Termites invade Sayreville home

Challenge

A homeowner in Saryreville contacted Cowleys after finding himself with a termite swarm in his garage. Termites swarm in the spring — a ritual in which the winged reproductives fly out of the nest to find mates and start new colonies. It is the most visible and most disturbing sign of termite activity. Also, the wings break off, so you’ll often see accumulated piles of wings, especially around doors and windowsills. 

During my inspection of the garage, I found termite shelter tubes on the garage foundation wall (see photo). Termites construct these mud tubes to travel back and forth from the nest to stay protected from the elements and predators. It is a common, and often overlooked, sign of termite activity. 

There was also termite damage at the trim on the adjacent interior wall.  

The damaged wood trim shows termites up close and personal! You can see termite workers and a soldier (see photo). Termites are social insects that live in a caste system. Groups of termites perform certain tasks to keep the colony thriving, and these termites have different physical characteristics to do their job. The solder termites are the “muscle” of the termite colony. Their job is to defend and protect the colony, including the indispensable main termite, the queen, and the foraging workers (mostly from ants). They will head to breaches in mud tunnels to block the gaps, and they also act like traffic cops, directing worker traffic as they move to and from the nest to the food source. Their armored heads, which are often a shade of yellow, orange, brown, or red, are large heads than those of the workers, and they have protruding mandibles (jaws) or snouts. Interestingly, soldiers are unable to feed themselves due to their elongated jaws, and depend on the workers for their sustenance. Worker termites do not fight. Instead, they are busy searching our and collecting food for the colony, building and maintaining mud tubes and the termite nests, tending to the eggs and nymphs. The workers are typically soft-bodied and pale-colored. The workers are the backbone of a nest. A colony has many more workers than soldiers. 

Solution

Now that I confirmed that there was a termite infestation, it was time to treat and get rid of these wood-destroying insects for good. First, I drilled some small holes into the garage floor to access the soil directly beneath so I could inject a highly effective liquid termiticide into the soil.This product binds tightly to the soil creating a protective termite treatment zone that is undetectable to termites. The termites can’t avoid it, and since it is non-repellent, they won’t try to find their way around it. The workers bring the product back to the colony, where it soon kills the entire nest. 

To complete the treatment, I also injected a foam termiticide in the wall and open areas, and performed a complete exterior perimeter treatment around the home. These applications are time-tested and have proven to be highly effective. Also, they are virtually odor free, and there is no disruption or waiting period for the family to enter and use the treated areas since the product is applied deep in the soil or in the walls. In fact, after I’m done, there is hardly any trace that the home was even treated for termites. 

This Sayreville homeowner will no longer have to worry about any further termite damage to his home. It’s a great feeling whenever I go out to a residence to help a homeowner resolve a termite infestation and take away their worry!