Thanks to all for the great advice here. Special thanks to PAbugman.
Well, the Formosans have been swarming here for the last several days. As soon as I realized it, I turned off all outside lights, closed curtains and turned off any inside lighting that I didn't absolutely need so as not to attract their attention.
Last night (about 4 days into the swarming), I noted that there were many of the formerly winged reproducers crawling around inside, and about as many that had died (I guess these were dying too). I killed and flushed any that I saw.
I have one bottle of termidor that I ordered to saturate a hole in the concrete floor of a new bathroom, which will be about 75% more than I'll need for that purpose (and I have another on the way). Of course, this is not nearly enough to trench and treat the entire perimeter of my home.
What I did do (after reading the label) is use the recommended amount per gallon in a sprayer and sprayed the perimeter of the foundation itself and soaked the soil against the foundation (well, not 'soaked', but pretty wet). I also sprayed into cracks and crevices and the weepholes in the brick. This should also work for other insects, including ants.
at any rate, I did all of this to cover the bases. I'll likely call for a termite inspection sometime next week to see if there are any issues.
Questions:
1)Is there anything else I should be doing?
2) If the termite guy does find an infestation, is this something I should let him handle, or should I be able to handle it (I think just trenching to the specified depths and widths)?
Thanks,
Mark
Well, the Formosans have been swarming here for the last several days. As soon as I realized it, I turned off all outside lights, closed curtains and turned off any inside lighting that I didn't absolutely need so as not to attract their attention.
Last night (about 4 days into the swarming), I noted that there were many of the formerly winged reproducers crawling around inside, and about as many that had died (I guess these were dying too). I killed and flushed any that I saw.
I have one bottle of termidor that I ordered to saturate a hole in the concrete floor of a new bathroom, which will be about 75% more than I'll need for that purpose (and I have another on the way). Of course, this is not nearly enough to trench and treat the entire perimeter of my home.
What I did do (after reading the label) is use the recommended amount per gallon in a sprayer and sprayed the perimeter of the foundation itself and soaked the soil against the foundation (well, not 'soaked', but pretty wet). I also sprayed into cracks and crevices and the weepholes in the brick. This should also work for other insects, including ants.
at any rate, I did all of this to cover the bases. I'll likely call for a termite inspection sometime next week to see if there are any issues.
Questions:
1)Is there anything else I should be doing?
2) If the termite guy does find an infestation, is this something I should let him handle, or should I be able to handle it (I think just trenching to the specified depths and widths)?
Thanks,
Mark