Advice on termite protection

Post by **Alchai** » May 5, 2011, 3:17 am

Hi guys
Our house is built with a so called "Crawlspace Foundation". The ground floor is approx. 1 meter above the soil. After 2-3 years the inlaws detected small termite mounds in some places that they removed. After some time the termites build new mounds so it has become an ongoing battle. The house is built with concrete and bricks and with very little wood involved. Never the less I am a bit worried that termites could eventually find their way to wood of even get inside the house. I have been advised to put a layer of concrete ontop of the soil to stop them building mounds. This sounds sensible to me but I thought I would ask here on the forum if anyone has any experience with this? And, what about thickness of the layer? I would appreciate any advice.

Post by **arjay** » May 5, 2011, 9:08 am

Just get a pest control company to come and spray the ground beneath the house. That will wipe them out. That should be repeated a couple of times a year. You are right to think that they will get in. They will find their way through any small cracks and migrate to parts of the house where there is wood or gypsum board (plasterboard). Covering them with layers of concrete wont solve the problem.

Post by **Alchai** » January 26, 2012, 6:12 pm

So the situation is not geting better, I ned to get the pro's in. does anyone have a name, address or telephone number to a pest controll company here in Udon?

Post by **Shado** » January 26, 2012, 6:36 pm

Some recommendations here:

http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/p ... hilit=pest control#p224749

Post by **jackspratt** » January 26, 2012, 6:50 pm

Alchai wrote:So the situation is not geting better, I ned to get the pro's in. does anyone have a name, address or telephone number to a pest controll company here in Udon?

I had the "spray and inject poison everywhere" treatment done about 12 months ago. It was great for killing off all the geckos and ants, but the termites are back in all their glory. In fact, there is an epidemic going through my Moo Ban at the moment.

I have done some research into what seems to be available here, compared for instance to what is available in Oz - my only other point of reference.

My conclusion is that you will find plenty of pest "control" companies here, but none of them will be pros. In fact, they seem to have no fukcing idea.

Post by **fdimike** » January 26, 2012, 8:20 pm

We've used Faroh services for the past 6 years and haven't experienced any problems with the little devils. We have a system of pipes with spray heads installed under the house which the company pumps insecticide into.

Post by **jackspratt** » January 26, 2012, 8:31 pm

Just to clarify - our house sits on the ground.

It may be that if your place is elevated, you can have the pipe + poison system retro-fitted.

Good luck.

Post by **fdimike** » January 26, 2012, 8:43 pm

They can pump insecticide into (not spray on) the ground around the house. They can also drill through the floor in several locations inside the house to pump in the chemical which will spread under the concrete slab creating a barrier.

Post by **jackspratt** » January 26, 2012, 9:09 pm

That's what I got mike - drilled around the perimeter of the house about every 1 metre, and injected/pumped poison. Also numerous holes inside the house.

For the result, see above.

Post by **fdimike** » January 26, 2012, 10:05 pm

Jack

Who did the work and what kind of insecticide did they use? Termites are difficult to control under the best of circumstances. It might be time to seek some better help from a firm in BKK which may have more experience than what's available up this way.

Post by **KHONDAHM** » January 26, 2012, 10:09 pm

A cheaper and perhaps more effective solution might be to buy that white powder ant/termite/damn-near-everything-else poison sold in the gold foil bag at Tesco (?). Spread it VERY generously around on the surface, then mix it into the top soil (neatness doesn't matter) while encircling all the parts of the building which the buggers could climb. Short of a flood washing it all away, you are done. Like, forever...

Only a few baht and a few minutes effort required. Don't breathe it in - or pay someone in the village to do it.

Post by **fdimike** » January 26, 2012, 10:21 pm

Jack

I just did a quick Google search and came up with this company which says they have an office here in Udon Thani.

http://advanceasia.com/

I can't speak for their reputation but it might be worth the call.

Khondahm

I've used the white powder as well. It will not destroy the nest as best I can determine. Additionally if the termites are borrowing under the house then I would suspect spreading white powder around the house will have little effect. We have lots of similar problems with termites In Florida where I'm from. The pest control people use a long 8 foot probe which they insert into the ground under the concrete slab to pump in insecticide which formes a chemical barrier preventing the termites from entering the house. Even in the best of circumstances it may take several treatments to control the problem.

Post by **KHONDAHM** » January 26, 2012, 10:46 pm

Another thing you could do would be to put boric acid on anything they would eat (i.e. wood). That would do the trick for sure. You could also use boric acid powder instead of the chemical poison. That would kill the colony. Google "boric acid" and termites.

The treatment the pest control company would do (forming the chemical barrier) is exactly what I'm suggesting. It's the same thing other than who gets paid. Spreading it around on the surface just limits where they can come out. It does not kill the colony which is why (IMHO) companies here do it. Repeat business.

Post by **fatbob** » January 27, 2012, 12:44 pm

Go to the hardware or Global House, buy Shelldrite in 20 Litre drums get a garden watering can, fill it with the shelldrite and cover the entire area under your house with Shelldrite, do that every six months and you wont have termites ever again.

Post by **jackspratt** » January 27, 2012, 12:48 pm

Thanks for your suggestions.

@mike - I will visit AdvanceAsia next week when I am in Udon. I am particularly interested in this system:

Post by **fdimike** » January 27, 2012, 12:59 pm

Jack

It looks like they're using the same type of eradication program they started using in Florida before we left 6 years ago. They say it's actually better then the barrier method which was in use in Florida when we first built our house there some 25 years ago.

Let me know where they're located. I may pay them a visit.

Post by **rick** » January 28, 2012, 2:34 pm

Of course, you can plaster the area with highly toxic chemicals, but they will kill everything, not just termites. Also I do not relish spraying poison all around where I live. I think the first step is to ensure that there is little or no suitable food for them, and that it is hard to get at. Certainly some wood seems to be pretty termite proof - in my old Thai house we have 40 year old floor boards and never touched by them.

Personally, I like the borax or boric acid idea as less toxic to non-target organisms and more natural. And cheaper. Unfortunately, you cannot buy it from a thai shop - it is a restricted chemical. If anyone can get it, please let me know. It is also very good for ants (that's my problem) the only things attacked by termites in my house are paper and chipboard furniture.

Post by **qon** » February 20, 2012, 10:42 pm

Hi,
Go green solutions:
1) dig in manure into the ground around the house, termite don't like rich soil, but good for your flower bed.
2) ants and termite don't get on well, so some ants is good. Encourage some natural termite enemies.
3) for new house, fill in as much sand as possible under your concrete, termite can't dig their tunnels through sand.
4) consider creating termite feeding field with corn cobs, instead of your house.
5) don't forget ant caps on your piers.

Any chemical solution last around 5 years, then you need to retreat your property. Unfortunately with heavy rain, chemical will sip and wash away much quicker.

Post by **Alchai** » February 21, 2012, 1:13 am

OK so I looked up some old threads here on UM and decided to try the "cheap Charlie" version. I went to Home Mart and bought a bottle of Chaindrite Stedfast 4sc for 700B and got a guy to spray under the house for 500B. However, I understand that this is probably not a very good treatment and that it must be regulary repeated so I am going to find out what it will cost to put a layer of concrete on the ground.I guess I will need min. 5 cm and the area is 150m2. Has anyone done this?

Post by **thrilled** » February 21, 2012, 4:26 am

A friend of mine in the us has his own termite control company.I said to him I was having trouble with A house in Bangkok.He said the termites in asia are really bad.He didn't give me A solution except tear down the house and
build a new one.