Termites???

[Adobill<P><FONT face=Arial>Bill <FONT><P><P><FONT face=Arial>Charente Maritime (17) & Northampton<FONT><P>]

Hi

I posted on Western France forum but have had no response, so here's hoping someone on this board may be able to help!

We have a house in Charente Maritime which we visit quite frequently. We were last there at Christmas when we noticed some small brownish "droppings" sporadically on surfaces downstairs - we weren't aware of any upstairs. Before Christmas we were at our house at the beginning of November and there was no evidence of anything then. At first we thought perhaps it was mouse droppings but could find no other evidence that mice were around. I also thought they may be something to do with spiders.

On returning to the UK, my wife has been searching the internet to see if she could throw any light. She is now panicking because she thinks they may be termite pellets. Does anyone know whether this is really likely? We bought the property 3 years ago and have the termite report to say there was no evidence of termites then.

Any help or advice gratefully received! Many thanks

[Iceni]

1  No idea if they are termite pellets

2  You are in one of the main areas for termites

3  I would get professional advice ASAP when you next return

4  I would think that a termite report that is 3 years old is not worth the paper it is written on - they only guarantee them for about 3 months if at all.

Sorry I can't be more help but you need an expert, not a comment from a LF member such as myself.

[Babnik]

Sounds like mice to me...but I would get it checked? (btw what other evidence of mice were you thinking of?)

[graham34]

An obvious question is are the droppings underneath exposed wood? If not, then it's unlikely to be wood attacking insect related.

Graham

 

[Athene]

[quote]HiI posted on Western France forum but have had no response, so here's hoping someone on this board may be able to help! We have a house in Charente Maritime which we visit quite frequently. We were l...[/quote]

I am leaving you a message in your e-mail! I know about termites!

[Athene]

[quote]HiI posted on Western France forum but have had no response, so here's hoping someone on this board may be able to help! We have a house in Charente Maritime which we visit quite frequently. We were l...[/quote]

Message in your e-mail!

[Adobill<P><FONT face=Arial>Bill <FONT><P><P><FONT face=Arial>Charente Maritime (17) & Northampton<FONT><P>]

Thanks all for replies - hopefully we'll find out more about what we've got when my wife goes back in March. I suppose mice are better than termites, so here's hoping we can rectify the problem without too much trouble (and expense!)

Thanks also to those who've e-mailed - messages will have gone to my work e-mail so I won't get them until later on in the week, but thanks anyway

Regards Bill

[Adobill<P><FONT face=Arial>Bill <FONT><P><P><FONT face=Arial>Charente Maritime (17) & Northampton<FONT><P>]

My wife has reported from France and tells me that the problem was mice. My mother in law found three decaying corpses in the bin in the kitchen, they had fallen in and coundn't get out. Now we have to find where they are coming in from; a neighbour says it could be through the little hole that forms part of the charantaise sink. But at least it's better than having termites phew!!

Thanks for all the help, replies and private messages. It just goes to prove to some sceptics on this forum that the reason for the forum's existence i.e. those with the knowledge and understanding helping those who haven't, is still strong. Thanks everyone.

[PossumGirl]

[quote]HiI posted on Western France forum but have had no response, so here's hoping someone on this board may be able to help! We have a house in Charente Maritime which we visit quite frequently. We were l...[/quote]

We've just moved from Los Angeles where every house either has termites, had termites or will have termites. We had drywood (as opposed to suberranean, which we've also had) last year. The droppings look a bit like dark brown, smallish-pellet shaped sawdust. If you look up at the exposed wood, you should be able to see a small hole, which is where they push the dirt from.

Termites can be in a house for several years before you know that you have them.

Randy

[vrooje<BR>Cheers,<br>-Brooke<BR><br><B><A TARGET=blank HREF="http:www.experienceburgundy.com">http:www.experienceburgundy.com<A><B>]

What's the approximate price range for getting termites taken care of in a house?

We have a house in 21 (Cote d'Or, Burgundy) and saw a few holes in a wooden window sill in one of the bedrooms. Each of the holes had a little ring of sawdust around it, and it seemed like termites to me. We plan on having it taken care of in the next couple of months but were just wondering how much we should plan to spend...

How does one get termites in a house with walls made of stone?

[Hewitts]

From your website I see that you are perhaps not in the position to pop over for the weekend. However, I strongly advise if you think you have termites to investigate sooner than the next couple of months you mention in your post.

When termites establish themselves, "in the next couple of months", they could do an enormous amount of damage, munching their way through your floors, jousts, up the door frames, around the window frames.

Fortunately we have not had them but many of our friends here in Sydney have. One friend removed an enormous nest under his floor boards, treated everything, had to have his wood floors in two rooms replaced, only to find that he had missed an area and he had to do it all over again.

I am not trying to be alarmist, but strongly recommend you go as soon as you can or get a neighbour to get a termite inspection for you.

[Athene]

[quote]What's the approximate price range for getting termites taken care of in a house?We have a house in 21 (Cote d'Or, Burgundy) and saw a few holes in a wooden window sill in one of the bedrooms. Each of...[/quote]

Hi Brooke!

I do not think you have termites, it sounds more like woodworm or capricorne beetle, the latter lay their eggs and then leave making a sizable hole. You do not know you have termites as they enter the wood through indiscernable cracks and fissures. They do not live in the beams but go backwards and forwards on regular runs up through the walls. They build an underground nest sometimes 30 metres away from their food source. The majority of thick stone walls have a sort of stone and mud filler in the middle and this is ideal for the termites to make their tunnels! Sometimes if you are lucky you may see a sort of greysh channel on a wall which is a termite tunnel going to a beam, this looks like the same sort of material as a wasps' nest. You find termites generally too late when  a beam falls down or as was the case in a house near us the new occupants leant on some old door posts where a door used to be and it caved in, the wood was completely eaten leaving just a film of paint!

The law says that you have to treat the wood every 5 years and walls every 10 years against termites and the firms that come will guarantee their work accordingly! We have had to go back once on this guarantee as we had a visible tunnel! There is now a form of treatment offered that is not as vile smelling and we used this the last time. Our firm are based in Bordeaux. Yes it is expensive!

A lot of people hereabouts just shrug  and say, "Well this house will last me my time out and I am not interested after that!" Having worked really hard to get our house in some kind of shape, we do not take this viewpoint!

Hope this helps!