Our shed has termite damage

[packleader]

Our shed has termite damage. But termite companies want to fumigate the house and don't want to bother with just a shed. Any advice?

 

[Chet]

Tear it down and get a metal one. Better yet, burn it down.

 

[againstthegrain]

Remove the damaged trim and examine the siding for more damage. Also look at the wood frame in the interior for activity. From the one picture it doesn't look like the termites penetrated the siding. After determining the extent of the infestation you might go on to fog the interior and/or use an insecticidal spray if necessary.

That is a fairly expensive shed to replace and based on the one picture I don't suspect that it's a huge problem or expense to replace the trim that is damaged and end the infestation. Just use caution w insecticides and use the proper gloves and masks.

 

[win231]

I do have advice. I treated my large house for termites 10 years ago. I learned quite a bit while researching companies.
They will only recommend the services they sell. If they only use tents & fumigate (which is nerve gas), they will badmouth any other methods & tell you they are not effective. And, before you sign the contract, you will also sign a waiver that says they are NOT responsible for any damage to your roof from the heavy tarp. Using non-toxic methods costs the company money to train employees in their use.
I didn't want to tent my house & move out when there are safer, non toxic methods that work even better. I went with a company that uses Orange Oil AND tenting & fumigation, so he was honest about the effectiveness of both. He said there was a difference - Fumigation only gets on the outside of the wood. Orange Oil is injected into tiny holes & spreads out inside the wood, killing more & lasting much longer.

I know that's true because several years after the Orange Oil treatment, one wall & a stairway had to be completely torn down to repair water and termite damage. After the wall was demolished & the damaged wood was exposed I looked at it very closely with a high-powered flashlight to see if there was any sign of life - termites. Absolutely NOTHING alive, & that was many years PAST the warranty period.

The "downside" of Orange Oil? Your house will smell like orange peel for a week or two. Some people get some temporary throat irritation from it. The stuff they inject into the wood is very concentrated. You don't have to leave your house; you only have to stay out of the rooms while they're being treated.
After the work was done, I vacuumed the entire house, picking up every single termite dropping (looks like piles of sawdust). Then I carefully watched for any more showing up. None ever since & no additional treatment.

 

[kburra]

Maybe to be on the safe side the exterminator may suspect a subterranean infestation in the house, a good idea for you to see if you find mud shelter tubes traveling up the outside foundation wall, inner foundation wall, up support piers, or plumbing under the house, or similar situations, they are easy to see,(See pic)

 

[Alligatorob]

@Chet may be right... depends on what the shed is worth to you.

If it has sufficient salvage value maybe you could jack it up and put some concrete pile with termite blocks to keep them out. Termites need that connection to soil, but it could be a tube, like @kburra showed.

My experience with termites comes from Florida, I always had good luck with the traps placed around the house. Something like these: https://www.terminix.com/termite-control/termite-traps/ You can do it yourself, but I always preferred having it done by a professional. I had termites in a couple of places I bought, never tented one just went with the traps and the termites disappeared pretty quickly.

In the part of Florida where I lived there were termites everywhere, so without some kind of isolation or treatment you always get termites. I could throw a 2x4 out in the yard, anywhere, and it would be gone in less than a year, eaten by termites. However you might have different species in California.

Win is right about termite companies:

They will only recommend the services they sell.

Don't just take the recommendation for tenting, or anything else from the termite company selling it. Also beware the termite guarantees, most are pretty worthless.

 

[win231]

@Chet may be right... depends on what the shed is worth to you.

If it has sufficient salvage value maybe you could jack it up and put some concrete pile with termite blocks to keep them out. Termites need that connection to soil, but it could be a tube, like @kburra showed.

My experience with termites comes from Florida, I always had good luck with the traps placed around the house. Something like these: https://www.terminix.com/termite-control/termite-traps/ You can do it yourself, but I always preferred having it done by a professional. I had termites in a couple of places I bought, never tented one just went with the traps and the termites disappeared pretty quickly.

In the part of Florida where I lived there were termites everywhere, so without some kind of isolation or treatment you always get termites. I could throw a 2x4 out in the yard, anywhere, and it would be gone in less than a year, eaten by termites. However you might have different species in California.

Win is right about termite companies:

Don't just take the recommendation for tenting, or anything else from the termite company selling it. Also beware the termite guarantees, most are pretty worthless.

Well, the company I used (Chem Free) also had a guarantee. Work was done in 4/2016 & still no termites.

 

[Alligatorob]

Well, the company I used (Chem Free) also had a guarantee.

The problem with many of the guarantees if you read the fine print is that most don't cover much if any termite damage. It is often limited to damage from ongoing infestations as evidenced by live termites, and you can't often find the live termites. Some just pay for retreatment, not the damage. And to remain in force many require ongoing treatment, at a cost.

I know a few people who have tried to collect on these termite company guarantees, nobody got much...

Glad yours worked out.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Tear it down and get a metal one. Better yet, burn it down.

Absolutely! Why bring in needless poisonous substances that could negatively affect you. It’s best to tear it down or if it’s safe and far enough away, burn it down, is a much better option. Burning it down would kill the mites & their eggs.

 

[Alligatorob]

if it’s safe and far enough away, burn it down, is a much better option. Burning it down would kill the mites & their eggs.

And a lot more fun, but be sure it's legal, or you might get an unwelcome visit from the local fire department or worse.

Why bring in needless poisonous substances that could negatively affect you.

That is an advantage to the traps, much less insecticide in much more controlled locations. Less potential for human exposure.

You know for better or worse much of our termite problem today is the result of outlawing chlordane, a very effective and long lived termiticide, the best ever found. Unfortunately it is too persistent for comfort and probably a human toxin, not so bad as it is to termites though.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

And a lot more fun, but be sure it's legal, or you might get an unwelcome visit from the local fire department or worse.

That is an advantage to the traps, much less insecticide in much more controlled locations. Less potential for human exposure.

You know for better or worse much of our termite problem today is the result of outlawing chlordane, a very effective and long lived termiticide, the best ever found. Unfortunately it is too persistent for comfort and probably a human toxin, not so bad as it is to termites though.

Lol! Yes ! Make sure it’s legal. It might even be beneficial to let your local fire department know when you’ll be doing this in case any distant neighbours see the fire and call 911.
You could actually be fined otherwise.

I can’t comment on the chordane except to say that any word that starts with chlor is a possible derivative of chloroform which is lethal to humans as well as termites. It’s cancer causing and depletes the immune system which is probably why it was banned.

lol. That was a lot of ‘not commenting.’

 

[Lethe200]

I would be VERY surprised if it were legal to burn down your shed. Not just air pollution but also the risk of embers being blown around that would start a fire. In CA the wildfire season is now year-round.