[Howie628]

I recently discovered termites in an unfinished area of my basement. They were tunneling through some pink foam insulation in what appears to be a localized area. Neither myself or three different company's that I had come out and give me an inspection and quotes for treatment have found any damage that needs to be repaired, other than replacing the insulation. After getting the three quotes we decided upon a company and he came out and treated this past weekend. He did the drilling and treating in the concrete areas as all three companies said they would do. However, in the areas around the rest of the house where there is dirt and or mulch, he did not trench and just pumped the chemical around the edge of the house where the house and ground meet. I asked him about this and he explained it away by saying that the ground was pulled away from the foundation enough that allowed the chemical to penetrate down into the ground. Now in some areas this is the case, but in others, like where there is landscaping and mulch, this is not the case and when I went back and checked the mulched areas after he left, the mulch was not even soaked any deeper than an inch or two. Everything I have read says that the ground should have been trenched at about six inches deep next to the house, treated and then covered back up. This is my first encounter in dealing with termite treatment and obviously I only know what I have read. With that said, I would like to hear from someone in this industry to either confirm or dispel my worries that I did not receive a proper treatment and give me some advice as to if I should contact the company to come back and redo. Thanks P.S. He used termidor to do the treatment.

Howie

[tickle]

I have never heard of termites tunneling through fibreglass which is devastating to any type of bug as it chops up their little bodies Just my opinion, but for sure you will hear from other experts here who will give good advice on this problem.

We are all volunteers here so don't get impatient.

[ma0641]

Pink foam is most likely Polystyrene and they will go through it. There is no cellulose so they don't eat it.

[Howie628]

Yes it is polystyrene. An area about 3' x 5' looked like a road map where they had traveled around in it. It looks like they came in underneith my garage and between the sill plate and block that are underground in my basement, as that is where I found some dirt tunnels and where the foam board that is on the basement wall was affected. The pest control tech did drill the slab in the garage area directly above and on the other side of this area and treated with termidor. It is the trenching (or lack thereof) outside that I am uncertain about. Will I still have an effective barrier around my house if he did not trench and just pumped the chemical on top of the ground next to the foundation? Thanks in advance for any and all input.