Honey, an 18-month-old beagle, is a hunting dog, but she doesn’t go after foxes or rabbits. Those are too easy.
Honey uses her sensitive nose to track down quarry that’s almost too small to see; she’s a termite dog.
The dog was trained at the Forensic & Scientific Investigations K9 training center in Vincent, Ala., a place that also trains narcotics and explosive sniffing dogs. But she was specifically trained to key on termite pheromones, the scent chemicals the insect use to communicate.
Honey’s boss, Jay Moran of A-Abel Exterminating Co. in Dayton, Ohio, says a human termite inspector has about a 30 percent chance of finding hidden termite activity within a house. University studies indicate termite dogs have a 90 percent success rate.
We’re coming into the season where home owners often see swarms of flying insects, and that leads some people into panicky fears about termite infestations. But before you call in a professional exterminator–one with or without a termite sniffing dog–it pays to understand a little about termites and termite control methods.
Swarming season
Termites are social insects that live in underground colonies. When the colony reaches a certain population density, the queen produces a horde of winged male and female offspring that fly off to mate and begin new underground communities.
Termites usually swarm when temperatures have been above 55 degrees for a few days in a row, and they often come out a few hours after a cool rain.
A termite swarm indicates there is an underground colony nearby, but don’t overreact when you see a few flyers.
First, check to see if the insects are indeed termites and not flying ants. Ants have a pinched waist in the middle of their bodies; termites are shaped like a cigar, with no waist. Ants have antennae that are bent in the middle; termite antennae look like a straight string of beads.
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If you see a swarm near your house or suspect the house is already infested, you can check for signs before seeking a professional termite inspection.
Adult termites need lots of humidity and a controlled temperature and never travel in the open air. To get across an open stretch such as the foundation of your house, termites construct mud tubes about the diameter of a pencil. Mud tubes are a strong indication you have a problem.
You can pry loose baseboards and look for mud tubes on the hidden side. Also look for mud protruding from cracks between boards and beams. Infested wood often sounds hollow when tapped, and it is soft when probed with a knife point or screwdriver tip.
If you spot signs of infestation, call a professional for an inspection and get ready for a sales pitch.
Unscrupulous contractors may try to rush you into signing a termite-control contract, but take your time. Termites work slowly, and they won’t do much extra damage in the few weeks it might take to comparison-shop.
As with choosing any contractor, get more than one estimate and check references. Termite control is not a one-shot deal, so make sure the contract you sign covers at least a year of follow-up service.
If you don’t have termites now, take steps to help keep them out. That includes keeping your gutters and downspouts in good repair to keep the foundation area dry. Don’t stack firewood against the house, and keep trees and shrubs trimmed away from siding.
Finding termites in mulch near your house doesn’t mean you have termites inside, but it’s not a good idea to pile mulch against your foundation.
Termite treatment
Termite treatment methods have changed dramatically in the last 10 years. The old-school treatment for termites involved creating a barrier of powerful insecticide around the foundation to prevent termites from burrowing into your home. The barrier method is still in use, but the liquid pesticides used today are much less potent than toxins used in the 1980s and 1990s.
In part because some people are uncomfortable with the heavy use of insecticides used in the barrier method, the use of termite bait stations has become increasingly popular.
In the bait method, plastic modules containing chips of wood are placed at the surface of the soil around places where termites are active. Termite workers find the wood in the bait stations, ingest it and take it back to their colonies.
Some of the wood in the bait stations is treated with a growth-inhibiting agent that spreads through the colony eventually killing all the termites.
Moran of A-Abel says both methods can be effective, but both methods require follow-up visits from the extermination company to confirm that the chemical barrier is working or to monitor the level of termite activity at the bait stations.
He said the chemical barrier method is a little cheaper, but the chemicals can have a smell and they should not be used for homes drawing their water from private wells.
Joe Ferrau, branch manager for Extermital Termite and Pest Control in Dayton, said his company offers both barrier and bait services, but he feels the bait system is the better choice for most situations.
“It just flat works,” Ferrau said.
He said some companies have warned customers that the baiting system can take up to two years to eliminate a colony, but he said modern versions of the baiting system Extermital uses usually work within a couple months.