wood termites

[beau thai]

Just been throwing away food. Sealed pasta,oats etc. The oats had not been opened, came packed in heavy plasticised paper with an outer of sealed shrink wrap from the shop. We could see the termites between the outer and inner, and thinking the sealed inner would be ok, opened them. Yep, crawling with them.

And this on the 12th floor of a city condo. We think they came in with a new kitchen a few months back and obviously we are keen to eliminate them before they eat all of our wood.....

We have wooden floors and other wooden furniture!

The gf says you can buy a clear 'paint' to coat wood surfaces and I guess we can spray everywhere but once they are here, I think they are very hard to eliminate.

I know others have had this problem and would welcome solutions they have found effective.

Many thanks

Photo looks dramatic but they are only about the size of a small ant.

[CMKiwi]

Hey that looks more like a weevil than a termite.... Im just gonna check out google as Im sure termites look a lot different. Weevils can ijust about infest any grain including oats even through plastic.

If they are just weevils then easy to get rid of them. Just dispose of the infected food source...job done. (No food means no shit, no shit you die)

Yep just as I thought....look up rice weevil on google. Same little beastie.

Edited November 17, 2013 by CMKiwi

[beau thai]

Hey that looks more like a weevil than a termite.... Im just gonna check out google as Im sure termites look a lot different. Weevils can ijust about infest any grain including oats even through plastic.

If they are just weevils then easy to get rid of them. Just dispose of the infected food source...job done. (No food means no shit, no shit you die)

Yep just as I thought....look up rice weevil on google. Same little beastie.

I'll check that out -thanks. I had checked out wood termites on google images and they look same same-as they say!

[beau thai]

Hey that looks more like a weevil than a termite.... Im just gonna check out google as Im sure termites look a lot different. Weevils can ijust about infest any grain including oats even through plastic.

If they are just weevils then easy to get rid of them. Just dispose of the infected food source...job done. (No food means no shit, no shit you die)

Yep just as I thought....look up rice weevil on google. Same little beastie.

I'll check that out -thanks. I had checked out wood termites on google images and they look same same-as they say!

I think you are spot on Kiwi. The photos look a better match. Maybe the other photo was same same only different.! 5555

But rice weevils live 2 years and lay up to 300 eggs but much easier to fix than wood termites. Maybe they have come from Yingluck's rice subsidy mountain-I bet there are a few million in there huh?

[mimithewoof]

Chaindrite - first the liquid, then chaindrite varnish wherever applicable!

They invaded my outside kitchen some three years ago as well as a large wardrobe in my bedroom, snacking on towels, a swimsuit, cosmetic bags etc in my vanitory unit's cupboard along the way. The kitchen rebuild included removing the seriously-chewed up sections, replacing and smothering the rest with chaindrite. The wardrobe was replaced, and the bathroom smelt of chaindrite for months! Eeeuuch.

Since then, not one single termite has dared enter - the supposedly hardwood sala, of course, was another story - now mostly replaced with stained woodgrain shira board - let them try and break their teeth on that!

If you're at all sensitive to chemicals, wear a mask - chaindrite's nasty for some, me included. Chipboard furniture's at risk, hardwood usually isn't. Last tip - watch out for termite trails along your floor, they resemble tiny, lines of hard sand grains. Scrape off and apply more chaindrite on and around.

They swarm during the first rains of the season, around April, and this forum some while ago provided a sensible solution to prevent an invasion in the house - place a large pan of water under a bright light and watch them fighting to drown. Clear out the mess the next morning and repeat for around two weeks every time it rains. Me, I just switch the swimming pool light on, close all my doors and windows and watch the thousands die with a big smile on my face...

Best of luck!

[CMKiwi]

Yup, and these little buggers can burrow through plastic bags too. They can even get into those foil lined dry soup packets. As you probably read there are 2 main ways of killing them. Either by freezing for more than 2 days or boiling them for 15 minutes.

Personally I just throw the infected food source out. Never too keen on eating rice with dead creatures inside the grains! Mind you I have eaten some other strange foods in the Asian region....snake, scorpions, smoked monkey and blue eggs to name a few.

Funny how those dont bother me. WEIRD!

[beau thai]

Chaindrite - first the liquid, then chaindrite varnish wherever applicable!

They invaded my outside kitchen some three years ago as well as a large wardrobe in my bedroom, snacking on towels, a swimsuit, cosmetic bags etc in my vanitory unit's cupboard along the way. The kitchen rebuild included removing the seriously-chewed up sections, replacing and smothering the rest with chaindrite. The wardrobe was replaced, and the bathroom smelt of chaindrite for months! Eeeuuch.

Since then, not one single termite has dared enter - the supposedly hardwood sala, of course, was another story - now mostly replaced with stained woodgrain shira board - let them try and break their teeth on that!

If you're at all sensitive to chemicals, wear a mask - chaindrite's nasty for some, me included. Chipboard furniture's at risk, hardwood usually isn't. Last tip - watch out for termite trails along your floor, they resemble tiny, lines of hard sand grains. Scrape off and apply more chaindrite on and around.

They swarm during the first rains of the season, around April, and this forum some while ago provided a sensible solution to prevent an invasion in the house - place a large pan of water under a bright light and watch them fighting to drown. Clear out the mess the next morning and repeat for around two weeks every time it rains. Me, I just switch the swimming pool light on, close all my doors and windows and watch the thousands die with a big smile on my face...

Best of luck!

A lot of very good info here which I know will be helpful to others-and I will watch for those trails

[masuk]

If/when I get weevils/ants into things I don't want them in, I put them inside the container, out in the mid-day sun, lid just open enough for an exit, It soon warms up inside and they depart rapidly.

[Greenside]

Here's a useful link to information on all sorts of pest problems.

[PeterSmiles]

Those weevil's probably came with the oats, I have had them several times in Hahne whole wheat oats. Any chance we're talking about the same product ?

An added free source of protein

[beau thai]

Those weevil's probably came with the oats, I have had them several times in Hahne whole wheat oats. Any chance we're talking about the same product ?

An added free source of protein

Thrown them out but I think they were Hahne. Green pack?

I'll pass on the protein thanks, but when I went to buy new loose rice today, I could see weevils crawling in it so I probably get that protein unknowingly every time I eat rice. Good thing I am not vegetarian any more...

[daoyai]

I store most every grain based thing in my freezer.

[xylophone]

Those weevil's probably came with the oats, I have had them several times in Hahne whole wheat oats. Any chance we're talking about the same product ?

An added free source of protein

Yes and can also get into pasta through the plastic.

Best check everything in your cupboard by taking the items out, give it a good clean anyway, then inspect the items one by one when putting them back (only suspect packages). Have found them in many cereals, pasta, sauce mixes and even Bisto gravey granules!

Had to eat them in Nigeria, way back at the end of the Biafran war cos food was scarce and they were in almost everything!! Not crawling around on all fours yet!

[ThaiFelix]

Ok my experience of the subject...they are weevils. For many years I had a fishing tackle shop in Oz. In Oz we use berley when fishing for some species. Berley is a mixture of pollard (a waste product from wheat), fish oil, and water used to attract fish. Some may call it 'ground-bait' or 'chum'. Quite often the weevils would show up in the plastic bags, and be not to presentable to some customers (although the fish probably enjoyed them!) so I complained to the supplier. His explanation was that the weevil eggs were so small they were virtually undetectable and also passed through the sifting/screening process in the milling of wheat into flour. The eggs after a few weeks, particularly in warm weather, would hatch in the bags and feed on the pollard getting bigger. This of course seemed very true as I had never ever seen a sign of them when acquiring fresh stocks. The supplier basically stated there was nothing they could do about it especially with the low cost as only for bait...it was either pollard with weevils or no pollard. So from what I have heard they dont actually penetrate the plastic, they are there from the beginning but in egg form.

[beau thai]

Ok my experience of the subject...they are weevils. For many years I had a fishing tackle shop in Oz. In Oz we use berley when fishing for some species. Berley is a mixture of pollard (a waste product from wheat), fish oil, and water used to attract fish. Some may call it 'ground-bait' or 'chum'. Quite often the weevils would show up in the plastic bags, and be not to presentable to some customers (although the fish probably enjoyed them!) so I complained to the supplier. His explanation was that the weevil eggs were so small they were virtually undetectable and also passed through the sifting/screening process in the milling of wheat into flour. The eggs after a few weeks, particularly in warm weather, would hatch in the bags and feed on the pollard getting bigger. This of course seemed very true as I had never ever seen a sign of them when acquiring fresh stocks. The supplier basically stated there was nothing they could do about it especially with the low cost as only for bait...it was either pollard with weevils or no pollard. So from what I have heard they dont actually penetrate the plastic, they are there from the beginning but in egg form.

Either we were very unlucky and the eggs were present in 3 different kinds of pasta, and rice, and oats or they penetrate plastic. You choose.