Termites Onboard !

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by smurphny

Once had an old 1936 wood boat that had carpenter ants! Found the solution to getting rid of them when the boat, to my surprise, went down at anchor. When I got all 42' back up and running... the ants were gone.

I've heard of rats leaving a sinking ship.........

[smurphny]

That morning, a bunch of relatives were at the dock when I got there with their fishing poles waiting to go out fishing. They said, "Where's your boat." I looked over and saw just her bow sticking up out of the water. Was one of those thru-hull mishaps. Still hear about it at family gatherings. Had her up and running the next day. That was 1981 or 82. Restored the old boat over the next few years and cruised all over the NE. Lived on her for a year with wife and daughter. She was a 1936 Wheeler Playmate, built in the Brooklyn Shipyard, cedar on oak with Chrysler Crowns. Would do ten knots through anything. Was a great boat on which we had many adventures...with no ants:-)

[minaret]

We did a deck core repair job once on a boat here in Seattle that had Formosa Termites. The deck core was completely eaten away. The owner noticed it when the termites ate the plywood core around the mast step and the mast oil canned into his deck. When I opened it up there were all these termites in the core. While I was reefing out all the rotten termite eaten junk I caught a bunch of 'em and their eggs. Later when the surveyor showed up to sign off on the job I gave him a jarful of termites as proof for the insurance claim. He told me they were the dreaded Formosa Termite, and that though they aren't native to our area, their eggs can apparently lay dormant for many years. He said that often plywood core materials on boats built in the tropics have termite eggs in the wood before it is laminated into ply. The eggs eventually hatch, and voila, termite infestation! Only case I've ever seen...

[zeehag]

mj----i have one board that was damaged while formosa was in lost angels, land of termites and rats..LOL.... wilmington, kali..LOL...... isnt a problem at this point--
the formosa stuff is even better than the ericson stuff..LOL!!!!

[motion30]

Originally Posted by smurphny

Once had an old 1936 wood boat that had carpenter ants! Found the solution to getting rid of them when the boat, to my surprise, went down at anchor. When I got all 42' back up and running... the ants were gone.

So those carpenter ants didnt stick around to help you with the repairs?? That bugs me.......waa waaa waaa

[Cyber1]

Any suggestions for sealing a wood hull. Kevlar?

[Phisher]

Okay here is the skinny on termites. Formosan termites are rare and need fresh water to survive. My best buddy owns his own best control company and told me 95% of termites on boats are drywood species. The only way to kill the colony completely is to tent the boat in or out of the water.
Spraying a termite with insecticide will kill that termite but not the ones you don't see. Gary also told me be aware of scammers and shock sales tactics. He assured me the only way to kill the termites on my used/new boat was to tent it!

[SV Someday Came]

You have to tent the boat. There is no other way to completely kill all the cycles in a termite's life. You can spray some crud, but then you will not get the eggs. Tenting is the only way. And even then, later, one warm evening, some little flying ant like creature will flutter onto your boat. I went through this several years back and posted my experiences.

Michael

[Last_Mutineer]

Posting in this thread in the hope that some of you with first-hand experience can help me determine whether I have termites onboard.

I don't think I've ever seen a termite. They're not that big a problem in Scandinavia, where I'm based. But today I saw something that looked very much like worker drywood termites on the underside of my fir-topped cockpit lockers.

So I've been googling. The pictures match, more or less, but my guys are tiny. No more than 3 mm (0.12"). Can termites be that small? Google implies no, but I have to make sure.

Any help appreciated.

[GordMay]

“... There’s a wide range of termite sizes. Termite size generally depends on the termite’s age and species.

Each termite begins with an egg which is really tiny. You need a good magnifying glass to identify a termite egg. When the egg hatches into a larvae, it is still tiny. After a few weeks the larvae will become a tiny worker, able to get around on its six legs, but still hard to examine with the naked eye...
... Most of the termites in the lower-48 states are subterranean worker termites which may be as short as 1/8” (3mm), but grow to be up to ¼ (6.5mm), or maybe as much as 3/8” (9.5mm) in length...”

As the name implies, however , subterranean termites live in the soil, not in wood.

More ➥ How Big Are Termites? A Termite Size Guide

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by GordMay

“... There’s a wide range of termite sizes. Termite size generally depends on the termite’s age and species.

Each termite begins with an egg which is really tiny. You need a good magnifying glass to identify a termite egg. When the egg hatches into a larvae, it is still tiny. After a few weeks the larvae will become a tiny worker, able to get around on its six legs, but still hard to examine with the naked eye...
... Most of the termites in the lower-48 states are subterranean worker termites which may be as short as 1/8” (3mm), but grow to be up to ¼ (6.5mm), or maybe as much as 3/8” (9.5mm) in length...”

As the name implies, however , subterranean termites live in the soil, not in wood.

More ➥ How Big Are Termites? A Termite Size Guide

I agree with all of that except that in warm climates -- Florida and California, for example -- we also have airborne termites.

Subterranean termites won't be seen outside the wood because exposure to fresh air actually kills them. They can sometimes be spotted by the mud tunnels they make to protect themselves. i would urge our Norwegian friend to grab some of these critters, put them in a plastic bag and take them to an exterminator for identification. Termites can damage the wood in boats.

[SV Someday Came]

Take a good picture of the bugs and send it to an extermination company, and ask for an identification. Place some white paper towels and hit the underside of the lockers with your fist hard a couple of times. If the white towels suddenly look like you just sprinkled black pepper, you have termites. The pepper is their poo, and it shakes out of "pushout" holes that termites make.

[Last_Mutineer]

No termite poo that I can find. But if these guys have only recently moved in, it's probably too early anyway.

When I tried to grab one, it disintegrated. Ridiculously delicate little creature. I haven't seen any more since my panicked first reaction of wiping the locker tops down with chlorine but will keep an eye out. Both eyes, in fact.

Thanks everyone for your input.

[minaret]

The job I mentioned in an earlier post. This is what it looks like when Formosa Termites eat a plywood mast partner core.

[zeehag]

you can see the ball of termites in trees in mexico---dont be downwind---oh but the anchorages are downwind-----and after the first rain of season, they swarm.... ofun----not-----