Help with termites hatching

[roody]

In June I had two very large evergreen trees cut down and had the excess chipped. I made large raised paths all around my .19 acre. Here in N. Cal, yesterday it rained for the first time since last April or May. Today many termites are hatching from the chips. Will they be a problem? If so, can I kill them without harsh pesticides?

[shireen]

1. scary!

Were the trees infested prior to cutting down? How deep are the beds? Is any of the wood close to your house walls? Wish i could offer words of wisdom, but i'm new to this house stuff so I'm interested in hearing what others have to say about it.

[roody]

4. The trees were healthy. I

wanted more sun in the yard.

[jeff47]

2. It depends.

If the paths are not close to the house, you probably won't have a problem - they've got lots of food in the paths.

If the paths are close to the house, then it could cause a problem.

Burrowing termites die when exposed to sunlight. So one of the ways to see if that particular type of termite is attacking your house is to look around the foundation for small tubes made of mud - the termites build them up the foundation wall in order to reach the wood in the house.

This method isn't foolproof - for example you won't be able to easily check the inside walls of your foundation, and there's other species of termites that don't build tubes.

If so, can I kill them without harsh pesticides?

No. Some people market alternatives to pesticides. They generally do not work well.

[Warpy]

5. Don't look for small tubes made of mud, though

Termites are great at hiding their routes up to the sills, so you need to look for something that looks like soil splashed onto the foundation during a heavy rainstorm. They're not going to be nice, neat, straight tubes heading out of the soil.

Termites are diabolical little shits.

But yes, you should be OK as long as those paths are at least eight feet away from your foundation. Chances are termites laid their eggs in them during the summer instead of being in the trees, themselves.

You might also get the soil around the foundation treated, just in case.

[roody]

6. Thanks. I keep a close eye on the house.

When I saw them rising in the sunshine, I thought it was meal moth season again. But they have long clear wings. They were rising up by the hundreds. Late summer, I thought there were maggots in my Doggy Dooley 'septic' system. I've used these things for over a decade with no problems. I covered them with dirt but long things kept appearing. They are termites I guess.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. You can take care of them yourself. Lowe's carries a DIY termite killing system.

[mopinko]

7. rent some chickens?

we split a pile of buggy wood the other day, and my girls went after those termites, and other bugs, like they were gold nuggets.