Termites

[Colonel Mustard]

My neighbour had a beam collapse in his garage because it had been eaten by termites. Today he had men in spraying the rest of his garage, and they asked if they could come into my garden to check. I have several tree stumps which are being eaten by termites, and they found these, and said I should have termite traps laid around my garden. I knew there were termites eating my tree stumps(it's one way of getting rid of tree stumps) and I know there are none in my house, because the only wood in my house is in the roof beams and they were inspected recently and treated for a little capricorne damage - no termite damage. How do "termite traps" work, and is it worth paying to have them put around the garden? Apart from the tree stumps, I don't keep any dead wood around the place.

[Ford Anglia]

Termites? EEK, where abouts are you?[:'(]

[Colonel Mustard]

Herault. They are widespread in S and SW France, and are moving northwards. You will never see termite damage, because they eat the wood from the inside. The first thing you will know is when your house falls down.

[ChezTinns]

We have had our house in the Gers for nearly two years now.  Because the SW is reknowned for termites our property had was tested for termite infestation as part of the buying process.  It was found negative, but ........ at our last visit I am sure that I 'heard' something going on inside one of the internal beams.  Am I going mad?  Or could it be termites.  We rushed out and bought some anti-termite stuff to paint all over it - just in case!

[Ron Avery]

"We rushed out and bought some anti-termite stuff to paint all over it - just in case" 

The only effective protection from termites in beams, because they eat their way in from the ends, is to have pressure injection.  A pressure spray will only protect boards and hardwood beams from capricorn because it only gets into the first 25- 30 mm or so of the wood.  For effective termite protection in beams you need to get the treatment into the ends and centre of the wood and if termites are in your area, injection trteatment is the only effective way of preventing them.

[Ford Anglia]

[quote user="Ron Avery"]

 if termites are in your area, injection trteatment is the only effective way of preventing them.

[/quote]

How do you know if they are in the area or not?

We have a lot of exposed beam ends, what does the treatment cost?

[Colonel Mustard]

Round here, if you have termites in your house you're supposed to report it to the mairie. Your mairie will tell you if you're in a termite area. And if/when you come to sell your house, you will have to provide a certificate that it's free from xylophagous insects.

[Ron Avery]

[quote user="Ford Anglia"][quote user="Ron Avery"]

 if termites are in your area, injection trteatment is the only effective way of preventing them.

[/quote]

How do you know if they are in the area or not?

We have a lot of exposed beam ends, what does the treatment cost?

[/quote] 

Haver a look at http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2/556770/ShowPost.aspx#556770

and other threads going back some time now. You can get a no obligation quote from timber treatment companies, have a look in Pages Jaunes.  Its not cheap but it depernds on surface area  and type of treatment required, but if you have a lot of exposed wood worth doing if your Mairie confirms that you have termites.  There used to be a reference to a termite areas map  on here but I cannot find it, but if you are in the south-west or west then the risk of termites is very real.

[tegwini]

We had the little beasties under our house in South Africa in Sandton (north of Johannesburg) in the mid 1960s.  Then someone came out with some kind of pump & gas and they all died - thousands crept out from under the skirtings!   Very effective I think - probably more so than a fluid.  The nest went under the foundations, and for metres.

We were lucky, solid house, concrete foundations, slate floors, BUT they were muching the skirtings which were paper thin,and you could actually hear them.

In next house in Natal, on a slope we had a nest open up after a rainy afternoon, it was misty, & large raptors flying over was a bit frightening, dogs OK, what's it all about?  But,  they were seriously popular with dozens of birds, including hawks.  Scary really, as they troll around & then pair up to breed- yuk.

Can France be worse than that?

[Ron Avery]

I doubt that gas penetrates much into solid hardwood beams where termites in France tend to burrow.

[Ford Anglia]

Thanks Ron, I'll enquire at the mairie next time I'm over. What's the French for "termite", anyone?

 

[andyh4]

[quote user="Colonel Mustard"]Herault. They are widespread in S and SW France, and are moving northwards. You will never see termite damage, because they eat the wood from the inside. The first thing you will know is when your house falls down.[/quote]

Just to clarify Northwards, they are already established North of the Loire, around Paris and there is a single case in Devon.

[Ron Avery]

[quote user="Ford Anglia"]

Thanks Ron, I'll enquire at the mairie next time I'm over. What's the French for "termite", anyone?

[/quote]  its the same word " termite" pronounced "turmeet"

[Ford Anglia]

[quote user="Ron Avery"][quote user="Ford Anglia"]

Thanks Ron, I'll enquire at the mairie next time I'm over. What's the French for "termite", anyone?

[/quote]  its the same word " termite" pronounced "turmeet"

[/quote]

D'oh! I was going to say, please don't tell me it's the same word............[:$]

[Gemini_man]

Unfortunately termites are a fact of life in France especially in the South-West and in Paris.

Here's a link showing a map of the problem:  http://www.termite.com.fr/donneesbase/cartefrance.php

To learn more about termite traps this is a very good site even though it is Australian and European termites are different the method is basically similar:   http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/forestry/5040.html

Our neighbours recently found termites in their house and called out the experts. It cost them approximately 4,000 euros for traps to be set and an anti-termite barrier around the house. My understanding is from a termite inspector that termites are not interested in very old very dry timber. It's cellulose they want and that's more in abundance in relatively new timber. And it's very unlikely you will hear termites at work in a beam unless you have a stethoscope. What you will hear is Capricorn larvae chomping away - they are much more common but much less of a worry or so I understand!

[Frederick]

Andyh4..........Thank you for the information ......I now.... to add to everthing else  I have to worry about ...the knowledge that my Vendee house is at risk of being turned into a pile of dust ....and the perpretraters of this act have their sights on by Dorset one as well ....