Termites

[Klong Song]

Every few years we get termites swarming after sundown. When this happens we always end up with fifty to a hundred in the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. They just seem to appear out of nowhere. At first I thought they may be coming up through the drains but have now found that they come from the downlighting. They come in even before the lights are turned on. When it happened a couple of nights ago I went up into the attic space to see what I could see. Nothing noticeable at first but when I started looking under the fiberglass insulation I did see a couple. There is supposed to be screening covering all the space where the roof overhangs but I was unable to inspect it all.  Obviously there must be an opening somewhere. So after all that rambling here is my question. Is it possible that they could establish a colony in that space?  There doesn’t seem to be any thing for them to feed on.  There is just roof tile, cement, fiberglass insulation and sheet rock up there.  Might it be possible that they are eating the paper backing off the sheet rock somewhere under the insulation?  What are the usual methods of extermination used in Thailand in case things get out of hand in the future?  I’ve never seen a house tented here.

[lopburi3]

They can eat through cement - very nasty things.  Is there any wood in your home (used to use for floor support and roofbeams as well as doorways and decretive).  Have only seen/had spray treatment (and drill holes in ground floor to get under house).  This is the normal pest control function here as they can make sawdust of wood very quickly.  And if you find a nest do not put your hand in it!!!  Our treatment man quite to become a monk due to his previous life of killing of termites, so that is another factor.  

 

 

[Moonlover]

There are extermination companies, Rentokil, or similar all over the country. We had them throughout our old village house and during renovation work we had the whole house treated.

 

We've not seen a single ant or termite since then that includes the swarming that you mentioned. It cost 5,000 THB if I remember correctly.

[KarenBravo]

7 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

They can eat through cement - very nasty things.  Is there any wood in your home (used to use for floor support and roofbeams as well as doorways and decretive).  Have only seen/had spray treatment (and drill holes in ground floor to get under house).  This is the normal pest control function here as they can make sawdust of wood very quickly.  And if you find a nest do not put your hand in it!!!  Our treatment man quite to become a monk due to his previous life of killing of termites, so that is another factor.  

 

 

 

No they can't.

 

https://www.greenleafpestcontrol.com/2015/12/can-termites-eat-their-way-through-your-concrete-foundation/

 

https://www.orkin.com/ask-the-orkin-man/can-termites-eat-through-concrete#:~:text=ANSWER%3A Termites cannot eat through,shrink from around the pipes.

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

No they can't.

These are Thai termites - not farang.  ????  They may not digest it but they destroy it and work there way through it.  We first found in cement under bathroom where they had destroyed enough to cause leakage and they were using cement powder for housing.

 

[KarenBravo]

14 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

These are Thai termites - not farang.  ????  They may not digest it but they destroy it and work there way through it.  We first found in cement under bathroom where they had destroyed enough to cause leakage and they were using cement powder for housing.

 

 

Your video proves nothing. Termites cannot go through solid concrete.

If it's crumbling, or has micro-cracks, that's how they get in, or up through rusty rebar.

I would rather believe professional extermination companies on what they say, and they say the same as above.

 

You want to believe that they can chew through concrete, then have at it.

Just remember that concrete is far, far harder than a termite's jaws.

 

https://www.pctonline.com/article/another-myth-debunked--concrete-eating-termites/

 

https://www.cap-it-allbuildinginspections.com.au/termites-eating-concrete-is-this-possible/

Edited January 31, 2021 by KarenBravo

[sometimewoodworker]

21 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

Termites cannot go through solid concrete.

Correct, but please show me any concrete in Thailand that doesn’t have micro cracks.

[tifino]

5 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Correct, but please show me any concrete in Thailand that doesn’t have micro cracks.

 and having those cracks between the bricks

    = a mortar'lly wounded house 

[HighPriority]

OP When you say “termites swarming” you mean the ones with wings ?

The ones with wings are new queens looking for love and a new life. 
I am not in Thailand and honestly know nothing about your local termites, my local termites in Darwin Australia, Mastotermes Darwinis are nasty voracious bastards !

Still can’t eat concrete though... but yeah cracked concrete can provide an entrance for them. 

Anyway, the queens to be are attracted by light, usually the best defense is to have lights out or curtains drawn and an external light somewhere. 

[Klong Song]

Yes, I have lights on the fence and in the garden. I see many termites around them when they are active but few around the house and the lights are off upstairs when they enter.  That has me puzzled.  If things get worse I will look into an exterminator. 

[tifino]

i heard years back that installing some UV floodlights (the higher intesity the better) can decimate termites... 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, tifino said:

i heard years back that installing some UV floodlights (the higher intesity the better) can decimate termites... 

you need to be extremely careful about UV light. If the light is UV C you should never be in the same area when the light is on. UV C is probably the kind that effects insects.
 

FWIW I have and use UV C to  help sterilise the workshop.

[arkom]

7 hours ago, Klong Song said:

Every few years we get termites swarming after sundown. When this happens we always end up with fifty to a hundred in the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. They just seem to appear out of nowhere. At first I thought they may be coming up through the drains but have now found that they come from the downlighting. They come in even before the lights are turned on. When it happened a couple of nights ago I went up into the attic space to see what I could see. Nothing noticeable at first but when I started looking under the fiberglass insulation I did see a couple. There is supposed to be screening covering all the space where the roof overhangs but I was unable to inspect it all.  Obviously there must be an opening somewhere. So after all that rambling here is my question. Is it possible that they could establish a colony in that space?  There doesn’t seem to be any thing for them to feed on.  There is just roof tile, cement, fiberglass insulation and sheet rock up there.  Might it be possible that they are eating the paper backing off the sheet rock somewhere under the insulation?  What are the usual methods of extermination used in Thailand in case things get out of hand in the future?  I’ve never seen a house tented here.

 

We have the same problem, they appeared couple days ago and also saw them coming from the ceiling and downlighting on the 2nd floor of the house.  Looked outside and saw the insect screen that over hangs our roof had holes in a couple places, I figure that is how they are getting in as I rarely see any downstairs.  Will be getting it patched and inspected in a few days so hopefully it helps.

 

I asked our extermination company and they said unfortunately there's not much we can do expect try to make our house as dark as possible when they arrive.  Was told chances of a colony is very slim because they only live for a couple hours and outside the time they arrive I have never seen one in our house.

[soi3eddie]

 

Can't they be fried and eaten for their protein content?

 

[soi3eddie]

 

A friend has a house up in rural Buriram. The house was only a few years old but termites were eating the paper off the sheetrock in the ceilings. They were also eating the wood and flooring. A company was hired to come and drill holes in the tiled floor to inject chemicals to kill and stop further infestations. It seemed very effective and solved the problem. Around same time another friend was having a new house built in Cha-Am. A decent project with all things considered. It even had injection pipe points to feed sprinklers under the raised concrete to treat termites annually. I found it quite incredible that the developer had installed that as standard. Such is the problem with termites here.

 

[grin]

Yes, termites can certainly eat the paper backing off of the sheetrock (drywall or gypsum to those not familiar with this term). We had this problem once but only on one bathroom ceiling. Our exterminators at the time checked all of the ceilings by removing light fixtures and feeling around the openings by hand. They took pictures and pretty much all of the paper backing had been eaten on this ceiling. We have to ask our current exterminators to check the ceilings and they charge extra. We have them check once a year.

[sometimewoodworker]

7 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

Can't they be fried and eaten for their protein content?

 

No, but SWMBO has lights over our pool so the fish can have a night feast before becoming a night feast.

[surfinglife]

Rentokil company. About 15-20k. Very effective.

[topt]

7 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

It even had injection pipe points to feed sprinklers under the raised concrete to treat termites annually. I found it quite incredible that the developer had installed that as standard.

As far as I know all the houses in our village have this - and construction was around 2006/2008

[sandyf]

13 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

 

Your video proves nothing. Termites cannot go through solid concrete.

If it's crumbling, or has micro-cracks, that's how they get in, or up through rusty rebar.

I would rather believe professional extermination companies on what they say, and they say the same as above.

 

You want to believe that they can chew through concrete, then have at it.

Just remember that concrete is far, far harder than a termite's jaws.

 

https://www.pctonline.com/article/another-myth-debunked--concrete-eating-termites/

 

https://www.cap-it-allbuildinginspections.com.au/termites-eating-concrete-is-this-possible/

You can say what you want but it does not mean there is not a potential problem.

My house has a concrete floor and before it was poured the builder laid a pattern of blue pipe all around the floor area. I was a bit puzzled as the pipe had only one end which came out outside the building, so I got my wife to ask what it was for, and he said termite protection. Apparently the pipe was filled with a chemical and if the termites got into the floor they would eat into the pipe and the chemical would kill them off.

It is all about reality than theory.

Edited February 1, 2021 by sandyf

[KarenBravo]

10 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You can say what you want but it does not mean there is not a potential problem.

My house has a concrete floor and before it was poured the builder laid a pattern of blue pipe all around the floor area. I was a bit puzzled as the pipe had only one end which came out outside the building, so I got my wife to ask what it was for, and he said termite protection. Apparently the pipe was filled with a chemical and if the termites got into the floor they would eat into the pipe and the chemical would kill them off.

It is all about reality than theory.

 

This does not change the only fact I was disputing; that termites cannot eat through concrete. That's not theory, that's reality.

[tomazbodner]

A few days ago, about 6.15 pm I was looking out the balcony window when a scene from apocalyptic movie appeared... tens of thousands were raising up in the air. Noticed a few that somehow made it into the room through closed windows... and didn't live long after being spotted. Had bathroom and kitchen fans running full blast to discourage them from entering through air ducts. But surely the scene was... interesting to see... on TV, but not very pleasant in real life.

 

Then again... This is Thailand, so...

 

https://www.thailandunique.com/edible-insects-bugs/edible-flying-termites

 

And in case you wondered, here's a review:

 

 

Another review said it's awesome with nuts and cold beer.

 

Ah, the "food of the future", Thailand is light years ahead of the rest!

 

If you can't beat them, eat them!

Edited February 1, 2021 by tomazbodner
added reviews

[Fat is a type of crazy]

I can give you my findings after a termite problem I had in Australia. Not sure if it is totally relevant to your situation if they are getting inside through the air.

In Australia there are 2 main treatments.

One is to put the poison down around the property to make a barrier. Sometimes this can be less effective on hills and depending on the property. Then they use say termite termidust to kill the termites in the house and that takes a few weeks.  You don't want to simply  spray them if there are a lot as they will spread elsewhere. The negative of this is that it is more expensive and it doesn't kill off the nest if you don't know where it is. 

 

The second is to set up termite stations around the house filled with wood termites love and you check them every month or two. They will go to these on the way to your house. If they are there you put some stuff, one brand is termigold, in the station and they eat it and take it back to the nest and it eventually kills the nest. Termites in the house are fed the termigold and over a  few weeks they take it back to the nest. This is cheaper and kills the nest but you have to make regular checks of the termite station.

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Fat is a type of crazy

[HighPriority]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

You can say what you want but it does not mean there is not a potential problem.

My house has a concrete floor and before it was poured the builder laid a pattern of blue pipe all around the floor area. I was a bit puzzled as the pipe had only one end which came out outside the building, so I got my wife to ask what it was for, and he said termite protection. Apparently the pipe was filled with a chemical and if the termites got into the floor they would eat into the pipe and the chemical would kill them off.

It is all about reality than theory.

The pipe has holes and the pipe needs to be “topped up” periodically... 1-5 years usually. 
the poison soaks the ground under the slab and this provides a “barrier” to the subterranean termites. 

[ChrisKC]

20 hours ago, Klong Song said:

Every few years we get termites swarming after sundown. When this happens we always end up with fifty to a hundred in the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. They just seem to appear out of nowhere. At first I thought they may be coming up through the drains but have now found that they come from the downlighting. They come in even before the lights are turned on. When it happened a couple of nights ago I went up into the attic space to see what I could see. Nothing noticeable at first but when I started looking under the fiberglass insulation I did see a couple. There is supposed to be screening covering all the space where the roof overhangs but I was unable to inspect it all.  Obviously there must be an opening somewhere. So after all that rambling here is my question. Is it possible that they could establish a colony in that space?  There doesn’t seem to be any thing for them to feed on.  There is just roof tile, cement, fiberglass insulation and sheet rock up there.  Might it be possible that they are eating the paper backing off the sheet rock somewhere under the insulation?  What are the usual methods of extermination used in Thailand in case things get out of hand in the future?  I’ve never seen a house tented here.

 

12 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

A friend has a house up in rural Buriram. The house was only a few years old but termites were eating the paper off the sheetrock in the ceilings. They were also eating the wood and flooring. A company was hired to come and drill holes in the tiled floor to inject chemicals to kill and stop further infestations. It seemed very effective and solved the problem. Around same time another friend was having a new house built in Cha-Am. A decent project with all things considered. It even had injection pipe points to feed sprinklers under the raised concrete to treat termites annually. I found it quite incredible that the developer had installed that as standard. Such is the problem with termites here.

 

Move, and don't tell them where you are going!

[tifino]

12 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

Can't they be fried and eaten for their protein content?

 

... maybe if one converts the whole house shell into an charcoal oven

[chilly07]

We are sprayed monthly for termites cockroaches ants etc. Getting some swarming now but a bright light and gheckos solves that problem although greedy gheckos get fat and fall down.

[khunPer]

Yes, flying termites are like suddenly appearing out of nowhere and comes, if not in millions, then in thousands, for a few days, during about a week or two, in a year. The frogs and toads are normally happy, our's sit under a lamp with open mouth and just let food fly in...????????

 

We use to just keep doors closed from the early evening when termites fly, about midnight it's over; however, I cannot say if our local termites behaves different than termites in other parts of the country...

 

 

For those fearing concrete-eating termites, or just inhabiting through cracks, and if not yet build a house, then invest a few thousand baht in gas-pipes under the foundation, if your home is not on posts – it was about 7,000 baht for my house 10-years ago, so probably around 10,000 baht now – you can have various kind of exciting creatures living under the foundation professionally elliminated for around 5,000 baht a pesticide spray...

 

Pesticide gas tube installation...

 

External cap (when house is finished) for gas/pesticide spray...

[khunPer]

9 minutes ago, chilly07 said:

...although greedy gheckos get fat and fall down.

Many thanks for explanation... now I know why some times during the year, my house is full of fat inactive geckos sitting on the floor, instead of slim hungry ones high up on walls and on the ceiling...????

[placnx]

20 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

They can eat through cement - very nasty things.  Is there any wood in your home (used to use for floor support and roofbeams as well as doorways and decretive).  Have only seen/had spray treatment (and drill holes in ground floor to get under house).  This is the normal pest control function here as they can make sawdust of wood very quickly.  And if you find a nest do not put your hand in it!!!  Our treatment man quite to become a monk due to his previous life of killing of termites, so that is another factor.  

 

 

The came through the cement slab on ground floor and ate a huge hole in my wool carpet, so yes, they can get through cement. In another room, somehow they came through a cement wall, perhaps via an electrical pipe, and ate 30 large format books. They seem to prefer glossy paper! They also nibbled the paper frames of slides.