UnExCo Home
Links

BACK <<
The Atlantic City Caper - The Story of a Termite Job Do not copy content from this page. Plagiarism will be detected by Copyscape.


T
his private residence, situated in Atlantic City, New Jersey, one block from the beach and the ocean, is
over a hundred years old.  In fact, the house is all concrete, except for the first and second floor wooden framing.  The basement door frames are made of steel, and standard wood framing only starts at the first floor.
Atlantic City, NJ

The termites have consistently showed up in the first floor hardwood flooring for the last few years, after and since the present owner purchased this property.  With a history of swarming termites and unsuccessful treatments, this house is to be treated with the termiticide, Termidor, a product by Aventis.

(Specimen label and MSDS information is listed below, in Links Section.)


Just about every piece of equipment that was used on this job, shows up somewhere in this one photograph below.

Getting ready....


Because of the deep foundations and unusual construction, we elected to use the termiticide, Termidor, by Aventis.  We actually held off doing this job, because we wanted to use Termidor, but it was not available (in our area) until September, 2000. Within a month of its release, we scheduled treatment, consisting of liquid applications of Termidor, followed up by foam applications using the same chemical.  It all sounds easy, and in some ways it was.

But there were a few problems.....

DRILL and DRILL and DRILL and DRILL and DRILL and....
We knew, up front, about the deep foundations.  We came prepared, we had (and used) a standard 36 inch bit, and we also brought another bit we had made up for this job, a 42 incher.  Both were 5/8ths and were also carbide tipped.  We only needed to use the 42 incher on one hole, which finally broke through at 38 inches, good thing we brought it.

Uh, oh....
Another complication we didn't count on, was the discovery that, at sometime in the past, additional concrete pours were made directly on top of the other slabs.  We did know that, actually.  What we DIDN'T know, was that several layers of tar or roofing paper had been laid on the top of the previous floor before pouring the newer slab. This can allow termites to spread out, (even if they don't eat the paper) between the slabs, making termite control much more difficult.

TREATMENT SPECIFICATIONS
This was a spot-treatment.  Since this structure had been treated in the past, and since this structure is within a short distance of the ocean, we proposed a spot treatment only. In our opinion, this property did not require a barrier treatment at this time.

If you're an exterminator, (or even if you're not) you can check out my comments and reasons for a spot treatment on this job.


Click on images



The first place we start to drill is (in the basement) directly below the area where the termites appear in the upstairs flooring, each spring.
The scene of the crime....



Going.....  Going.....
The first hole is outboard from the door frame, the second closer to the wall, the third and final hole (on this side of the wall) is closer yet.



All three holes in these pictures took the full 36 inch bit, right to the hilt.
GONE!



Now, just around the corner from our first set of three holes, we started another short sequence of holes.

The 36 inch bit
Start with the 36 incher....
This is going slooooooww.....
Switch to the 42 incher....
Broke through at this point....
It went all the way to here....

These were the "world's worst."  The deepest holes we drilled. We actually used two bits on these holes.

Good thing this wall is here....
Took almost 15 minutes....
Not quite, but almost....
Time to switch to Mr Big....


Liquid Application

For our liquid applications, we used a standard rod, with a four port, side-facing, pointed tip.  We injected our Termidor mixture at various depths, up to the four-foot length of the rod.  We then changed our tool to a standard slab injector and attempted to inject more termiticide under pressure.

Number 1 Hole....
One, Two, Three, let 'er rip....
I think I can.... I think I can....

The amount of diluent we used for treatment cannot be determined with any certainty - our equipment will not (reliably) measure small amounts, less than a few gallons. We think it took a maximum of ten gallons (over a couple of hours) but perhaps only a couple of gallons.  For our liquid application, we used the Termidor at the maximum (.125) strength listed on the label.  We also expected these injection problems, one of our reasons for using the maximum application rate.

Now, on the other side of the door frame....
Each of these....
I can hear the termites screaming....
Went all the way....


The slab injector (none of this is high-tech) has a conical rubber tip that seals the hole as termiticide is forced in under pressure.  "Under pressure" actually means "low pressure," since New Jersey requires this.

'Ol Number One, once again....
And around the corner....



Foam Application

Getting the foam machine hooked up and running is always a pain, we use it so infrequently that the seals and bushings tend to dry out, making it difficult to start up sometimes. We had checked it before our job, but the best laid plans of mice and men.....
The Foam Machine

Once it was hooked up right, our cranky foam machine worked pretty good.  That was a nice surprise.   We felt the foaming part of this procedure seemed "more successful," - we could see the foam, moving through the delivery hose, so we knew it was going in, although we figure it took less than we wanted - maybe only a few cubic feet.  Here again, we couldn't really determine an exact amount.  In both cases, it was very little, but we knew (or suspected) this might happen.

For our foam application, we also used Termidor with a standard foaming agent. Termidor foams pretty good all by itself, but since this was our first job using Termidor in a foam application, we were kind of picky.

A little "wetter" than shaving foam
Sticky, not runny
Very little foaming agent was needed, and we probably used more foam in test adjustments and titrations, than I expect we did in the actual treatment itself.  We suspected the foam volume for treatment might be small, so we wanted everything just right. The foam machine has much the same kind of tip that the slab injector has.


Several cycles of treatment and re-treatment were made.....

'Ol Number One, once more, with feeling....
Hole Number One
Nice, wet foam....
Awaiting re-treatment....


Clean up can be one of the most important aspects of our job.  Oftentimes it takes longer to clean and patch than it does to make the actual chemical application.
Clean-up
Clean up the mess....


Patching holes
Patch holes with concrete
Patching all treatment holes is required, at least here in New Jersey, and in this situation it is our own magic mixture of concrete and mortar mix.


Best part of the job, all finished, packing up, getting out. Riding off into the sunset, our next stop was the world famous White House Sub Shop, home of the world's best hoagy.
Packing Up
Packing Up to Go....

EPILOGUE
This job was performed and completed on October 3rd, 2000.  There have been no further signs of termite swarming since treatment was completed, and no indication of any resumed activity on our last inspection date of May 21, 2001.

11/03/05 - An inspection was performed on this date with no apparent activity.

11/17/06 - All outside concrete around the house was replaced on this date.  Before the pour, all areas were pre-treated using Termidor. Here are the details.

06/13/07 - Termite inspection performed this date, no activity detected.

08/03/09 - Ditto.



Links

Wanna try our Termite Job Estimator?  Even though it's mostly designed for our own local service area, anyone can try it.

Website of Aventis, the sole manufacturer of Termidor.  On this page you can also input your zip code and find a Termidor Partner.



Specimen Labels  -  MSDS Info for Termidor
(For Post-Construction Only)
Termidor SC  [  label  ]  [  MSDS  ]  [MSDSfinsolution ]

(For Post-Construction or Pre-Treatment)
Termidor 80 WG  [  label  ]  [  MSDS  ]  [ MSDSfinsolution ]



I keep this site in flux and under constant construction.  If you have any comments or
recommendations about our Web site, you can tell us about it
right here.


back
TOP

© United Exterminating Company