How do you eradicate a termite infestation

[SKG56]

I'm going to be looking at another boat in Phuket Thailand in January, it's a Nicholson 35. I've been told by the broker that it has a termite infestation, he said they are putting out poison for the termites to take back to the queen and kill her. He also said it takes about 5 months. I don't know how long they have been doing this. I've never had to deal with this and am leary about buying a boat with a termite infestation. I've been told that fumigation might be the way to go. Anybody with experience, advise, Thanks

[coopec43]

My experience with termites is that they come up from burrows in the ground to attack wood. I never thought they'd attack a boat.


I can't believe it would take any time at all to eradicate a colony. In Australia the experts use a white powder poison which the termites take back to their burrow.


Here is a quite informative article.


https://patch.com/california/marinad...-eat-your-boat


Clive

[JPA Cate]

KG56,

We had some friends who had termites in Mexico. They had a guy come over to the boat, and he used C02 to kill them. Plugged all holes but one, and just did it. None of this waiting 5 months. Killed them all dead post haste.

See if you can find "Old Cal 46 Skipper" here and send him a PM, he'll be able to tell you more. (Use the CF Custom Google Search function under the Search button.)

Ann

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

KG56,

We had some friends who had termites in Mexico. They had a guy come over to the boat, and he used C02 to kill them. Plugged all holes but one, and just did it. None of this waiting 5 months. Killed them all dead post haste.

See if you can find "Old Cal 46 Skipper" here and send him a PM, he'll be able to tell you more. (Use the CF Custom Google Search function under the Search button.)

Ann

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - View Profile: oldcal46skipper


Clive

[SKG56]

Originally Posted by coopec43

My experience with termites is that they come up from burrows in the ground to attack wood. I never thought they'd attack a boat.


I can't believe it would take any time at all to eradicate a colony. In Australia the experts use a white powder poison which the termites take back to their burrow.


Here is a quite informative article.


https://patch.com/california/marinad...-eat-your-boat


Clive

Thanks for the link

[SKG56]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

KG56,

We had some friends who had termites in Mexico. They had a guy come over to the boat, and he used C02 to kill them. Plugged all holes but one, and just did it. None of this waiting 5 months. Killed them all dead post haste.

See if you can find "Old Cal 46 Skipper" here and send him a PM, he'll be able to tell you more. (Use the CF Custom Google Search function under the Search button.)

Ann

Thanks Ann, There are 2 boats I will be looking on this R&R, the termite boat Nic 35 and another W32, both in Thailand, sold my W32 in Washington, I just couln't get to her enough to warrent the slip rent, still working so I can't do what I wanted to do, yet, live in Thailand so I can at least sail the islands when I'm on R&R which is about every 3 months.Sounds like this termite situation can be handled properly and the problem solved

[Chotu]

Doesn't help in Phuket, but I've had success taking a boat north for the winter to a cold climate and not living aboard.

These flying termites can't handle cold weather and die.

[SKG56]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Doesn't help in Phuket, but I've had success taking a boat north for the winter to a cold climate and not living aboard.

These flying termites can't handle cold weather and die.

Yeah, When I get there I'll see how bad it is, I really like this Nic 35, read and heard good things about them so we'll see.

[NCGunDude]

When we needed to ozone a trailer load of personal property after a fire, we'd build a tent around it with plastic sheeting, it would be similar to winterizing. I'd be concerned just treating the interior would let too many get away if there was any exterior exposure.

[thinwater]

Vikane gas.


Heating the boat to 135F through for 8 hours. Haul out, tent, and heat a lot.



Cooling the boat to 10F for several days (haul out in cold country, not just Seattle).

[gmakhs]

Set the boat on fire , problem solved .

[Spindrift NH]

There is a spray foam that can be placed throughout the boat, as the termites move through/over this chemical it gets transferred to their bodies. They carry it back to the nest which then spreads throughout the nest and kills them all. That's the theory anyway. I've seen it used and had to be reapplied as it did not kill all termites and they continued until the second treatment. I can't tell you if the second treatment worked as the company hired to treat the termites ended up tenting the boat and treating as they would with a house.

The problem with termites, as we all know, is that they eat wood. If they've been on that boat for any length of time they will have eaten into the wood. Sometimes the exterior of the wood shows no sign of being riddled with tunnels. Personally I wouldn't bother even looking at a boat with a termite infestation.

[Greg Mason]

Termites love corn starch, but their bodies can't metabolize it, and it freezes their joints. They love to take it to the queen also. Biodegradable, no worry for pets etc.

[Locquatious]

We had dry wood termites.
1. Tried heating cabins using propane salamander type heater. May have worked but also melted shower drain pipe and bubbled varnish. Hard to control where heat goes but it always goes up.
2. Tried phosphine gas two times. Termites eat the wood up to the varnish and then sit behind the varnish window wondering why all the roaches are dying. May not have used enough gas pellets during the application.
3. Tried permethrin. Termites may be killed but they know the smell and just work around treated areas.
4. Used Termidor or fipronil. Same stuff as Frontline for dog fleas. Used garden sprayer with WD-40 straw nozzle on end to inject fipronil into drilled holes every 6" in walls and floors. It worked almost overnight. Try doityourselfpestcontrol .com look for Termidor SC. Take care, sun broken down fipronil may have by products that are 10 times more reactive and may affect mammals as well as insects.
5. Trouble is by the time you see termite evidence, they have already colonized another part of the boat and it make take 3 years to find the next infestation.
6. Also have used paraformaldehyde SunPac for periods when boat is on the hard. This seems to have gotten the rest of them after the fipronil.
7. Have heard that Vikane gas works well. But expensive and requires expensive training of application personnel. Hard to find qualified applicators.

One pest control expert told us he "Didn't do boats because he doesn't like to fail." Still he gave us some fipronil.

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Spindrift NH

The problem with termites, as we all know, is that they eat wood. If they've been on that boat for any length of time they will have eaten into the wood. Sometimes the exterior of the wood shows no sign of being riddled with tunnels. Personally I wouldn't bother even looking at a boat with a termite infestation.

That's the thing (above). You might only find some pin holes on the surface of the wood, but it could be utterly destroyed inside. Usually tapping will let you know if it's really bad underneath (it sounds hollow), but I would suspect all the wood in the boat at this point. Look around under the wood parts for the tell-tale little round balls of wood dust.

If you buy the boat, gassing them is probably the best solution. I've tried tons of other products on furniture and they work if you can get access to all sides of the infected wood, which is often not the case on a boat. I had to almost completely dismantle my piano to get rid of the little buggers...