How do you eradicate a termite infestation

[SKG56]

Originally Posted by LadyStardust

I had termites infesting my bowsprit, I discovered this while in Thailand.
I understand that Rentokil are very good at handling this, however in my case it was only the softwood laminate in the bowsprit that was affected. The rest of the boat's wood is teak and termites don't care for that. Being structural, I had a new bowsprit made in Phuket, a good price and great quality. I also treated all the wood I could find, especially any non teak with Fipronil. It's been a couple of years and there's been no sign of any termites since.
I believe one company in Phuket, it may be rentokill, use infrared sensors/monitors to find the infestations and are very effective. It's also not that expensive to get the boat tented in Thailand and thoroughly gassed.

I was completely freaked out when I first found them, but like any big boat job, it always seems more daunting than the reality.

Thanks Lady S, and thanks to everyone that's responded to my thread here, I'm scheduled to see the Nic 35 Jan 10, I'm going to take some photos of everything and post them on this thread for anybody that takes an interest
Sam

[OS2Dude]

I saw a show recently that had a company using heat (Can't remember how high, but wasn't much more than 125 or so) and an electrical 'cattle prod' type device that would zap the termites in the wood.

[JPA Cate]

Whatever is done, the eggs need to become non-viable. I don't understand how the cattle prod will do that. Freezing or heating does make sense for that part. But my understanding is also that tenting IS effective.

Ann

[OS2Dude]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Whatever is done, the eggs need to become non-viable. I don't understand how the cattle prod will do that. Freezing or heating does make sense for that part. But my understanding is also that tenting IS effective.

Ann

According to the show, termites are mostly water, a better conductor than wood. Shooting a high voltage into the wood is drawn to the termites and electrocutes them.

[inspectr]

Termites are social insects, like ants and bees. They live in colonies (nests) with a single queen (mostly, there are contiguous nests and extensive colonies of multiple queens in grass eating termites in Australia and South Africa and other places as well.)
The primary focus of most treatment strategies is to kill the queen.
Termites are grooming insects, introduce arsenic dust or other chemical or fungal agents to the workings and the workers and soldier termites will lake the poison back to the queen and kill her and the egg galleries.
Periodically the queen will produce winged alates (reproductive potential queens) that leave the nest to find a new site. They are commonly called "white ants" but as another poster observed, they are closer to cockroaches than ants in that they have a combined thorax and abdomen. The winged reproductives shed their gossamer wings on landing and seek a potential food source, and they see your house and boat as a pile of dead wood to be converted into fertiliser.
Re-infestation occurs from existing colonies, often far away.
Our main pest species in Australia (coptotermies acinaciformis) will release colonising flights late in spring with the first thunderstorms and hence increased moisture levels in timber. We have dozens of different pest and non pest species here. Like many reproductives the process is very inefficient with less than 1% of released alates establishing colonies. I often find the discarded wings in roof inspections with no established colonising activity.
Many pesties use IR cameras to find active infestations. The biomass of the termites and the moisture in their workings changes the heat profile of the area. By no means idiot proof, the IR cameras will find most active infestations, but can give false negatives.
The big issue with termites is that there can be millions of individuals in the colony and destruction of affected timber can be rapid. They are smart, elusive, brilliant engineers that can eat a structural element to imminent failure and depart before it fails. Invariably, the extent of the damage they wreak is vastly greater than first expected when initially discovered.
To the OP - expect the worst, get an expert boat surveyor and an experienced pest controller who knows boats involved and assume the worst
As I posted earlier, the best advice is to run!

[conchaway]

Or, just buy an echidna.

[hellosailor]

I've never had to mess with termites. But with other bugs, like roaches, that lay eggs?

You can't "cure" an infestation in one shot. You need to kill the adults, then wait for any eggs to hatch, kill the new hatchlings, and then repeat a third time in case you missed any late hatches. With roaches, the eggs take about 30 days to hatch, the new roaches take about 30 days to reproduce, so you wind up needing to bomb the place three times--or have some patience and a good bait type poison for the second and third runs.

Considering toxins and varying laws, it might be best to hire a licensed exterminator familiar with Thai laws, and have them do the first attack on the boat. Then take their advice on continuing followup with an effective poison bait.

I'm outright wary of "exterminators" when they spray an unknown toxin from an unlabeled bottle. I know, DDT is a wonder drug, but there are guys, even licensed guys, who will spray all kinds of things and just lie about what they are using, to make an extra buck. Be wary.

[Capt Jerry]

I used to be in the termite business. Like some of the other posts, I would not buy a boat with termite infestation. It is hard to properly "sound" the entire wooden structure. You don't know how long it has been going on, nor how much damage has been done. Is there a wooden mast? Termites have been known to go up a pole 100 feet. If you are just going to sit in the harbor that's one thing, but I would worry that some important part of the boat might fail in a storm, due to the decreased structural integrity from the termite damage.

[FuzzyFeat]

You do not know the length and extent of the infestation or the hidden damage that exists. You are buying a pig in a poke, and an infected one at that. Find another boat. Save yourself a lot of grief. Otherwise, maybe in a year or less, you may find yourself asking why were you so damn willfully stupid!

Some times the cry of the Iwannas drowns out the small voice of common sense. I suggest you do not let that happen to you.

[gabilo]

I was looking into the possibilities of having a friends boat rented and treated with a product called “ Vicane” apparently Vicane is a very effective gas and unlike others does not corrode electrical terminals .... we finally had it done in Hong Kong.

Vikane is a restricted use fumigant that requires license and training in order to purchase: SGT Services (Thailand) in Bangkok. Phone is +662-348-335559, Arnon Sinsawasdi.

[sailorladd]

Here in Hawaii we have at least two types of termites that we home and boat owners have to deal with.

I have had both on my boat and I am termite free as of now and have been for several years. We know here from experience that at a certain time of year after the first rains in June, termites will start swarming and flying around and land on one's house or boat. In the case of a boat, it is wise to prevent swarming termites from entering in any way possible. This means that one has to screen off the ventilator boxes on deck and any holes into the cabin big enough to keep out these termites, who then will lose their wings, once they are on your boat and frantically start searching for any holes or raw wood that they can start burrowing into (and also to hide from predators, as they are a highly sought after treat

Sometimes I have had luck leaving a large bowl of water just below a lamp or light where termites are attracted to the light, and they knock into it and fall down below into the water and drown. A lot can be destroyed this way.

If you already have termites on your boat (and I had a VERY bad ground termite infestation on mine when I moored too close to a river bank and somehow got these MOST destructive of all termites all over my boat), it was an ongoing battle for years and a VERY costly one.

But I eventually heard about a product that I bought online called Terminix where it is very concentrated and one can make several gallons from a quart of this effective poison. It is basically a virus that you spray into the holes and or mud tunnels that the ground termites make to ferry their water from and to the queen. They will become infected and take it back to the colony and especially the queen and within a short few weeks or months all the termites in the colony would have perished...

Good luck and keep a lookout for any little round black droppings like tiny pin head sized ball bearings, these are the smaller. less invasive termite, but just as destructive but take a lot longer than their ground cousins...

[seatime]

Not sure they have similar services but I used termminex. Had Formosa termites. They used a power and drilled small holes and sprayed them inside the holes. Must have drilled 50 of them. Killed them all. Found the nest later. All dead.
Hardwood termites require that you tent the boat and fog it. Here you have to post security outside to prevent anyone from going in. Toxic.

I know some that tried to get Rid if them himself with chemicals and ended up in the hospital. Be careful with toxic stuff. The stuff they used on my boat was not toxic to humans and was ordorless. You should take some of the termites in to determine which kind you have. Formosa need fresh water to survive. Mine had a small area where water from the air conditioning collected and from a small hole in the deck. You only need a cup or so to sustain them. Get rid of standing fresh water or poison it and it may work.

[Souzag818]

Originally Posted by Maka

In Hawaii termites are a BIG Deal. Wood can look fine on the exterior and be hollow inside.

I wouldn't even consider looking at a boat with a termite history.
I wouldn't even let my Boat near a boat or dock I knew had termites either.

True on all accounts. We used to tent my parents house, and even then it was something done at least every 6 years. And it wasn't ground termites that leave visible tunnels. In between we'd be replacing the boards that the termites had chomped away to hollow, as there wasn't enough wood to be structurally strong. I'd walk away...

[BugzyCan]

All of this talk about Termites makes me think.

Maybe purchasing a boat from any tropical destination has the potential for termites, even if not declared. Maybe the best idea would be to buy one that shows no sign of them, and immediately sail it to Alaska or somewhere cold?

I imagine you would need to moor the boat a few weeks in below freezing temps, with no heating on, for this to be effective? Sleep in a Motel or BnB during this period.

All the talk about bagging and chemicals just sounds nasty. Could you ever really get rid of all the chemicals after?

[Bourne]

So long as they are not polyestermites. Sorry!