Termites

[ffeldy]

I keep seeing winged termites on board, How do I know if boat has termites or not? how to fix?

[model 10]

I think if you see them you are infested. I used 2 bug bombs for our size boat and it worked. Boric acid did nothing.

[a64pilot]

Boric acid is for roaches, if you see flying termites, they are "swarming", down south here I thought they only did that in spring, where are you located? flying ants maybe?
I'd want a professional to look into it, a lot of damage can be done before it becomes apparent, they eat from the inside out.
Tell The Difference Between Swarming Termites And Flying Ants

[SkiprJohn]

In Hawaii they usually swarm in July. Find out where they are coming from. If there is an old wood building nearby then maybe they aren't originating in your boat but just looking for some wood to eat. If you can secure your boat very well and bug bomb it then that might be a good thing to do. I've had mine tented because they were in lots of my plywood.

[Nicholson58]

Another reason to avoid balsa core?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Another reason to avoid balsa core?

For sure them termites eat through that darn fiberglass real quick, eh?

[roverhi]

Haven't you heard of Polyestermites?? Eat a fiberglass boat down to the keel in weeks. If you are seeing termite wings, etc chances are good you have an infestation. A bug bomb probably won't get the critters that are eating up your wood because they are protected by the wood barrier. Tenting/pressure treating is the only way to be sure that those that are actually in the wood munching away are killed. Tried the orange oil treatment but that only works on small infestations that you can pinpoint. The ones that are missed keep on munching. You don't want to have the critters eating away until you find your plywood is just the outer veneer. They are not big fans of hardwood but will everything if given enough time.

[nimblemotors]

I've been researching building an ozone generator.
They would be the way to kill termites and heck all other insects, most anything alive is killed by ozone, which penetrates everywhere with a big enough machine.

[JPA Cate]

One other thing to look for is tiny piles of sawdust, that indicates where they have a tunnel. Knew some people who had a (as it happened) retired exterminator come out to their boat with a pressure tank of Freon, and he froze the little b----s in their tunnels. Hah! Death to termites!

Ffeldy, good luck solving the problem, probably a visit from a professional will ease your concerns.

Ann