Be Careful What You Store Things In - Cardboard Boxes.

[Generalchaos]

Got a bit of a surprise today, I usually keep the packaging for my more valuable bits and pieces - Flatscreen TV Boxes, PC Components etc. as they are usually sturdy and well....one day may come in handy for something. In 15 years they really have come in handy for nothing other than storing more junk.

Anyway, I had to clear some boxes out of one of my spare rooms to make way for some new computer kit.

Jesus, when I went to lift the boxes they just turned to soil and dust - completely over run with BLUAK - Termites, the buggers were in their thousands.

Seems like they have only eaten the boxes and not the wood floor, they are in the crevices between the floorboards.

I have soaked them in ARS spray which seems to kill them, but I don't think it eradicates them completely - Got to buy some Chaindrite tomorrow.

Be careful what you leave on the floor if you have any wood around, I expect it is going to be a difficult task to rid the place of these buggers. Especially when the bloody Thai wife is putting on lights when it rains to catch the Meng Mao - which are basically flying termites, that pile up during mating season by the ton!

[BEVUP]

Yep have the same problem

Told wife to always get rid of the boxes straight away

& after 2 yrs or so (from new baan) she thought it was a good idea to keep the young lads new shoes in the box against the skirting board on the 2nd step to top floor

The above mentioned happened after having the place sprayed every year

they only do the pipes leading to under the floor once a year & around the baan another 2 times

So completely useless as we still have Termites

I even put bates in the ground every 4 mtrs around the house

My thought is to put another box in the position & put termite powder in it as they will not resist a box

[Thian]

They can easy eat your ceiling rocksheets, staircase, laminate, furniture, doors and so on. Make sure you get rid of them totally.

They especially like abandoned houses which are quiet.

Do you guys also spray the chemicals under fruittree's in the garden? I wonder if that's smart to do or not. Last time they sprayed our garden against termites the lizzard came to drink the drops of the lawn

[noise]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

[evadgib]

My wife was bitten on the neck @ midnight by a 6" centipede that had earlier been evicted from the box housing our artificial Xmas tree. We now use PLASTIC for everything, with a liberal dose of mothballs.

HTH

Edited May 24, 2016 by evadgib

[pgrahmm]

Part 2 question.....Due mostly to dwindling cardboard boxes we've started using the big plastic boxes with snap handle lids & rollers....I prefer the two hinged lid top type you see being unpacked during store deliveries but I have not found any to buy....

MOISTURE is a problem here.....What I'm wondering is is I got some rock salt and put it in an old sock or small cloth bag would it work against moisture like the small bags of silica found in vitamin bottles & such....

We've got some clothes an stuff the wife wants to store & would hate to have a moisture/mildew problem.....

One of the good things about cardboard is it can "breathe"....If cardboard is no good then all things need to be considered during the search for storage alternatives.....

Edited May 24, 2016 by pgrahmm

[Taffyfromflint]

They can easy eat your ceiling rocksheets, staircase, laminate, furniture, doors and so on. Make sure you get rid of them totally.

They especially like abandoned houses which are quiet.

Do you guys also spray the chemicals under fruittree's in the garden? I wonder if that's smart to do or not. Last time they sprayed our garden against termites the lizzard came to drink the drops of the lawn

Same problem here. Saw tell tales on the bottom riser of a laminated clad staicase. Striipen the risers and tread and the buggers were there in the thousane. The pest man came out and informed us that the pipes under the house rarely work propery. House only three years old. Long story short the pest company owner came and confirmed that the problem was the storeroom under the stairs, exterior access. Wif uses it to store her sons boxes of sh#t. Piping funtioning ok so driling the store floor and swamping then replaceing the damaged laminate which only goes up two treads. lucky this time. Borax is a sure killer if you can buy it in TL.

[mike324]

Believe it or not, many older condos in Bangkok have termite infestation too!

[MediaWatcher]

Yep have the same problem

Told wife to always get rid of the boxes straight away

& after 2 yrs or so (from new baan) she thought it was a good idea to keep the young lads new shoes in the box against the skirting board on the 2nd step to top floor

The above mentioned happened after having the place sprayed every year

they only do the pipes leading to under the floor once a year & around the baan another 2 times

So completely useless as we still have Termites

I even put bates in the ground every 4 mtrs around the house

My thought is to put another box in the position & put termite powder in it as they will not resist a box

Well gents, cardboard is made from wood, so termites love it.

[OccamsRazor]

MOISTURE is a problem here.....What I'm wondering is is I got some rock salt and put it in an old sock or small cloth bag would it work against moisture like the small bags of silica found in vitamin bottles & such....

You can get silica in quantities, possibly camera stores. Or look around at cat litter, some will be 100% silica.

[bazza40]

MOISTURE is a problem here.....What I'm wondering is is I got some rock salt and put it in an old sock or small cloth bag would it work against moisture like the small bags of silica found in vitamin bottles & such....

You can get silica in quantities, possibly camera stores. Or look around at cat litter, some will be 100% silica.

Not much point in getting silica gel for drying if you don't know how much water it has absorbed. The small sachets are for once only use.

Silica gel infused with a cobalt salt will be blue in good condition, and pink when exhausted. It can be regenerated by heating in a low oven, then turning the oven off and allowing it to get back to room temperature while still in the oven. Silica gel is sold by chemical supply houses.

No, rock salt won't work - not hygroscopic. The cat litter may, but you won't know when it's exhausted.

Edited May 24, 2016 by bazza40

[DrDave]

<snip>

MOISTURE is a problem here.....What I'm wondering is is I got some rock salt and put it in an old sock or small cloth bag would it work against moisture like the small bags of silica found in vitamin bottles & such....

<snip>

I was having a problem with tools kept in a cabinet inside the house rusting due to high humidity.

The solution that works for me is to toss a few pieces of chalk in the plastic container with the tools. Haven't had any rust since doing this.

[Thian]

We do have termites in the garden, they eat the pruned branches of the tree's.

I have never seen them in the 5 year old house but many neighbours have.

We spray chemical under the house every year and 4 times a year around the house but not under the tree's where they are. My wife tells me the Thai also spray under their fruittree's but i don't know if that's smart to do.

Termites in house are no fun at all, it will cost you a lot, maybe even a new staircase or doorframes/ceiling/floor/kitchen.

The good thing is they don't eat teakwood or mai daeng.

[Generalchaos]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Generalchaos

[sandgroper2]

Termites could be living hundreds of yards away, underground.

[Generalchaos]

The other thing that I forgot to mention in the original post is Thai Homemade Wood Filler!!!!! Nightmare and termites just love it.

When we built the house, the fools that were employed as joiners / carpenters, used a mixture of wood sawdust and latex glue as a cheap filler to patch up gaps. This stuff must be the best food for termites as everywhere this garbage has been spread attracts them like a pig to truffles. It dries out, shrinks, allows them easy room to get between the wood joints then they feast on it.

If you are using wood and need a filler, buy something decent and not the crap that these idiots used.

[TKDfella]

I once bought a wardrobe that had short (about 2") legs which were metal...at least that what I was told and they certainly had a metallic 'look'. Was awakened one night by a crash where two of the legs had collapsed. The metal parts had buckled and that's when I found that they only had a thin metallic covering. Little blighters had eaten the wood underneath. And don't they love cotton? I have to examine my underwear before dressing otherwise it's 'ouch, ouch'.

[ozyjon]

That's why some live on boats.

[PedroDaGr8]

MOISTURE is a problem here.....What I'm wondering is is I got some rock salt and put it in an old sock or small cloth bag would it work against moisture like the small bags of silica found in vitamin bottles & such....

Rock salt will not help dehumidify much. It just isn't that hydroscopic (water absorbing), what you need are silica packets. These are VERY highly water absorbing. Get the large industrial sized ones (usually around 6cm by 6cm in size) and replace every year or two.

I was having a problem with tools kept in a cabinet inside the house rusting due to high humidity.

The solution that works for me is to toss a few pieces of chalk in the plastic container with the tools. Haven't had any rust since doing this.

You should be using a light coating of tool oil on your tools. I used to do this when I lived near the ocean. When you are done using a tool, a quick wipe down with a VERY thin coating of tool oil and you will not have any rust problems at all EVER. Learned this from my grandfather who was a tool and die engineer from the old school.

Edited May 24, 2016 by PedroDaGr8

[Thian]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Just pump the chemical under the house yourself. Buy a electric pump and a big vessel to mix it.

I would also spray the termite hills around the house. Termites don't always eat only wood i guess because in Australia's outback there are zillions of those termitehills and there are no tree's near for 1000 km.

[tropo]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage.

They can live in the house. We had a termite nest inside some closed wooden stairs.

[MediaWatcher]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Are you suggesting they have evolved to only eat cardboard...

[Generalchaos]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Are you suggesting they have evolved to only eat cardboard...

No, where did you get that idea from? They probably eat cardboard as it is easier to digest than wood. They eat cellulose material, why would you expend energy eating Teak if you could eat paper?

[Generalchaos]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Just pump the chemical under the house yourself. Buy a electric pump and a big vessel to mix it.

I would also spray the termite hills around the house. Termites don't always eat only wood i guess because in Australia's outback there are zillions of those termitehills and there are no tree's near for 1000 km.

Would you pump the chemicals into the nests or just spray them? I worry that I may just disturb them and they simply move. I want something that kills these buggers once and for all.

[tropo]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Are you suggesting they have evolved to only eat cardboard...

No, where did you get that idea from? They probably eat cardboard as it is easier to digest than wood. They eat cellulose material, why would you expend energy eating Teak if you could eat paper?

LOL> cardboard - junk food for termites.

[pgrahmm]

The termites do not live in the house so I would not recommend random spreading of poisons in rooms. I had a serious problem like yours and took care of it without using any poisons in the house except for a bait box like I mention below.

If you can find a trail (usually mud covered tunnels), put a poison bait in a termite poison bait box where the trail seems to come in. They will come in and take the bait back to the nest.

If you have a tile floor and think you about where they are entering the room, an experience exterminator can drill a neat hole, inject liquid poison beneath the slab, and then close the hole with a nice brass screw plug. You can then periodically (we do it once a year) take out the plug and pump in another dose.

As Bevup does, bait condos (as our exterminator calls them) around the house are a good idea. The theory is the termites will start in on that good wood in there and you will see them when it is checked monthly before you will see them in the house. And early warning system of sorts.

They probably don't actually live in the house, but they tend to hang around doing damage. There also seems to be a few variants in termites, the cardboard eating ones do not seem to eat the wood and are about half the size of the wood eating buggers.

They are difficult to move, we have huge termite mounds around our land ( some are over 6 feet high and over 10 feet across - they destroy trees, we have lost a few Lam Yai and young Teak trees to these sods) but I am not sure what to do with them. Is it best to leave them alone and they sort of keep themselves to themselves or do I go after them and try to eradicate?

I am worried if I try and destroy their mounds they might even move closer to our house. (I have the underground insecticide pipes installed, but as usual, the phone number has been lost in the usual Thai mayhem of a filing system - which consists of thousands of scraps of paper rather than saving a number to the mobile - so the pest control has not been out for more than a year and no one can find the telephone number)

I treat the wood with Chaindrite and some Cuprinol, they haven't been able to eat the wood flooring but have done some serious damage to the beams that support the floor.

It all points to the stupidity of putting on lights at night after the rains to attract these damn Meng Mao - so they can fry them the next day - they have basically attracted a million flying termites into a wooden home - It is ARS Spray night after night here at the minute, one light downstairs, me and a can of ARS and a little help from two huge Toktaws, my wife will never be eating fried Meng Mao from here as long as I am still alive.

Are you suggesting they have evolved to only eat cardboard...

No, where did you get that idea from? They probably eat cardboard as it is easier to digest than wood. They eat cellulose material, why would you expend energy eating Teak if you could eat paper?

LOL> cardboard - junk food for termites.

Termite Conga lines heading for the KFC bins....

[Taffyfromflint]

Bugger me, had the stair treads and risers replaced, and guess what the little sods were spotted scaling the concrete walls in the corner next to a door frame (didn't attack the wood) again the pest company came out and swamped the intrusion then drilled the floor inside the house and pressure fed deterant. Fingers crossed this works (this time)

[daveAustin]

The good thing is they don't eat teakwood or mai daeng.

If it gets softened by the elements, they can eat mai daeng too, despite it being harder than teak. I know from experience.