The termites are invading!

April 11, 2009 12:06 PM

We've called the exterminator. But it's Saturday, and the termites are pouring into one room in the house. Are there any short term methods for fighting the infestation? The professionals are coming on Monday, but what can we do before then?

We definitely have termites, and today they have started showing up in force (the kind with the wings). Is there anything we can do to stem the tide? Cat and people safe solutions welcome.

posted by dirtmonster to home & garden (19 comments total)

The only thing that's ever worked for me is to vacuum them up as they come in, using the hose attachment (this will require vacuuming every few hours or so). I've also had minor success using duct tape to tape up their entry point, but they will figure out a way around it.

Sorry you have termites - it's amazing to me how suddenly such a huge number of them show up.
posted by sickinthehead at 12:11 PM on April 11 [1 favorite]

Oh, you can also go look at the outside of your house and see if you see a mud tunnel on your foundation near the internal entry point. If you see one, break it.
posted by sickinthehead at 12:12 PM on April 11

When I had a landlord who refused to acknowledge that we had termites coming up through the floor (wonder how his real estate investment is doing now?), we vacuumed, sprayed with something toxic like roach spray and taped over the hole.
posted by Airhen at 12:22 PM on April 11

I discovered, quite accidentally, that a squirt of isopropyl alcohol kills ants almost instantly. Probably does the same to termites.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:31 PM on April 11

Thanks for the suggestions so far. We couldn't find a mud mound outside, and our house exterior is brick, so little footprints are almost impossible to track. It does look like there is a thumbnail sized hole in the mortar right outside of one definite entry point.

We have duct taped possible entry points, and are vacuuming at a furious pace. Here's a follow up question - can we set out sugar water (like for ants) and drown the little buggers? Or will that just seem like we're opening an all-you-can-eat buffet?
posted by dirtmonster at 12:35 PM on April 11

Pitcher plant
posted by kldickson at 12:41 PM on April 11

dirtmonster, have you looked for consumer versions of products that contain Termidor or Premise? These don't kill termites immediately, allowing them to track the poison back to their nests. Professionals also use termite bait, so maybe something like that would be available for consumers as well. Have you checked with your local hardware store or done any googling?
posted by alms at 12:41 PM on April 11

Headed to the hardware store as soon as we finish the vacuum assault.
posted by dirtmonster at 12:52 PM on April 11

You absolutely want to get Termidor. You could also try Sentricon but it requires more work (all explained in the first link).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:14 PM on April 11

When I was a kid in Hawaii, we used to catch the termites swarming by putting a large metal bowl of water under a lit lamp. The termites would fly toward the "light" in the bowl and drown. Works best in the evening, of course. And my mom would send me outside with a teapot of near-boiling water to pour down any mounds or holes I found.
posted by rtha at 2:33 PM on April 11

You might want to try leaving piles of boric acid where you see them coming in. It's a relatively safe alternative to poison and it kills termites.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:46 PM on April 11

I have the same kind of termite outbreak once a year.

They're attracted to water. Leave a few dishes/pans/buckets/whatever around. You'll catch a lot of them that way. (Mine tend to end up in the kitchen sink, which is gross, but easy to deal with.)

These are the dudes in the colony whose job is to go forth and procreate. That's their only purpose -- they're not going to eat anything or do any damage. They're also really short-lived. They'll be gone in a few days.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:50 PM on April 11

Can I assume you're vacuuming the "interior" termites (hose in air) up?
posted by reflecked at 4:24 PM on April 11

This sounds terrible, and is nasty, but brake parts cleaner - an aerosolized chlorine solvent - will melt the wings off a flying wasp, and I've found it a great way to kill almost any bug.
posted by notsnot at 5:38 PM on April 11

Termites have a winged migratory life stage, so the "showing up in force" of the winged termites is most likely just the infestation that you already have flying out to reproduce itself. In other words: the call is coming from inside the house!

The exterminator will deal with it.
posted by flabdablet at 5:52 PM on April 11

There were several termites coming in the back door. We duct taped that entrance closed and haven't really seen any more termites today. We will still have the exterminator over this Monday, but hopefully they will either find an outside nest or a rather minor interior issue. Thanks to everyone for their advice (we'd still like to hear about everyone's range of experiences so we have good info for when the exterminator gives us his evaluation).
posted by dirtmonster at 6:03 PM on April 11

Borax will kill ants too. Its very close to the "boric acid" idea that Marisa Stole the Precious Thing mentioned. Try it with the termites. You never know.

If you see any outside, take a propane torch to them, using common sense and extreme caution of course!
posted by Taurid at 8:12 PM on April 11

1. Go to a toy store. Buy a small squirt gun. Be sure it's the kind you have to pump. This is important because of one-way valves inside which will make things safe later.


2. Take a clothes hanger, cut off a few inches of wire, attach it to the front of the squirt gun sticking a few inches out from the nozzle, slightly below and parallel to where the stream of water would be.


3. Tape or rubber-band a birthday candle to the horizontal piece of wire sticking out. Keep the wick pointing away from the squirt gun.


4. Fill your water tank with lighter fluid. Don't use gasoline.


5. Light the birthday candle.


6. Battle the intruders heroically.

posted by floam at 10:36 PM on April 11 [3 favorites]

They are swarming right now and they are attracted to light so turn the lights out. I have to do this every year here in New Orleans.
posted by govtdrone at 6:18 PM on April 12