John
Get a few on a piece of sticky tape and go online
to find out what you’ve got: http://www.betterpestcontrol.com/termite.html
Once you know what you really have, you can make a smart decision on what to do next.
I had some swarms last year. They were ants not termites. Make sure you get a sample. Calling the exterminator is always a good idea, BUT some companies will try to sell you something you don’t need by the fear of termites. Once you sign the contract it is tricky to get out of it. Get a sample, research it and see what the exterminator says. It is pretty easy to tell the difference between the termite and the ant. I the swarms a couple of days and then they disappeared. I am guessing they will be back tomorrow. Also they seemed to get even though I had brand new window screens.
It’s swarming season. Call the exterminator. Don’t mess around trying to save money where termites are concerned.
I have used Liberty Pest Control several times (at different locations) and have referred them on numerous occasions. They are not the typical franchise guys and are a local Brooklyn company. The termite jobs are done by termite specialist who have used different treatment methods on my houses, all of which were solutions to my termite issues. The manager I have dealt with was named Joe H.??? I think and the office number is 718-837-9030.
If you see thousands of winged insects together at the same time I would say you have a swarm of termites. Get a vacume cleaner and suck them all up ASAP and call a termite guy right away. This is the season for those suckers so you best get on this now.
You need an exterminator to come in right away – sombody who deals with termites. You can probably help if you can catch one of these and put it in a jar or baggie for an exterminator to tell what he is dealing with. It may just be flying ants but you don’t want to take a chance.