Subterranean Termite Control New House

[retiringinthailand]

I'm building a new house in Pakchong. Second floor accommodation wood construction on 16 concrete posts.

The land was previously farmland so the top say 500 mm will be vegetation turned in by ploughs (plows in American?) so that it is potentially termite infested. Do you think it's worth digging that (top say 500 mm) out under the house and filling with clean sand?

Is it worth testing the topsoil to see if termites exist?

Of course I will have other termite control measures. Probably that special refillable perforated pipe system in the foundation. I would like to keep this post to the subject line though, i.e. specifically to the benefits/costs of replacing the topsoil with clean material to remove the termites in the first place.

Any knowledgeable comments please?

[doglover]

I find it hard to answer your question as I am unsure what kind of house you are building. Maybe that's why there have been 300 views of your question with no answer. At first I thought it to be a wooden house on concrete stilts with a completely open 1st floor. Also I thought it a simple home because of your concern over the cost of a few trucks of sand and building in a field. A very simple home, classic Thai architecture.

When i finished reading your post you mentioned having a foundation and using a termite control system. I have not seen anyone build a simple home and also use a termite control system. And a foundation would imply that you plan on walling in the main floor. So is it a two storey home with the main floor built with concrete block walls and a timber top floor? Onto your main floors flooring. Are you pouring concrete on top of the ground with your foundation dug into the ground? Or are you building a raised foundation with an open sub-floor as most people with termite control systems do?

I ask because I would take a different approach with each scenario.

[Pib]

I wouldn't remove the soil, just have it treated. Now maybe if you removed the top 500mm of soil for hundreds of meters in all directions you would get rid of all termites currently living 500mm and up in your home's vicinity; but it wouldn't touch any termites with a nest over 500mm down. Plus, just because there might not be any termites around you home now, that don't mean they may not move in later as they do forage around. Just pre-treat the soil and install the refillable perforated pipe system in the foundation.

[sezze]

I'm not sure also . As far as i know , termites will always be there , as they travel around and create new nests . New soil won't solve it unless it's concrete . Treating the soil is the way to clean the soil in the 1st place . After that it is up to nature . There are expensive treatments around with constant injection of poison , but i do not recommend it to anyone ( do you like to live on a chemical wasteland ?) . Use good quality wood , especially if it is near ground level . Higher up , it is normally not a direct problem ( if you keep an eye on it ) . I know plenty of places infested with termites and other sort of wood eating critters , they do you higher up but ground level is the real danger .

[canopy]

A trend in other countries is to use no poisons whatsoever. Instead an impenetrable screen is laid below the slab. Termimesh is one such company that has a presence in Thailand. If there are other sources I would be interested in that too.