How to Trench for Subterranean Termites the RIGHT Way. Everything you need to know. How and why.

[@justaskwhy1]

Thanks you Guy! Thanks for being a generous giving person. You have given me hope in getting out of my termite problem.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

What? I can't believe you did that. That was incredibly generous of you. Nobody has ever donated that much money before. I don't even know what to say here. I never expect people to donate any money at all to my channel, but I can tell you that it does go on long way toward improving the quality of my videos. This is almost enough to purchase a small monitor that I need to look at while I am shooting videos. Right now I have no idea what the camera is seeing because I am in the front of it and I have no videographer operating the camera. Therefore, I want to place a small monitor, that is about the size of a cell phone, on the camera tripod, so that I can see what the camera is seeing. This will save me a lot of time reshooting when the camera has my head chopped off or something. Thanks to you, I can now afford to buy this monitor, so thank you so much for that. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@SooperToober]

Thank you so much for your wealth of experience expertise and knowledge- I wish my professors at University spoke and taught as clearly and with clarity as you do. You take the fear out of learning by making the complex simple. Simply brilliant! ❤❤❤

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. What a nice thing to say. That is so kind of you. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@ouchydoom]

Thanks, Guy! Your videos are a great help! It's difficult to find any decent pest control information online without contacting a pest control company. You always take the time to give direct advice on specific problems. It's nice for people to know there is a professional they can talk to about this stuff who doesn't have any skin in the game.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words and for the tip. Both are very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@chrisdspeer]

Hi Guy, I truly appreciate your efforts to gift agency to homeowners who would rather take pest control into their own hands. I’m treating an elderly handicapped couples home for termites, they are my neighbors and I spoke with them about their anxieties about not being able to afford to pay for the treatment of their home. It is a gift to have someone like you offer it he information in a manner that is easy to consume! Thank you for your time and consideration, it’s really a service to many!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Your are very kind for helping out your neighbors like that. Be well my friend.

[@Leo6009]

Good day Guy, you may remember I trenched in front of the rocks along the front of my garden in front of the house in Oz. Thanks for your help at that time. We have monitored the results and we feel like pros. 😁😁😁😁. I could send you some photos of the work via email if you’re interested. You’re a good guy. Just so useful is your information and so much common sense with that makes your KZbin channel so valuable. Hope you’re well!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

That is so thoughtful of you to take the time to write such a nice comment. It makes me happy that I was able to help you. I always love to see photos. You can send them to [e-mail]. I'm glad that it all worked out for you. Be well my friend.

[@mariabyrne1954]

I'm in Australia too where do you get the termite killer granules Bayer? Is there a similar product here in WA

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I'm so sorry that I'm only getting to answer this right now. For some reason, KZbin did not send me your comment until this morning. They do that sometimes and I have had them hold comments for as long as 3 years already. If ever you ask me a question, and you do not get an answer within a few days, then please email me. The granules are only available in the US. You have different species in Australia, and not all of them behave the same way. Some species where you are require a more aggressive treatment. So, you need to identify the species to figure out how to treat properly. I am so sorry that I cannot be of further assistance. Be well my friend.

[@Queenenosia]

I wish i could tell everyone i know: WATCH GUY'S videos before you call a TERMITE PRO!!!! Appreciate your upmost honesty And straight forward and thourough explanations. The information om ur channel is a treasure chest of value. flawlessly thorough & everything i was seeking online after finding out i had termites!!! i did a hundred google searches and read a hundred useless articles that never explained what i wanted to know. I wish i could have found your channel sooner. 100% Liked & Followed.

[@debbiebuxton2854]

I have watched several videos on termite treatment and hands down you are the most thorough. I can't thank you enough. The cost of living just keeps going up and wages stay the same. Termite treatment can get very costly. What a blessing to hear from a professional. Thanks again!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@Jo-bk6vy]

I found a narrow pile of dirt(almost looking like tube) on bedroom carpet. When i touched it, it was very soft and just crumbled away. I opened the carpet and found dirt under it. Pushing the dirt away, there was a pin hole. There is no crack around, but a pin hole. there was no bug i could see. It is 7 feet inside of outer wall with two gutters, one in each corner. I recently found that the gutters were totally blocked and with the heavy rains we've been having in Texas, water was pouring right out. The gutters are now fixed. I had two exterminators come by. One said that he will drill hole into the cement foundation to treat as well as trenching around the house for termite. The other exterminator said that he would rather not drill a hole into foundation since there is no crack. He will do trenching for termite since I do have termite on the other side of the house( I had water leak into a corner of house, which i was not aware, and allowed termite to attack the wall- found frass right above molding and treated with foam). They both said that they will use Termidor he, not sc. What is your thought on the drilling? What is your thought on using Termidor he vsTermidor sc or Taurus sc?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

There is a lot to unpack here. Texas is a big place and species varies depending upon where in the state you live. I need to know where you live, and I need to know more about the frass. Was the frass kind of like mud and you needed to scrape it off or was it more like very tiny pellets that can be easily moved with your finger? If it is like tiny pellets that can be easily moved with your finger, then most likely neither of the treatments offered will work. If it's more like mud, then trenching would be the way to go, but you still need to know the species because all of Texas has Formosan termites, and they often require interior treatment. I would also like to know more about the floor where the hole is. Is that a wood construction floor or is it a concrete slab? You need to be careful before hiring a pest controller, especially if you are getting an estimate from a national company. They often send out salespeople who have no field experience at all. Oftentimes they get the species wrong or they don't understand the difference between different species of subterranean termites. So, I recommend that we do just a bit more investigating before deciding on a treatment plan. I would be happy to assist you with this and my service is always free. Treating the wrong way will waste money and not get the job done. So, it's important to get it right the first time. Here's the thing though, I am on vacation, and I only get internet some of the time. I will be back after June 11, and I will be able to fully walk you through everything after I'm home. I think it would be worth your while to wait for me because it's not that long. So, please answer my questions and I will get back to you just as soon as I can. Meanwhile, please try to relax. I promise that it's going to be okay. Be well my friend.

[@Jo-bk6vy]

@@GuysPestSolutions Thank you so much for your help. To answer your question, I live in East Texas. The frass I mentioned may have been wrong terminology. The dirt was on the wall... so.. perhaps.. I should say that a tube was beginning to form. It was more like pallets, like coffee grinds but mixed with light and dark color. I swiped and it all fell away( not like fresh dirt). The one on the floor in my bedroom under carpet was just like pile of dark dirt. I do have concrete slab. Since i disturbed the pin hole, I do not see any dirt building back up. On top of all this, I see one or two dead carpenter ants inside every other day. I saw them crawling out in the yard by trees, but i think they are encroaching. Enjoy your trip!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

​@@Jo-bk6vy I am in a hotel room with a very slow internet connection. I will be home on June 11 and then I can give you my full attention. Please try to take a photo of the frass and send it to me at [e-mail]. Get as close as you can and try to focus in really well. I will try to identify it for you. If the floor is concrete, then these are probably subterranean termites, but you may also have something else going on as well. Carpenter ants often invade buildings where termites are located. Let's make sure we get this right. When you say east Texas, is that North or South? Please give me a city that you are close to. Thanks. Be well my friend.

[@Jo-bk6vy]

@@GuysPestSolutions Hope you had a safe journey. I sent you an e mail with photo as you requested. Thank you!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@Jo-bk6vy I think I just responded to your email, but I'm not entirely sure. Please let me know if I didn't respond yet and I will look for the email. I answer a lot of emails every day and I'm just getting to June 12. I had them backed up from May 29th. I'm making progress, but the emails keep coming in, so I am about 5 days behind right now. I was 12 days behind at one point, so that's progress. I should be caught up this week sometime. It's crazy. I sit here almost all-day answering emails and KZbin comments. It will be nice to get caught up. Be well my friend.

[@joshmoore1292]

Absolute legend for this description. "Some termites like to go for takeout" That lands. I just finished the ditch tonight. Using Taurus SC. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@deanmohamed7575]

This man is wise. Listen to him. Dont argue with him.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words and for your support. Very much appreciated and humbling. Be well my friend.

[@Neptune730]

I used to work for an exterminator. I did the trenching. I also went under houses to trench around the piers. If it was to low we would spray the piers from outside really well.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Yeah. Me too. Sometimes all you've got is spraying the piers because the house is super close to the ground. In those cases, I will also just trench around the entire house too. Hey. You do the best you can. I'm happy for you that you moved on. That's a lot of work to be doing every day. Particularly in the summer. Way too hot. Be well my friend.

[@pyewhackett1598]

So glad I found you today Guy. I bought a 120y olf small wood home, it was treated. However the bad wood was not removed and ORK__-pest company wanted to sell me another expensive treatment. Your knowledge will be used by me.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. You can do this. Probably even better than the pros. Be well my friend.

[@sam-ou9uw]

Thanks

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much. That was very kind of you. I will use the tip to make more videos. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@chhengte5185]

Thank you for your kindness to helping us to safe money especially during this time .God bless you and your family

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@freespirit1975]

You are a great resource. I wish you'd been on YT in 2006 but I guess you were still working and there was no You Tube! I wasted my time digging trenches too deep at first (like a foot), digging 10 ft at a time length, calculated the concentration of Bayer Premise needed and mixed with the bucket. I also pushed in a garden fork (potato fork) a few inches deep all along the trench, then flooded, then soaked the backfill. Saved most of my house but lost the worst area in front (didn't know) because winter came and was going to wait for Spring. The other area I got damage was where I drilled 1/2" holes along my patio (1 1/2' apart) then using a smaller pvc pipe with holes drilled in it making it into a screen and a funnel JB-welded to the top, pushing it down in the ground, and pouring solution in and letting it soak in-but it didn't work. My clay soil didn't take enough solution using just gravity and I got damage. I already had bait stations on the house perimeter and had saved one end of the house using the bait chemical that affects the termite molting (that type works), the stomach poisoning type does not. My stations along the patio picked up the termites and they devoured a wooden bait stick-I mean QUICK! They damaged my house in that area. That's when I called a pro. Using my boreholes, he had a pressure rod that he stepped on the trigger and man he really got some fluid under the patio. Actually had sand volcanoes coming out of the adjacent holes. Anyway he got enough down there to do the job. We trenched the rest of my house and were successful using Bayer's other, newer, non-repellent chemical.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thanks for sharing that story. Very interesting. The good news is that you only needed the pro to do the concrete, so you saved a lot of money there. The bad news is that you are no longer protected if you did the treatment in 2006. If it were me, I would install monitoring stations around the house. You can make them yourself for under 50 cents each. I will give you the link to the video. It sounds like you have dense soil, so termite granules may will not work for you but you can do a test to see. If the ground passes the test, then you should use the granules too. For the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should just use the monitoring stations. Make sure that you buy the correct granules. You need the ones that have imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to make monitoring stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narIY2qXja2Fqbs Video on how to use termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k0_1_7&amp=&crid=6U9ASK6AJN8D&amp=&sprefix=termite

[@black5254]

This entire video is great!! Best long KZbin I ever watched!!!! I’m glad didn’t skip this video.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@chadwickcooks]

Thank you for taking the time to help me and others. It is much appreciated. I have learned a lot from your videos. You are the Man Guy.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much. That was so thoughtful of you. I am so happy that I was able to be of assistance to you. Also, thank you for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@ronball7356]

25 years ago I was a licensed applicator. You've taught me things I never thought of, like why should we drill inside the house? (Because I was taught to, smh) ! Thanks!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much. That was so kind of you to do. Very much appreciated. Be well Ron.

[@FirehouseJunkRemoval]

Hi Guy, first off thank you so much for the invaluable information and content you give for free. I watched every second of this (and most of your videos) with that I will be thorough as well to try and paint my picture. Recently I discovered active termites in our property from frass coming out of the wall in three small spots.I climbed into the attic and saw a small mound and poked it with a stick and yes active termites which were about 5--7 feet to the side from where the frass was protruding. So I discover your videos and watch most on termites and due to the frass I assumed they were drywood termites (I am located in north Texas). I had three companies come out to give me quotes and they all stated they were subterranean. My home is one bathroom which is located in the center of the house with all the other piping (laundry room) the companies believed they were coming up through the bath drain area in the center of the house which is close to the location of the frass. As far as the outside, my property has two driveways to enter from so I have a lot of concrete coverage quite large actually. So as for my questions.. 1. Does my information sound like subterranean termites? 2. With having all that concrete should I allow the companies to drill holes to input the termiticide or do you believe I would be good just doing the pellets or trenching the yard myself? And would you recommend pellets or trenching or both? 3. Spot treating they wanted to spray through a small cut open hole to where the bath piping is and foam the wood frass protruding areas of wood.. Spot treating quotes were $300 and to do everything including spot treating and outside trenching and drilling concrete were between $950-1250. I feel I can do most myself but wasn't sure especially with all the concrete. Once again THANK YOU so much for all your time and information as i'm sure you have helped countless people. Hopefully my question will help answer others as well. God bless.

[@FirehouseJunkRemoval]

Also one more thing, I did recently spray Bifen I/T around the house for mosquito and bug control before I had found out about the termites. Would that be an issue for trenching or using the granules on the ground?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@FirehouseJunkRemoval If you live in North Texas, then the pest controllers are probably correct that you have subterranean termites, because drywood termites are not known to exist that far north. However, termites in the attic is a red flag, and you need to check to make sure that these guys are not Formosan termites. Try to dig out a specimen with a red head and then watch my video on how to identify termite species. If you find out that they are Formosan, then I need to explain how to go after them. Just use a flathead screwdriver to dig into the wood in the attic and get out a specimen with a red head. Put it in a jar and let it die. Then you can have a good look at it. For me to be able to tell the best way to treat this, I would need to see photos of all sides of the property, from the house to the property line, and to the street. After I take a look at it, I will be able to tell you if you need to drill the concrete or if this is something that you can take care of yourself, with either the granules or by trenching. You can send the photos to [e-mail]. Please remind me of your KZbin name when you send the photos, so that I know who you are. I am somewhat surprised that they want to spot treat this problem. I usually advise homeowners to do both an exterior treatment and a spot treatment inside the house, but most professionals do not spot treat for subterranean termites. I think it's a great idea, so I am happy to see that there are some pros out there that have finally figured it out. Anyway, spot treating is super easy to do, so you certainly do not need a pro to do that. In fact, most of the pros do not do it correctly anyway. To spot treat subterranean termites, you need to buy a fipronil foam. I will provide links for two products that you can choose from. Drill holes in all damaged areas, that are 4 inches apart, and drilled about halfway through the wood. Inspect for exit holes in all the walls and woodwork. If you are seeing exit holes in the wall, then there is most likely a stud behind the exit hole. Get a stud finder and locate the stud where it meets the ceiling and drive a small nail into the stud a couple of inches below the ceiling. Attach a weighted string to the nail and that will show you where the stud is. Then drill the holes 4 inches apart along the entire length of the stud, about 3 inches deep. Do the same thing for woodwork, except only drill the holes halfway through the wood. If you think that there is a 2 x 4 behind the woodwork, then drill a 3-inch-deep hole every 8 inches. The holes only need to be wide enough to get the applicator tip of the foam can into the hole. After the holes are drilled, then shoot the foam into each hole for about 5 seconds or until you have foam either coming back out at you or coming out the other holes that you drilled. All the holes should have foam either going into them or coming out of them. This will contaminate their food source and they will take the fipronil back in the colony and spread it around to the other termites. Most of the time, subterranean termites are going to be building mud tubes somewhere. You will most likely find these mud tubes going up the exterior or interior of your foundation and you may find them along joists and even in the attic sometimes. If you have a slab home, then you may find them going up the outside of the house on the slab and even the side of the house. If you can find the mud tubes, then you can treat them as well. Just scrape off about a 2-inch section of each mud tube down to the bare surface. Then, shoot that foam into each side of the mud tube and also apply a little of it on the surface where you removed it. The termites will rebuild the mud tubes and bring the foam back to the colony to spread around to the other termites. Also, if you can find the mud tubes, this is a very good way to determine when the infestation is gone. If you scrape off that 2-inch section of a mud tube, you can see if there are any live termites in the tube. Again, the termites will rebuild the tube and go about their business. Do this every two weeks after you finish all your treatments. Apply the foam to the mud tube every time you do it. At the point you are no longer seeing live termites and they stop rebuilding the mud tube, then your infestation has been eradicated. Spot treating alone is kind of like throwing a Hail Mary pass. Sometimes it will take out the whole colony, but it is a good idea to treat the outside with either the granules or trenching. Hopefully, you will be able to use one of those methods, and I will let you know after I see the photos. Meanwhile, you can go ahead and do the spot treatment. Don't forget to spot treat the attic too. The Bifen IT you sprayed should not pose any problems with termite treatments. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. FiPro: www.solutionsstores.com/fipro-foaming-aerosol Termidor Foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html

[@kayekirkes2484]

Thank you for this. I am going to watch all your videos and will have questions. We have active termites and will be trying to identify them soon. So thankful to know we probably can do this ourselves and save a lot of money on a fixed income. Bless you!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@rpdx3]

Thanks! PS… your video on carpenter ants was super helpful! I think I’m finally making some headway eliminating those pesky critters.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words and for the tip. Both are very much appreciated. Please let me know if you have any questions. Be well my friend.

[@javierbiaggi3072]

Very good advices! I'm a retired rice mill superintendent and I did all my pest control in house and man we were very vigilant on all pests that try to get a piece of our products. It was quite complex because we were treating so many different areas all cover by 14 different categories that I have to be licensed. Of those, only the Aerial Application Category I could not apply because pilot license was a pre requisite although I took the course just for fun and knowledge and approved it. I tell you this not to show off but to confirm what you said there's nothing in stone regarding to pests but you have to be aware of the least common of the senses the elusive common sense and never relay on one thing. Your approach is spotless why spend many dollars is there is a simple and inexpensive way. For a brief time I worked for a extermination company as branch manager I enjoy solving complex problems to pharmaceutical companies, restaurants and many small industries simply and inexpensive. I enjoy your shows very much and thanks for sharing your experiences with such generosity.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@VS-vs3nn]

GUY IS THE BEST WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING RID OF PESTS! Vince from Chicago!!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much. That is so kind of you to say. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@jodigurl72]

Thank you sir! You are a blessing to us people who are struggling financially and find that they have termites and can't afford a professional exterminator. And know you have to do something and do it yourself and pray it works! Thank you again! I ha

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@portiamonnette]

Hello... I am glad I found your channel.... My question to you is about termites in the garden, which have been eating my new baby tree roots that have transplanted.. I'm trying to figure out a way to keep them out of my garden bed without using poisons... They are attracted to my garden because of all the mulch that I use... In this dry climate they do what earthworms would do if we had them here ....if you know the answer you would get a TON of views from gardeners because I watch a lot and I mean a whole hell of a lot of gardening KZbin shows and I always hear this question... Thanks, Portia

[@GuysPestSolutions]

The answer to your question depends upon where you live. Most species of termites do not eat live food. They only eat dead wood. The species that do eat live food are typically located in warm climates, such as US coastal states, Hawaii, and California. Of the species that eat live food, Formosan termites are the most common. You can use pesticides to treat them, but that would defeat the purpose of having your own garden in most cases. So, the only way to go after them is to bait them. Please watch my video on how to make your own bait stations and install them where you are seeing the activity. Check them every couple of days and add bait as needed. Never remove partially eaten bait. Just add more. If the termites do not take the bait, then try to obtain live termites and place them immediately into the bait stations. This will attract the other termites to the bait. Formosan termite colonies can number in the millions, so it can take some time to collapse a colony of these guys by using baiting alone. If you garden is small enough, you can trench around it and treat with a pesticide that will not get into the garden. Just trench it like a house. I will give you a link to that video as well. Just keep the trench about a foot from the side of the garden. Also, inspect your house for termites. This is very important if you have termites in your garden. I hope that helps. Be well Portia. Video on how to make bait stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGGYi2CXiq-Yntk Video on how to trench for termites: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKqainuflJyNbsk Video on how to inspect for termites: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXjccomKbL-sqNE

[@btulsa8983]

Thanks! I enjoyed your easy to undetstand guidance. The videoes are very appreciated.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much. That was so kind of you. I will use that money toward buying more equipment and making more videos. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@TrueHearted78]

On my way to search for Treatments of other Termites on your channel. 1st home owner here (3 months). And we've spotted a cpl on the kitchen window. Thanks for your time an knowledgeable expertise

[@GuysPestSolutions]

How you handle that will depend on the species. Figuring out the species is actually pretty easy and I have a video on how to do that. I will provide you with a link below. After watching this video, you should be able to identify the species. Just get back to me after you watch it and let me know what you found out. At that point, I can tell you exactly what you need to do. Let me know if you have any problems identifying the species, but I do not think that you will. It is much easier than you may imagine. Also, please tell me where you live. Location matters. Be well my friend. Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@tomalley798]

Wow. You are amazing. Never thought I’d come across such a knowledgeable person that would share his knowledge and simplify it as well as you do. Quick question; if you had no choice but to drill through outside perimeter of concrete, how far should the holes be apart and how much to pour? Thanking you In advance 🇦🇺

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Normally I would drill the holes 12 inches apart, but you need to use high pressure equipment when treating concrete. Just pouring a pesticide down the holes will not get it done. So, this is something that is best left to the pros. The only time you need to drill concrete is if the concrete runs right to the properly line. Other than that, you can just dig around it. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@RenaissanceMan78]

Excellent information, thank you for taking the time to make this and your other videos.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words and the tip. Both are very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@baba-sm1fm]

I am so happy to have found your channel!! Your videos are gold! Full of helpful information. I had my house treated when I purchased it in 1997, the company said that the window air conditioner was the water source to the subterranean termites ( I live in Missouri), We got rid of the air conditioner and got central air, but fast forward 5 years, I wanted to assure the termites were gone and had another company come out to inspect, they said there were termites there and treated the perimeter, but I watched the person and he was just spraying the product around the perimeter without doing any digging, I had no idea this was wrong until now after watching your video. I have noticed there are dead winged termites sometimes in the rooms upstairs and just this week I noticed an empty channel in one of my oak floor, this was not there before or maybe it was and only now showing to the surface. this board is close to the brick chimney ( only for furnace and water heater exaust). I will defenetely do the treteament around the house perimeter like you showed, I am so thank full for your video! God bless!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those very kind words. You know, more and more, I am hearing one horror story after the other about professional pest controllers. I'm really finding it difficult to wrap my head around it. While it is true that termites do like water, the air conditioning unit that they said was causing the termite problem was not actually causing the termite problem. The termite problem was caused because there was a colony of subterranean termites located somewhere within a 300-foot radius of your home. It is certainly true that having wet ground is helpful to the termites, but, in all likelihood, they would have attacked your house anyway. If the treatment was properly done in 1997, then there would have been no reason for you to remove that window air conditioning unit. Clearly, the company that treated without digging a trench around your home did not do the job correctly. I wouldn't even want to venture a guess on what that person actually treated with. In any case, that treatment is not going to work. If you are finding winged termites in your home, then, in all likelihood, you do have an active infestation of subterranean termites. There are actually two ways you can come at this. Of course, you can dig a trench around your home as I described in my video and that will most likely be 100% effective. The other option is to try a much easier and less expensive approach. You can simply apply termiticide granules around your home and then water them in with a garden hose. I know, this sounds too easy to be true. However, this method of treating subterranean termites works about 95% of the time. That is a little less than the 100% that you get with trenching, but it is way easier to do and it is generally worth taking the risk. So, if you don't mind, I would like to give you just a bit of advice. Go around your house and look for mud tubes. You will usually find them on the exterior of the house and they will be coming up from the ground on your foundation. If you don't see any mud tubes on the outside of the building, then, if you have a crawl space, go under there and look for mud tubes under the house as well. If you do not find mud tubes under the house, then go up in the attic and see if you can find any up there. Most of the time, you are going to find mud tubes in one of these places. If you can locate at least one mud tube, then that will allow you to monitor the activity of the termites. So, go ahead and treat with the granules instead of trenching the house. I will provide you with a link to my video on how to properly treat with granules. After you do the treatment with the granules, then wait about four weeks and break open a two-inch section of the mud tube and look to see if there are any termites in it. If you see termites, then wait another two weeks and do it again. If there are active termites, they will rebuild the mud tube. It can take up to eight or nine weeks for the granules to work, so be patient. Just scrape off a two-inch section of the mud tube every two weeks and check for activity. If you are still seeing activity after 10 weeks, then you are going to need to trench. However, if there comes a point where there are no more termites, and they stop rebuilding the mud tube, then your infestation has been eradicated and there will be no reason to trench. The granules only cost about $50, so it's not much of an investment to save a whole lot of backbreaking trenching. Don't worry about waiting 8 to 10 weeks for this to work because subterranean termites are very slow eaters and will do almost no more damage within that relatively short period of time. Now, you should know that trenching will last five to ten years, with seven years being the average. However, the granules must be applied every year. If you apply the granules every year, then you will never have another subterranean termite infestation. Now, it is very important to purchase the correct granules and I will put a link below to the exact product that you need. I hope that helps. If you give the granules a try, please let me know the result. Be well my friend. Video on how to treat subterranean termites with granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY BioAdvanced Termite Killer 700350A granules: www.amazon.com/BIOADVANCED-700350A-Perimeter-Treatment-Granules/dp/B000RUIJYM/ref=sxts_rp_s_1_0?adgrpid=1342504832925931&content-id=amzn1.sym.14b5a3ec-ddf3-42f1-bf1e-8515f8d25a34%3Aamzn1.sym.14b5a3ec-ddf3-42f1-bf1e-8515f8d25a34&cv_ct_cx=termite+killer+bioadvanced&hvadid=83906755322577&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=72390&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83907333654521%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=29859_14561483&keywords=termite+killer+bioadvanced&pd_rd_i=B000RUIJYM&pd_rd_r=7862750f-c143-42e6-9f12-4d642ac9349f&pd_rd_w=ZEivb&pd_rd_wg=snR54&pf_rd_p=14b5a3ec-ddf3-42f1-bf1e-8515f8d25a34&pf_rd_r=CFJW2B034TAAS4HZNTJ8&psc=1&qid=1655478271&sr=1-1-f0029781-b79b-4b60-9cb0-eeda4dea34d6

[@baba-sm1fm]

@@GuysPestSolutions I appreciate that you took time out of your day to write back to me and to help with my situation, it means a lot to me. I had never heard about termites until I moved to the US from Italy in 1993, over there our houses are built out of stone and concrete so we don't have this worry. I work this week-end, but next week I will go on a hunt for termite tubes like you instructed. If I don't find termites tubes in the crawl spaces or around the house, or up in the attic, I am thinking about treating with the granules anyway because I have found termites in my Back yard, they had infested a few of my fence boards only about 10-15 feet away from my house. I will keep you updated with developments. Appreciating you for being such a kind human being, have a fantastic day!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@baba-sm1fm Always my pleasure. Keep in mind that, even if you do not find the mud tubes, you still may have termites. Most of the time you will find mud tubes somewhere, but not always. If you don't find mud tubes, the granules may still work, but you will have no way to monitor to see if they did. All you can do is wait to see if the termites swarm again. So, in the absence of mud tubes you may want to trench to be sure you got them. The granules work about 95 percent of the time, but that is not a sure thing. There is still some risk. Personally, I have never had them fail on me, but they can fail if the soil is too dense. If the soil around your home absorbs water easily, then you will most likely be okay. An easy test you can do is to simply pour some water on the ground next to the house. If the water leaches into the ground right away, then you are probably fine, but if the water just puddles and does not leach much, then trenching may be best. Welcome to America. Italy's loss is definitely our gain. I am Italian as well, but I was born in the US. My grandparents immigrated in the early 1900's. Be well my friend.

[@baba-sm1fm]

@@GuysPestSolutions Grazie Paesano!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@baba-sm1fm Always my pleasure. Be well my friend.

[@baja1980s]

You’re awesome, thanks for sharing so much information, here in Florida, Clermont area and having many black widows and spiders in my area, home is located street across from a pond so I know that doesn’t help but it’s incredible the information you are sharing with your other videos. Thank you and hope your well. ✅💯🫡👍🏽

[@RobW-tz9qu]

Really great, clear explanations and step by step instructions, Guy. A couple of questions: I found 1 tunnel up the side of my slab. This is brand new. After I confirmed that it was created by termites (and I had no prior idea what they looked like), I realized that there were some in my raised organic gardens approx. 15 ft from my house. When I was pulling up extraneous growth in the raised beds, I discovered quite a few "sprouted" pecan nuts with what appeared to be tiny white worms infesting these nuts. While I had pulled out sprouted pecans in previous years, I never had the termites. And since we do not have any pecans in our neighborhood, I assumed that squirrels or rodents had been burying them there. However, I now believe these nuts and perhaps the termites came in to my garden via the commercial organic compost mix that I till into my beds every February. And this year, perhaps I got termites with the mix. Question: how can I treat the termites in my raised organic beds without introducing toxins? Can I sprinkle the termicide granules around the outside of the beds? I'm not too worried about the wood sides of the beds, as I just replaced them last year, and used preservative treated cedar. And finally, once I treat my house by trenching, should I also spray thermicide into the space the termites have been accessing into my house? Thanks.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Okay, there's a lot to unpack here. If you trench around the house, then there's probably no need to do a spot treatment. These guys are obviously subterranean termites, so the trenching should do the job all by itself. While you could treat the damaged areas, it is probably not necessary. The treatment takes up to 12 weeks to be effective because we need to give the termites time to bring the termiticide back to the colony. You can monitor the progress with the mud tube. Two weeks after you finish trenching, just scrape off about a 2 inch section of the mud tube. See if there are any live termites in there. Then wait a few days to see if they rebuild it. Do this every two weeks until there are no more termites and they are not rebuilding the mud tube. At that point, your infestation is most likely gone. I cannot promise this for certain, but there is a very good chance that the treatment you do on the house will also eliminate the infestation in your garden. That is because subterranean termites never colonize in your home. They always colonize in the ground someplace and there is a very good chance that the colony attacking your house is the same colony that is attacking your garden. When you treat the house, that will take out the entire colony, so that will also treat the garden. Now, this is not a sure thing because there could be two colonies, but the odds are that there is only one. I am kind of getting the feeling that you are reluctant to use pesticides in the garden, so let's see if the house treatment will get it done for you. If it doesn't, then the best thing to do is to apply the granules directly over the areas where you are seeing with termites. Farmers do this all the time, and it will not present any health hazards. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@nolidcreations]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. No active termites has been found in my home, but whlle moving an item in one of my rooms, I saw a dead termite. Also I recently did some renovating and I could tell the wood that was replaced had termite damage. I guess my question is.. is it wise for me to trench around the house if there are no active termites, but if there has been before?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. We have some stuff to unpack here, so let me start by saying that you seldom see termites, dead or alive. That is because they will die if they are exposed to the air, so they typically stay inside the wood or inside mud tubes that they build. It would be someone unusual to find one outside of the wood, even if it's dead. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is it make sure that this was a termite and not something much different, such as a carpenter ant. You probably disposed of the specimen already, but the next time you see something like that take a look to see how many body parts it has. If it appears to have only two body segments, then it may well be a termite. However, if it appears to have three body segments, then it is probably something like an ant. Also, termites are typically a cream color, unless they are swarmers. Wood can be damaged for other reasons besides termites. For example, you could be looking at dry rot, or perhaps damage from something like carpenter ants. Typically, wood destroying pests eat with the grain of the wood, but dry rot will destroy the entire structure of the wood. If you have confirmed that these are actually termites, but you are not seeing any activity, then it is possible that one of your neighbors killed them for you. Most species of subterranean termites do not colonize in your home. They only colonize underground, and they typically attack more than one food source at a time. If the colony attacked your neighbor's home and they had it treated, then that treatment probably took out the entire colony, so your home will no longer be infested. Nevertheless, sometimes termites can attack one part of the house, and for reasons known only to them, they may decide to abandon that food source in favor of another one in a different part of your house. Therefore, if you know that you are looking at termite damage, yet you are not seeing termites, red flags do need to go up. You would be wise to do an inspection of the rest of the house to see if there's any activity in other areas. Look for mud tubes that are coming up from the ground around the entire perimeter of the house. If you have a crawl space, go under there and look for mud tubes as well. They could be coming up from the ground, or they could be running along the floor joist as well. You should also check the attic as well because some species will travel into the attic before they start to eat. It would also be wise to look around the house to see if you can find any mud along the baseboards or damage. Check all the walls and look for tiny holes that may be no larger than 1/8 of an inch wide, and they may be filled in with mud. While you are checking the walls, also look for sagging or discolored paint. You should also check the ceiling as well. If you do not see anything like this, then you are probably okay. Still, it wouldn't hurt to do a preventive treatment around the house. The easiest way to do this is to use termite granules. For the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should consider monitoring stations. Trenching will work too, but it's a lot more work. Make sure that you buy the correct granules. You need the ones that have imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. If you confirm that you do not have an active infestation already, you may want to also consider using monitoring stations around your home. I use both the granules and the monitoring stations. I will give you a link to my video on how to make them for under 50 cents each. I put them around my entire house for less than $25. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k1_1_6&amp=&crid=157C3RV0MY0AK&amp=&sprefix=termit Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Video on how to make monitoring stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narIY2qXja2Fqbs

[@nolidcreations]

Thank you so very much for providing this information. It's very insightful and extremely helpful... I appreciate you, big time 🙏🏾😊💯

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@nolidcreations You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@NumberTwenty-Four]

We use Premise and Termidor… Also Taurus sometimes… A termite bond is required for home owners here in Alabama…

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I'm sorry, but you have been misled. I am not aware of any law in Alabama or any other state that requires a homeowner to have a termite bond. Alabama requires termite exterminators to purchase a surety bond as part of the application process to obtain a professional services license. The bond protects the public if the exterminator violates the provisions set forth in Alabama Statute 2-28-10.1. So, while the pest control company must be bonded, that does not mean that their customers must have any sort of termite bond. If you are selling a house, then most lenders do require a termite inspection. If the house is found to have termites, then the lender will generally require that the problem gets treated prior to the closing. I am planning to do a video on this topic sometime this year. If you know of a specific Alabama Stature that requires a termite bond, then please share that information with me. I would love to read it. I don't think you will find one though. Pest control companies that tell customers that a termite bond is required and then charge them for it are actually committing fraud. So, my advice to pest control companies is to always take the high ground and be honest. My advice to homeowners is to get more than one estimate and always check information that is provided by any company, regardless of the service being purchased. All of the products you mentioned are fine for treating termites. I usually recommend Taurus SC instead of Termidor SC because it is less expensive. Premise 2 works differently than Termidor SC or Taurus SC and uses imidacloprid as the active ingredient instead of fipronil. It's still a great product. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@AlexK-t3o]

Thank ❤! Can you please explain how to trat the house on wooden or concrete stumps? Again, thank you so much for your valuable advice.❤

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for reaching out to me. I will do my best to assist with this. I'm just a little bit confused though. I would like you to clarify something for me. Are you saying that your house was built on tree stumps? I have never heard of that before. If this is the case, then it would be helpful for me to see some photos of what you have going on. You can send photos to [e-mail]. if you send photos, please explain one more time in the email what is going on. Also, please give me your KZbin name. That way I can read your original comment again. I would also like to know where you live. When it comes to termites, location matters, because different areas of the world, or even the US, have different species of termites. Different species of termites behave differently, so it is important to understand exactly what you are dealing with before you start to treat. Finally, I always answer questions within 48 hours, but KZbin does not always allow me to do it. I don't know why they do it, but sometimes they delete my responses before people get to read them. Other times, KZbin does not send me comments from people at all, or they delay sending them for months. So, if you do not hear from me within 48 hours after you make a response, then you need to send me an email. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@DAS-Videos]

I used Taurus SC in 2019 and it rid all the termites relatively quickly, and I haven't seen a termite since. It is an amazing product. It is expensive but worth every penny. I monitor for termites by simply placing blocks of soft wood pressed into the dirt in various spots and look under them every couple of weeks. If termites are around they find them fast.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

The termites will most likely find the wood blocks, but it is a good idea to get them a couple of inches deep. I like monitoring stations better though because you just need to look at them to see if there are termites. If you treated in 2019, you should be good until at least 2024. Probably longer than that. Be well my friend.

[@DAS-Videos]

@@GuysPestSolutions I am constantly looking for bugs in my yard; termites, carpenter ants, and Lantern flies and emerald ash beetles included :-)

[@encouraged7607]

We so appreciate you! Thank you so much. We are on fixed income and are older, but need to try to do this ourselves. Thank you for such detialed instructions.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@lenbloom338]

We are building a home in Northeast Georgia and we are doing the termite mitigation ourselves. We bought Taurus SC for the trench and Borate for the framing. We started to treat the ground under the slab and then I read the fine print in the packaging that said if we are using Borate for the framing that the under slab treatment is optional. We were wondering just how much difference that under slab treatment would make to begin with and now we decided not to finish that aspect of the project and just do the trenching and Borate. I really have enjoyed watching your videos and want to thank you for sharing your lifetime of experience with everyone. You are a fantastic resource sir!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. In your case, I recommend treating all the wood, from the top of the roof to the foundation, with Bora-Care. It's the only product worth using. Mix it one to one with water and not one to five. You can use cold water. It works just fine. It's expensive, but it penetrates almost all the way through the wood, while the other products only coat the surface of the wood. This will render the entire house 100% termite proof forever. It will also prevent other wood destroying pests as well. If you treat all the wood, inside and out, then no other termite treatment will be necessary ever. Some people will tell you to just treat a few feet up from the foundation, but doing that will not prevent other wood destroying pests, such as carpenter ants and carpenter bees. Also, termites can find their way further up the building by constructing mud tubes to higher elevations in the building. This is why you must treat all the wood in the entire structure. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Bora-Care: www.solutionsstores.com/boracare Bora-Care video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJ7VkJR7pMmsnsk

[@lenbloom338]

@@GuysPestSolutions Thank you very much for your response. Regarding the mix ratio, I have been finding ratios from 1:1 to 5:1 (as I'm sure you are well aware) and I am very confused on scenarios where you would use a ratio other than 1:1. Under what circumstances would you use a 5:1 ratio?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

All I can tell you is that in my personal opinion you always want to go with 1 to 1. The manufacturer claims that 1 to 5 will work to prevent termites, but I don't trust it. After the house is completed, it's too late to find out that 1 to 5 didn't work. You can't go back and redo it because the shingles are on the roof, the siding is up, the drywall is installed, and so forth. So, you want to get it right the first time. Let's say it takes 20 gallons of finished product to do the entire house and a gallon costs about $80. At 1 to 5 it will take 4 gallons to make 20 gallons of finished product or about $320. If you mix it 1 to 1 you will need 10 gallons to make 20 gallons of finished product or about $800. The difference comes to $480. So, on a brand-new home, are you going to skimp $480, and risk that it doesn't work? One termite treatment by a pro will probably cost 3 times that much. Next to the cost of building the house, $480 is a grain of sand on the beach. Some people have car payments that are more than that. Heck, that's less than you will spend to buy a water heater. So, do you want to spend your days wondering if the treatment is going to work or do you want to sleep soundly at night knowing for sure that your house is fully protected? In my view, if you need to cut costs somewhere, then spend $1000 on a new refrigerator instead of $1500. You can always upgrade the refrigerator later on. After the house is finished you cannot upgrade the Bora-Care treatment. Anyway, that's the way it seems to me. I have used Bora-Care many times and I always go 1 to 1. Again though, that is just my personal opinion and I have no studies to back it up. I just don't like taking chances. I guess gambling isn't in my nature when it comes to pest control. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@lenbloom338]

@@GuysPestSolutions Point well taken Gus! I am not a gambler in any regard, not just pest control. I will put my big boy pants on and open up my wallet and do it right. I will have you to thank for that and really appreciate all that you do. Thank you again sir! Do you have an easy way to calculate how much I will need to cover all of the linear lumber as well as all of the sheeting on the roof?

[@lenbloom338]

Sorry for the typo, Guy not Gus!!

[@jakedones2099]

I will subscribe. For your honesty. And your helpfulness

[@GuysPestSolutions]

That is very kind of you to say. Thank you so much. Be well my friend.

[@noahmurray4633]

I have a wet crawl space with active sub terranian termites in south Jersey. I’m in the middle of installing a French drain under there along with a full encapsulation and dehumidifier. I’m planning on spot treating the tubes with the foam than going to buy your red eye monitoring system to put around my yard. I was advised from pest companies not to do a termicide because I have a high water table and more importantly I have well water. And you don’t wanna pump that stuff near a well. I wanted to hear your input thank you

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Are you installing the French drain under the crawlspace or on the outside of the building? It sounds like you were doing it under the building, which is okay, but if you do it on the outside of the building, then you don't want to get too close to the house, because that will prevent you from doing termite treatments. I do not necessarily agree with the pest control companies you spoke with about not treating the exterior of the building with a termiticide. I can't help but wonder if they dug any test holes to see if they were able to do a trenching treatment. It's pretty simple really. You just dig holes in several places around the building that are 6 inches deep. If you hit water, then do not trench. If you do not see water, then there is no reason not to trench. The termiticide will bond with soil, so it will not be going anywhere. If your well is not within about 8 feet of the house, then I would not be concerned about it at all. So, if I were you, I would get a shovel I just dig a couple of test holes on each side of the building. If your house fails the hole test, then I would be happy to give you the procedure to spot treat the termites. For spot treating to be effective, you must do it correctly. Please note that the red eye stations should not be used for an existing infestation. They were designed as a preventive measure only. While they do a wonderful job preventing subterranean termites, they are not a good choice for treating an active infestation. That being said, if you spot treat for the termites, and if it is successful, then installing monitoring stations around the house would be a very good idea. As luck would have it, I am currently in the process of doing the postproduction on a video that will show you how to make your own monitoring stations out of disposable water bottles for under $0.50 each. The red eye stations cost about $15 each, so that is the savings of about $14.50 per station. If you make them yourself, which is super quick and easy to do, you can probably place them around your entire house for under $25, and you can locate them at 4-foot intervals, instead of the 8-foot intervals that you need to use with the red eye stations. That means the termites are way more likely to find them. I expect to have this video released sometime next week. If you subscribe to my channel and click on that little notification bell, then you will get notified when the video is posted. I hope that helps. Please let me know if the test holes fail, and you need guidance on how to do the spot treatment. Be well my friend.

[@Intentionaltia]

I’m using Navigator SC, I already purchased it! It has 0.8 fipronil per gallon! It is also non-repellant. Thanks for such thorough explanation Guy!😊

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Navigator SC is the same thing as Taurus SC or Termidor SC, so you are good to go. The only reason I don't mention Navigator SC is because I have not used it and I do my best to only recommend products that I have actually worked with. Navigator SC has the same exact concentration of fipronil, so there should be no difference. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@Intentionaltia]

@@GuysPestSolutions Understood! Thanks again!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@Intentionaltia You are very welcome. Be well my friend.

[@BreakTheShell739]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Be well my friend.

[@pratapbhanur]

Nicely shared important knowledge on termites world’

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@jimnichoson1241]

been watching your videos on Pest Control and they are very informative and I really appreciate all the work you put into these to help us out. i’m watching this video about the termites and the trench treatment because I’m paying a termite company and they’ve never trenched my house. I’m in Florida all they’ve done is come in with their rod and every 20 feet sticking in the ground squirt a little in there and then charge us and then come back next year and do the same thing. I don’t feel that is a solid treatment and most of the companies in our area are now charging several thousand dollars to do a treatment. so I purchased Taurus SC and I’m going to trench it myself because I understand it last 10 years but I am going to have to drill holes through my driveway because my driveway is 85 feet long and I’d probably kill myself trying to do a barrier around both sides of the driveway for 85 feet. The Online company that I purchased the chemicals from also sold me a drillbit and plugs so I can bore these holes and then plug them when I’m done but my question is how do I administer the Taurus SC in these holes the correct way without paying thousands of dollars for equipment. thanks

[@GuysPestSolutions]

First of all, what in the world are you doing up at this hour on Christmas Eve? I promise you that the termites are not so bad that you can't postpone worrying about them until after Christmas. Take a couple of days and enjoy your family. Now, I know what you're thinking. You are wondering why I am not taking the same advice. I mean, I'm busy answering questions on Christmas Eve. That would be a good point. The only reason I do it is because there are folks who need help 365 days a year. If I accomplish nothing else today but to get you to relax for a couple of days, then it was worth getting up early in the morning on Christmas Eve. Next, please consult with me before you do anything related to pest control. My services are free, so I never have any reason to mislead you. The companies that supply you with pest control products or pest control companies that treat your house are in this for profit, so they will sell you things that you don't need. Good examples of this are both the contract that you are in with the pest control company, and the fact that the supplier sold you a drill bit and plugs that you aren't going to need. I'm going to explain how to take care of this without drilling the driveway. In the video I tell you that you need to trench both sides of the driveway. While that is true, you don't need to trench all 85 feet. I think you will be fine if you trench about 30 ft down each side of the driveway. Also, you should leave the driveway for last. You can do the trenching 10 ft at a time, and you can take a month or more to finish the job. Just do a little at a time. That being said, it is possible that you may not need to trench at all. If you do not have an existing infestation of termites, then you may be able to get away with simply using granules. I live in Florida too and that is exactly what I do to prevent termites. You can apply the granules around the entire house and the on both sides the driveway, and do all 85 feet, in about two hours. No trenching required. I have a video on how to do that, and I will give you a link to it. The granules can also eliminate an existing infestation of termites, but not for all species. So, if you live in Florida and you have termites, then trenching is probably a good idea, because we do have a species here that may be able to escape the granules. Trenching can last up to 10 years, but not always. I always tell people that it can last 5 to 10 years, with 7 years being about the average. The granules need to be applied every year. You can treat an average size house for about $60, but in your case, it may cost about $90 because you have such a long driveway. So, trenching in your case will probably take more than one container of Taurus SC, so it may cost you a couple of hundred dollars to trench, but it's good for about 7 years. It's a lot more work, but it's much less expensive than treating every year at a cost of $90 per year. Personally, I just go with the granules, but trenching does cover you for all species. So, which method you choose is totally up to you. I hope that helps. Now go have fun for a couple of days. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Be well my friend. Video on how to treat your house for termites using granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJram56AdsR1acU

[@henrym.5884]

I'm from Myanmar.Now my house was destroyed by Termites.Now I have a knowledge how to start to control by myself.Thanks for sharing knowledge about control termits. Deep Regards. KM.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@PaulB-iw4wg]

Guy, you are best! Do you have a video on using non repellent once they are already in the house?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You can give any termite treatment a bit of a boost by doing a spot treatment. If at all possible, spot treating for subterranean termites should not be the only approach to eliminate an infestation. An additional exterior treatment should also be done with either granules or trenching, whenever possible. Spot treating alone may totally eliminate the infestation with no other treatments, but it's not a sure thing. That is because subterranean termites live in the ground and not in your house. They travel to and from the colony, that is most likely located within a 300 foot radius of your home. Trenching or the granules will provide a higher dose of the pesticide and ensure that you are not getting attacked from another side of the house as well. To spot treat subterranean termites, you need to buy a fipronil foam. I will provide links for two products that you can choose from. I like the FiPro the best because it's a little less expensive and I like the applicator tip better, but the Termidor Foam also works very well. The FiPro is not available everywhere. If you can get one of these foams, then drill holes in all damaged areas, that are 4 inches apart, and drilled about halfway through the wood. If you are seeing exit holes in the wall, then there is most likely a stud behind the exit hole. Get a stud finder and locate the stud where it meets the ceiling and drive a small nail into the stud a couple of inches below the ceiling. Attach a weighted string to the nail and that will show you where the stud is. Then drill the holes 4 inches apart along the entire length of the stud, about 3 inches deep. Do the same thing for woodwork, except only drill the holes halfway through the wood. If you think that there is a 2 x 4 behind the woodwork, then drill a 3-inch-deep hole every 8 inches. The holes only need to be wide enough to get the applicator tip of the foam can into the hole. After the holes are drilled, then shoot the foam into each hole for about 5 seconds or until you have foam either coming back out at you or coming out the other holes that you drilled. All the holes should have foam either going into them or coming out of them. This will contaminate their food source and they will take the fipronil back in the colony and spread it around to the other termites. Most of the time, subterranean termites are going to be building mud tubes somewhere. You will most likely find these mud tubes going up the exterior or interior of your foundation and you may find them along joists and even in the attic sometimes. If you have a slab home, then you may find them going up the outside of the house on the slab and even the side of the house. If you can find the mud tubes, then you can treat them as well. Just scrape off about a 2-inch section of each mud tube down to the bare surface. Then, shoot that foam into each side of the mud tube and also apply a little of it on the surface where you removed it. The termites will rebuild the mud tubes and bring the foam back to the colony to spread around to the other termites. Also, if you can find the mud tubes, this is a very good way to determine when the infestation is gone. If you scrape off that 2-inch section of a mud tube, you can see if there are any live termites in the tube. Again, the termites will rebuild the tube and go about their business. Do this every two weeks after you finish all your treatments. Apply the foam to the mud tube every time you do it. At the point you are no longer seeing live termites and they stop rebuilding the mud tube, then your infestation has been eradicated. It typically takes several weeks for any termite treatment to be effective. That is because you are using slow kill products. If you were to kill the termites too quickly, then they would not have a chance to bring the poison back to the colony and share it with the other termites. If you don't kill off the entire colony, you will not end the infestation. Therefore, you must kill off subterranean termites very slowly. So, I would give this at least 12 weeks before I would decide that something went wrong, and the process didn't work. Hiring a professional to trench your house is pretty much going to take about the same amount of time to kill off the colony. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k0_1_7&amp=&crid=39LQH28BN6B0V&amp=&sprefix=termite FiPro: www.solutionsstores.com/fipro-foaming-aerosol Termidor Foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html

[@PaulB-iw4wg]

@Guy's Pest Solutions Guy, thank you for sharing your experience with all of us. Thank you for your response, it's very much appreciated! You're the best!!

[@PaulB-iw4wg]

Thanks again

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@PaulB-iw4wg You are very welcome. Be well my friend.

[@kb4ns]

First, thank you for all the great videos and sharing your knowledge! I recently bought a brick home on a concrete slab built in 1986 in southwest Tennessee. In June, it had a termite inspection that revealed no concerns. There are holes drilled in the brick all around the exterior (holes are about 3/4" diameter, 18" above the ground, and spaced 24" apart - and they are not weep holes - the walls have standard weep holes where mortar was withheld). The previous two homes I lived in here in the Memphis area had similar holes all the way around the exterior as well and I have always assumed that these holes were where the pest control people applied termiticide. But I can find no reference anywhere online to this practice; the only references I can find to drilled holes are down into concrete, not into brick walls. I'm wondering if it's something that is unique to certain areas like mine since I've had these holes in different homes serviced by different companies. Is this something you have heard of? And if it is, would you recommend I use a certain product and apply it into the holes? Or should I just plug them and use other methods you talk about in your videos? Thanks in advance!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Drilling holes like that in the exterior of the brick would not be consistent with common pest control practices. I have learned over the years to never say never in pest control. Just when you think you've seen it all, someone comes up with something new. That being said, I can think of no reason why at pest controller would wish to do that. Pest controllers have been known to drill holes through concrete block, but it is typically done on the inside of the home for foundations. So, this would certainly not apply to you. I do not claim to be an expert with regard to brick veneer, but my best guess is that the existing weep holes were found inadequate for some reason. I can think of no other reason for drilling holes every 24 in apart around the building. I find it very strange that you have seen this on more than one building. If it were me, I would call a contractor that specializes in installing brick, and ask if they have ever seen it before. In any case, I think this is more related to a construction issue rather than a pest control issue. If the holes were drilled to allow moisture to escape, then it would be unwise to fill them in. That being said, those are very large holes and do present the opportunity for pests to enter. Therefore, it may be wise to push some Stuf-Fit into the holes to prevent pests from entering. This will allow moisture to escape, but it will prevent pests from getting in. This material is made out of copper, so it will not rust. I'll give you a link to it. I'm so sorry that I cannot be more assistance. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Be well my friend. Stuf-Fit: www.amazon.com/Stuf-fit-Copper-Mesh-Control-30/dp/B00149P89E/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=stuffit%2Bcopper%2Bmesh&qid=1703443094&sr=8-3&th=1

[@cpiscitelli1674]

Hi Guy...Thanks for the very informative videos. I love that you take the time to clearly explain your solutions. I have regular quarterly 'normal' pest treatments done around the perimeter of my home. This week, the pest controller told me he noticed some subterranean termite signs outside on my foundation wall. I just had a termite inspector come and as you can imagine, he gave me a bait system quote with 2 years of monthly inspection fees. Now, I had these pests inside my home last year, under one of my toilet commodes. The same termite inspector who just came to inspect the outer perimeter did my interior treatment about 7 months ago. He did a foam treatment and I have not seen any sign inside my home since. The new exterior activity was found on the opposite side of my home from the bathroom where the treatment was done 7 mos ago (FYI). The visible signs outside are about 2-3" trails in 2 locations about 4 ft from each other. I have a very straight & flat home, rectangular if you will. I live in the California desert, so soil is sandy and its very hot (esp. now, with days over 110) . As you recommended, I will try the granules, BioAdvanced 700350A as the first means of attack? Does application time of day, in sun or shade make a difference??? Can you give me any tips on the best application process and/or should I just go directly to the trenching. If trenching, that's another convo with you. Thank you so much , Carol

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I would be happy to assist you with that. I always try the granules first before trenching. Termite granules are an effective and easy solution for subterranean termites, but for the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should consider trenching. The time of day does not matter much to the granules, but it could matter to you. I recommend doing the treatment at first light, before it gets too hot. That will be easier on you and the water will not evaporate as quickly. You need the water to melt the granules and allow the pesticide to leach into the ground, so cooler is probably better. You may want to lightly water them in three or four times. It sounds like you already know that you need the correct granules. They must use imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. Keep in mind that all termite treatments can take up to 12 weeks to work. That is because you need to kill termites slowly in order to take out the entire colony. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k1_1_6&amp=&crid=157C3RV0MY0AK&amp=&sprefix=termit Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY

[@daryltalley8242]

Carol, im curious, the bait onGuard runs around 699. But was not told about monthly indirection fee to monitor if decide to do in Florida. Curios to that fee? S ok glad found his videos to treat homes either way!

[@cpiscitelli1674]

@@daryltalley8242 I was quoted $400 for initial bait stations with a $30 a month monitoring fee, renewable after one year at $360 with continued monthly monitoring of $30 a month

[@cpiscitelli1674]

@@GuysPestSolutions Hi Guy, So I dug a hole about 4" deep by 6" long....filled with plain water and it took about 6 min for the water to seep down. Is this what you would say is fairly quickly ? Also, once I sprinkle the granules, do I water them or just leave them on the surface? I GET NO rain at all where I live in the desert, so how do the granules sink into the dirt ?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@daryltalley8242 I'm not a big fan of bait stations because the bait does not kill termites. It only stops them from reproducing. A termite worker can live up to 2 years, so this can be a very slow process. Also, there is no guarantee that the termites will find the stations. You can install monitoring stations yourself that will alert you to the presence of termites, so that you can treat them before they get to your house. You can purchase them commercially for about $15 each, or you can make them yourself for about 50 cents each. When the termites find the stations, you can then use a bait station to kill the termites. Again, up to a 2 year process. The good news though is that I have developed a bait station that will kill the termites in about 12 weeks. I will be posting the video on how to make these yourself as early as Sunday and no later than a week from Sunday. The way it works is you install the monitoring stations. When one goes off, you install one of the bait stations that will eliminate the colony in 12 weeks instead of 2 years. If you subscribe, you will be notified when the video posts. I will give you a link to the video on how to make monitoring stations and a link to a place to buy them. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to make termite monitoring stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narIY2qXja2Fqbs Where to buy monitoring stations: www.solutionsstores.com/red-eye-termite-monitor

[@mts2464]

Thank you. thank you. Thank you. This info will save me $1500!! I will be trenching outside foundation and foaming interior damaged wood. Ordering Fipro foam and liquid Taurus❤❤ Guy, you are the man.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@dayslayer7871]

Hi Guy! Excellent info from a pro - Love it. When using the trench method, how often do you do this? In another video you made before this one (treating for general pests), you kind of suggested that the trench method is annual. If you mentioned the answer in your video, sorry for the hassle. Thanks very much! I just discovered your videos today and it’s all I’ve been listening to and partially watching all day! Your info is pure gold! Now I just gotta implement it. Can’t wait!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Trenching lasts 5 to 10 years, but it should only be done if you have an active infestation of subterranean termites. When you use Taurus SC as a surface spray, it only lasts about 90 days. So, it lasts a lot longer when you bury it. Please let me know where you live and if you have an active infestation. Location matters because different places have different species. I can then tell you the best way to go about treating. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@dayslayer7871]

@@GuysPestSolutions Hi Guy. Great info - thank you so much! I reside in Fayetteville, NC, an area notorious for termites and its sandy soil. Thankfully, I don't have an active termite infestation. Also, I haven't observed any termites in my lawn-though I'm not sure I'd recognize one if I saw it! My home, constructed on a concrete slab in 2017, is located in a neighborhood where I never see pest control vehicles. This leads me to believe that termite and general pest problems might not be prevalent among my neighbors. However, the fear of termites looms large here as many worry about the severe structural damages they can cause, potentially leading to costly repairs. Your videos have been enlightening. They suggest that while termite infestations should be taken seriously and treated promptly, they are manageable and not as catastrophic as I previously feared. And seeing you implement inexpensive preventative measures is reassuring! I appreciate your expertise and look forward to your suggestions on how to protect my home against termites.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

​@@dayslayer7871 If you have sandy soil, the termite granules applied every year should do the trick. For the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should consider just using monitoring stations. Make sure that you buy the correct granules. You need the ones that have imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. Since you do not have an active infestation, you may want to also consider using monitoring stations around your home. I use both the granules and the monitoring stations. I will give you a link to my video on how to make them for under 50 cents each. I put them around my entire house for less than $25. You can also purchase commercial ones for $15 each. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k1_1_6&amp=&crid=157C3RV0MY0AK&amp=&sprefix=termit Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Video on how to make monitoring stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narIY2qXja2Fqbs Commercial monitoring stations: www.solutionsstores.com/red-eye-termite-monitor

[@terrybanks2337]

Thanks!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Wow. That is so generous of you. Thank you so much. Very unexpected and never necessary. Still, very much appreciated. I will use it to buy more equipment to make videos. You made my day.

[@tysontomko]

Hello Guy! I recently found about 50 swarmers on the inside and outside of my garage window. Quick backstory. I was doing landscaping work at the time in my backyard with my garage door open, planting and working near my foundation. I took a break to go look at my phone while sitting in my garage. I then saw about about 20 to 30 swarmers bouncing off the glass. Some were also on my dryer hose above the window but I couldn't clearly see if they were coming in or were emerging from inside. There is a slight gap where that hose meets the wall. I grabbed shop vac and went to town. After about 10 min they were gone. I then went back outside and on the outside of the window and general 10 foot area were just as many swarmers. I killed most of these by hand and unable to find where they were coming from. I go back in garage, then into adjoining laundry room to see another 20 or 30 swarmers at the window. My laundry room shares a wall with my garage and plenty of gaps and cracks for various hoses. All of that said, I killed the swarmers and for another few minutes would see some on my garage floor here and there I'd squish. That was all yesterday. They were localized to that general area and I didn't see any on 2nd floor or other first floor rooms. Today I'm looking all over and have found no mud tubes (no crawlspace thankfully) and besides some wings from yesterday no other evidence of termites. I've lived he 14 years and seeing these for first time. So my novel aside, my big question is do you think there is a colony in my walls somewhere? Is there a chance I stirred something to digging in my landscaping (lots of rotted tree buds and leaves) and the swarm then came in my house via hose gap or wind/ open garage door? I live in Illinois if that helps. I'm torn on what to do next and thinking about sticking a boroscope in my wall to look for any traces since I've learned they can live in moist wood without needing to return to soil? Thanks again for the great videos

[@GuysPestSolutions]

It is very helpful then you told me where you live. There is a very high probability that you have an infestation of subterranean termites. They do not colonize in your house, but they like wet wood. They always colonize in the ground, usually within at 300 foot radius of your home. So, let's talk about how to treat them. There are two options for treating subterranean termites yourself. The easiest way is to use termite granules. It costs less than $60 to do and it only takes about an hour. The application is so easy that a child can do it. The other option is to trench around the entire building, including the driveway. It takes about a day for most people to trench around an average sized building and it only costs about $100 to do the job. Trenching lasts for 5 to 10 years, but the granules should be applied every year as a preventive measure. For the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should consider trenching. Make sure that you buy the correct granules. You need the ones that have imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. You can give any subterranean termite treatment a bit of a boost by doing a spot treatment. If at all possible, spot treating for subterranean termites should not be the only approach to eliminate an infestation. An additional exterior treatment should also be done with either granules or trenching, whenever possible. Spot treating alone may totally eliminate the infestation with no other treatments, but it's not a sure thing. To spot treat subterranean termites, you need to buy a fipronil foam. I will provide links for two products that you can choose from. I like the FiPro the best because it's a little less expensive and I like the applicator tip better, but the Termidor Foam also works very well. The FiPro is not available everywhere. If you can get one of these foams, then drill holes in all damaged areas or areas where you think there is activity, that are 4 inches apart, and drilled about halfway through the wood. If you are seeing exit holes in the wall, then there is most likely a stud behind the exit hole. Get a stud finder and locate the stud where it meets the ceiling and drive a small nail into the stud a couple of inches below the ceiling. Attach a weighted string to the nail and that will show you where the stud is. Then drill the holes 4 inches apart along the entire length of the stud, about 3 inches deep. Do the same thing for woodwork, except only drill the holes halfway through the wood. If you think that there is a 2 x 4 behind the woodwork, then drill a 3-inch-deep hole every 8 inches. The holes only need to be wide enough to get the applicator tip of the foam can into the hole. After the holes are drilled, then shoot the foam into each hole for about 5 seconds or until you have foam either coming back out at you or coming out the other holes that you drilled. All the holes should have foam either going into them or coming out of them. This will contaminate their food source and they will take the fipronil back in the colony and spread it around to the other termites. It typically takes several weeks for any termite treatment to be effective. That is because you are using slow kill products. If you were to kill the termites too quickly, then they would not have a chance to bring the poison back to the colony and share it with the other termites. If you don't kill off the entire colony, you will not end the infestation. Therefore, you must kill off subterranean termites very slowly. So, I would give this at least 12 weeks before I would decide that something went wrong, and the process didn't work. Hiring a professional to trench your house is pretty much going to take about the same amount of time to kill off the colony. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k2_1_4&amp=&crid=2GLEQCE9S5RV&amp=&sprefix=term FiPro: www.solutionsstores.com/fipro-foaming-aerosol Termidor Foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html?pdpv=2

[@tysontomko]

@@GuysPestSolutions I cannot thank you enough for the great advice! I'm going to try using the granules as most of my house is surrounded by dirt (some under rock) and maybe go hog wild next yearc and full on trench. Thank you again

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@tysontomko You are very welcome. The granules have always worked for me. Be well my friend.

[@JohnSmith-jf3pj]

I'm doing drywood and subs treatment at my house right now and I suspected that the work was not done properly or thouroughly. Your post is very helpful. It's so hard to find a trusworthy termite company. I wish I could hire you to do my house.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I am so sorry to hear that you're having a problem finding a reliable pest control company. I've been hearing more and more stories lately of pest control companies that are, well, not competent. I find that incredibly saddening because these folks are giving the industry a really bad name. I don't know how some of these people managed to get a license. Anyway, most of the time, you are better off simply doing your own pest control. Treating for subterranean termites is super easy and you don't usually need to even trench. I have found that, about 95% of the time, I can totally eliminate a subterranean termite infestation simply by using termiticide granules and it only costs about $50 to do an entire home. If you feel like the pest control company you hired did not do the job correctly, then you may want to take out an insurance policy by applying these granules around your home. I will provide you with a link to my video on how to do it and also a link on the correct product that you need to purchase. You need to be careful when purchasing this product because there are two versions of it and one of those versions does not work. Home Depot and Lowe's no longer sell the correct version and so I am now recommending that you order it from Amazon. Unfortunately, drywood termites are quite different than subterranean termites and this is one of those times when you cannot really treat it yourself. That is because the only way to totally eliminate a drywood termite infestation is to tent the entire house and fumigate. Of course, the problem with fumigation is that the gas they use offers no residual action. That means you can get re infested with drywood termites the moment the tent comes down. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, you must treat the exterior of your home every three months with a pesticide. I have a video on how to do that and I will place a link below. Unfortunately, you cannot hire a pest control company to do this for you. That is because almost no pest control companies will do this type of treatment. Don't worry though, the treatment is super easy to do and it is perfectly safe. I also have a video that outlines all of your treatment options for drywood termites. This video will go over all your possible options to treat the problem, but I have to tell you that the bottom line is that the only sure way is fumigation. So, if you have a company that is busy spot treating for your drywood termites, then I have to tell you that it's kind of a waste of money. There are a lot of pest control companies that will do these spot treatments, but the problem is finding all the galleries. Even the best and most skilled pest controllers are most likely going to miss galleries. All of this is explained in the treatment options video. I feel bad about giving you more videos to watch, but knowledge is power. The more you know about these things, then the more money you are going to save and the more effective you are going to be at resolving these issues. Learning about this stuff is going to keep you from getting ripped off and it is going to save you thousands of dollars in the end. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. How to treat your house with termite granules video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY BioAdvanced Termite Killer 700350A granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_ypp_rep_k0_1_6&amp&crid=1BU67Q3WPAZMS&amp&sprefix=bioadv Drywood termite prevention video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJaxpKCMl89rhsU Drywood termite treatment options video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3WZf4eLZptgjrM

[@JohnSmith-jf3pj]

@@GuysPestSolutions Will watch and learn and do what I can myself. Very much appreciated. Thank you!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@JohnSmith-jf3pj You are very welcome. Be well my friend.

[@peterclemmins7099]

Thanks a million buddy! Subscribed. I like your style. I'm always DIY and I hate spending too much money.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words and for subscribing. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@jamesaucoin131]

Hi, I watched your educational video after I saw the termites. Unfortunately, I cleaned up and tore all the infested wood out. They started under my shower where the drain goes through the slab. They had mud tubes going up the outside of my shower into my sheetrock. I was going to call terminex, but after watching the video, I think I will take your advice first. Thanks so much for the informative video.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Please tell me where you live. Location matters. I want to make sure that you are not dealing with an aggressive species that may require more than just trenching. Most of the time you are not, but I would be a terrible pest controller if I didn't check. A lot of slab homes are built in the south, like Florida, which is Formosan termite territory. That species is found in southern coastal states, California, and Hawaii. Please let me know and I will tell you if this is a concern. Be well my friend.

[@jamesaucoin131]

@@GuysPestSolutions South Louisiana.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Okay. That is NOT what I wanted to hear, but I did suspect that this was the case. Most slab homes are in areas where Formosan termites exist. You happen to live in the Formosan termite capital of the world. So, you definitely need to check to make sure that you are not dealing with these guys. Please watch my video on how to identify termite species. Don't worry. It's not that hard to do. I will give you a link to the video. Please get back to me if these are Formosan Termites because these guys are bad. Really bad. They are often called super termites because of how fast they eat and unlike other species that cannot colonize in your home, these guys can. So, you need to take extra steps with Formosan termites. Be well my friend. Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@jamesaucoin131]

Ok Guy, I had to work late, so I didn't get a chance to inspect the mud tubes to inspect the termites, but my exterminator came out and talked to my wife and told her that it was formosan termites. He wants to drill holes around my shower and pump poison around the shower...I'm worried about him hitting a water line. I'm no expert, but I think whatever he is doing isn't working because this is the 4th time in 5 years that he has been here. They just keep moving over to the next room. He claims that that is different colonies. That's why I want to treat the whole house. What do you think I should do? Thank you for all the info, I really value your opinion.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@jamesaucoin131 What you are describing is NOT the right way to treat Formosan termites. It may help, but you are correct that he may drill into the pipes. Also, this treatment alone will probably not get it done. Formosan termite colonies are very large and hard to take out. Please watch my video on how to treat Formosan termites and get back to me with any questions you may have. I will give you the link. Video on how to treat Formosan termites: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnXXeIiNrbKliNk

[@torresmaria842]

Just subscribed July 5, 2023.. I went to mom's funeral June 18 in St. Croix U.S.V.I. her house is build with cinderblock but the closet was eaten by termites. I started cutting the trees that were taking over the side of the house. Found a round big termite nest down on one of the trees and a bigger one about 50 feet away. The trees have the tunnel of brown where they travel. One of the closets is all chewed up

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I am so sorry that your mom passed. If you have termites in trees, then they could be Formosan. They are the only species that will eat live wood. If you do have them, then you have a serious problem. Please watch my video on how to identify termite species. If these guys are Formosan, then please watch my video on how to treat them. Sometimes a less aggressive species will invade trees that are already dying, so you could get lucky, but you need to check. Formosan termites can destroy a house in a matter of months. Be well Maria. Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk Video on how to treat Formosan termites: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnXXeIiNrbKliNk

[@glennfelpel9785]

You are truly remarkable. Thank you

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@johnfitzpatrick3416]

Guy, after trenching around my house could I lay 🤔1/2-3/4” PVC pipe in the trench with holes drilled in it then cover over. The thought being to pour termite control agent into pvc access point at intervals around my foundation? That way I could just add liquid that would flow around foundation with out digging.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I have often thought about that very thing. It is done in some other countries, like Australia, but they do it under pressure. The problem is that you will probably be applying a lot of pesticide to get it to travel everywhere it needs to be. I'm thinking you can do it in short sections, with pipes coming up from the ground at like 10 foot intervals. So, the potential is there, but I have not worked out the details yet. Stand by. I may do a video on it after I get it all figured out and tested. I do like the way you think. Be well my friend.

[@ShirleyRheinhart]

Hello Guy, Thank you for your videos. However, I lived in a 1925 twin home in Philadelphia. The home has a front lawn, about 10 feet long, and along the side and the rear , the house has a stone wall about 6 ft high and the ground areas has concrete blocks along the side and rear of the house. I have a termite infestation that ate away the riser of the bottom step in my living room, and buckled several areas of the oak flooring near that area. We removed pieces of the steps and saw that the bottom horse of the step had been eaten away too. Checked the ceiling joist in the basement that supports that areas of the step and found that about 6 lineal ft has damage in the center. It appears they had been eating for some time. The basement floor is cemented; however there is an area where they ran the drain pipe that is on top of a dirt floor. And I saw dirt tubes that was on the post holding up a portion that supports a powder room on a landing between the basement and the first floor. The dirt is loose in that area, but no room to trench nor is the dirt deep. The basement is finished and do not know how to treat this area.. Would removing the dirt as much as possible and then foaming.? Do I need to bore the concrete in that area on the outside and treat with Taurus SC? Looking forward to your response.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Can you send me photos of all of this? I really need to look at it to determine the best way to go after these guys. My email is [e-mail]. Send photos of al sides of the house from the house to the property line and photos of the area in the basement where you are having a problem. Please allow a couple of days for me to look at everything and answer the email. Don't worry. Even though there is a lot of damage, this species actually east very slowly. There is a lot of damage because the infestation has been there for a long time. I hope that helps. Be well Shirley.

[@northeastoperations]

First I would like to say thank you for your videos and continuing to comment on them! I have an unusual situation. I tested to see if the granules would work by digging the hole that you mentioned to see how fast the water would drain out of it. digging a small hole consumed a lot of time and effort. I added the water and now I have a permanent little pond next to my home. the soil seems to be an interesting mixture of hard clay, clay that has formed into small rocks, large rocks and gravel. After doing research, I have noticed that companies will drill into concrete and inject the poison at regular intervals. literally drilling the soil around my house every six inches would be vastly preferable to the several week long process of digging a trench. would the treatment be just as effective if I drill a 1/2 inch hole, eight inches down, spaced every six inches around my entire home? Again thank you for your response!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I'm sorry to say that you cannot do the drilling and rodding yourself. You can drill the holes, but the treatment needs to be done under pressure. You can't just pour in the pesticide. Rodding is a lot easier, but you need special equipment to do it and it's expensive to purchase. So, that is best left to the pros. Trenching through hard dirt isn't easy, but you can do just 10 feet at a time. If you do 10 feet every day after work, it will be done before you know it. Also, if you can see where the mud tubes come up from the ground, you can place a bait station right there and you may be able to avoid trenching altogether. Please watch my video on how to make bait stations. It doesn't always work, but it does work most of the time. If the termites start eating the bait, then it's a done deal for them. If they don't take the bait, then you can always trench later. I will give you a link to the video on how to make them. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Bait station video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGGYi2CXiq-Yntk

[@patburton837]

Hi Guy, You have helped me so much so far. I do have another question. How can i trench myself if part of my house has dirt and the other part of my house is concrete. Do you have to wait until there is no rain in the forecast to trench? Thank you so much, Guy. You have been most helpful. Im a little disappointed with the bait stations. How stupid to think they work?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You should trench on a dry day. To answer your question about the concrete, I need to see photos of the side of the house where you have the concrete. You can send photos to [e-mail]. I get a lot of email about termites, so please give me your KZbin name when you send the photos, so that I know who you are. I ran into a few personal problems over the past few days that really slowed me up with answering questions, but I am working feverishly to get caught up. I am behind quite a bit with my e-mail, but I will look at the photos within the next few days and get back to you. I usually receive 50 to 100 questions and emails every day, so it doesn't take much to set me back. I'm putting in a lot of hours to it now, so I should get caught up in a couple of days, if nothing else goes wrong. Be well Pat.

[@patburton837]

Hi Guy, I sent you pictures showing you the dirt and cement areas of my house. Damn, i should have just sent you the cement pictures. I couldn't send them all today. I sent them separately. Pictures too big. Sorry. Again. Thank you for all your help.

[@patburton837]

If you need me to resend just the cement pictures, I will. Sorry about that.

[@ObstacleC]

Thank you for the very informative video I found mud tubes inside my house inside my closet I have a enclosed unit that my radiant heat valves are located and come up through the concrete slab floor. When taking off the cabinet door to inspect the valves there are active subterranean termites I quickly sprayed with pest killer although I know it only killed what was on the surface and not the colony it is best to use the product you recommended for the local treatment? Second question I had an estimate the estimator told me to drill in my concrete patios near the foundation as the chemical does not travel far due to my large patio the chemical would only go about 3 feet in not far enough as it is over a 10' patio and treating the outside of the patio is too far from the foundation. Any thoughts? The patio borders the lawn so trenching my lawn? Maybe an area I will have to avoid treatment on?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

It is never a good idea to treat termites with pesticides that you can get at the big box stores. These are almost always repellent pesticides that will often result in the termites changing location. You may think you killed them, but the truth is that they just moved to another area of your home. You should always treat termites with a non-repellent termiticide. Pest controllers are taught to drill concrete, so they honestly do not understand that you can just go around it with a trench. If you have a patio that is 10 feet wide from the house to the lawn, then you can trench around it. Think about it for a minute. If you put up four walls and a roof on top of that patio, the pest controller would trench around it. They would not attempt to drill holes through your carpeting or other flooring you had in there. Right? So, why can't you trench around it if there is no structure on it? The answer is that it makes no difference. The only time it would matter is if the termite colony was under the patio, and that is almost never the case. My advice is to just follow the instructions in my video and make a continuous trench from the road, along the driveway, around the entire house, and then back along the other side of the driveway to the road again. If you do everything exactly as I explained it in the video, then you will have better protection than the professional will give you, and you will do it for about $100. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@rock00019]

Thankyou for taking time to make such a educational video. I have watched several other videos before and already dug the trenches around my house perimeter. The only concern I have is not having experience. But this video has cleared my last questions and gave me confidence to do it right. One Question I have it for you is my patio has already drill marks it’s been drilled before for the treatment as it’s 25 years old house (I just bought it a year ago) so can I just drill those holes again for the treatment and seal it back again ?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Unfortunately, you cannot use the previous holes that were drilled in the concrete. To treat a concrete patio like that you need special injection equipment because the treatment is done under pressure. You can't just drill the holes and pour in some Taurus SC. So, just trench around the patio and you will be fine. The most important thing is to treat the backfill dirt well. Make sure you get it nice and wet, like I show in the video. Please also watch my video on how to identify termite species. Some states have Formosan termites that are very aggressive and may require an additional inside treatment. There is a map in that video that will show you where Formosan termites are a problem. Please let me know if you live in the red or orange areas on the map and I will guide you further. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@rn1358]

Hello Guy, your videos are exactly what I was looking for to do my own subterranean termite treatment, unfortunately I live in California so they won’t ship Termidor or Taurus SC here; do you have any other suggestions?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

California doesn't want you doing this stuff yourself, but you can still get Taurus SC shipped to you. I will give you a link to it. Shipping is free too. Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone. Be well my friend. Taurus SC: www.domyown.com/taurus-sc-termiticide-p-1816.html?sub_id=1817

[@rn1358]

@@GuysPestSolutions Thanks Guy!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Be well my friend.

[@siupingngok9772]

Hi Guy, came across your video and found it super helpful! QQ - we don’t see any evidence of subterranean termite infesting our home, but see them coming out of the ground in our backyard (swarming) and find them super annoying, how would you suggest we get rid of them given they live so deep in the ground? Also does the fact that we don’t see any mud tubes inside or outside our foundation (had inspector come out to confirm that) mean we don’t currently have infestation or there’s still a chance they are coming into our home? Many thanks in advance!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

There is a way to kill them in the back yard, but first I need to know where you live. Different areas of the country and the world have different species. So, I need an idea of what I am dealing with. It is possible for termites to be in your house and for an inspector to miss them. I suggest that you do your own inspection. I will give you a link to my video on how to do that. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to inspect for termites: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXjccomKbL-sqNE

[@fastian7253]

Hi, thanks for such an informative video. Thought I have a question regarding the trenching, I have a situation where I have gas heater and hot water heater sticking to the outer wall of the house, so can I go around those items while digging a trench or the trenching has to be immediately next to house parameters?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You can usually just go around it. If you like, you can send photos of it to me, and I would be happy to let you know for sure. You can send photos to [e-mail]. Please remind me of the question. I get a lot of termite questions. Be well my friend.

[@fastian7253]

​@@GuysPestSolutionsHey Guy, thanks for replying. I have just sent you an email

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@fastian7253 I just responded to your email. Be well my friend.

[@perrylongjr7478]

Great video, learned a lot my friend.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@naddyice5399]

Hello Guy! Thank you so much for your informative video. I was digging up some ivy on our side yard that has old wood mulch, and found termite soldiers in the disturbed soil. I am not sure if they are at my house but I will be trenching around my house this weekend, as well as the side stripe with active termites.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

There is a good chance that they are eating your house. Trenching should take care of them, unless they are Formosan. You didn't tell me where you live and location matters. Please watch my video on how to identify termite species. There is a map in that video that shows where Formosan termites are a problem. Please get back to me if you live in the red or orange areas on the map. Be well Naddy.

[@naddyice5399]

@@GuysPestSolutions Good evening Guy, thank you for getting back so quickly! I live in the West Texas Panhandle (Amarillo). I am not sure what species I have exactly.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@naddyice5399 You live far enough north that I'm guessing that you have a common variety of subterranean termites. It is possible to have Formosan termites in Amarillo, but it is far more likely that you do not. If you can obtain a specimen with a red head, then you can tell for sure. I recommend that you do a thorough inspection of your house for termites. Look for mud tubes around the perimeter of the house, under the crawlspace, and in the attic. If you don't see any mud tubes, then you may have dodged a bullet. If you find mud tubes, then you need to trench the house. If not, then just treat the mulch. Buy Taurus SC and mix it in a watering can at 0.8 oz per gallon of water. Then water the mulch with it really well. Get everything nice and wet. I hope that helps. Be well Naddy. Taurus SC: www.domyown.com/taurus-sc-termiticide-p-1816.html?sub_id=1817

[@naddyice5399]

@@GuysPestSolutions Hello Guy! Thank you so much for the advice. I took a picture of them and tried upload it in a comment but I think KZbin blocked that comment.

[@naddyice5399]

@@GuysPestSolutions I will try to link the termite photo one more time: i.imgur.com/LNuWwXZ.jpg

[@SandraForde-o5f]

I bought some Taurus SC and spray foam. I live 30 minutes south of Chicago in the burbs where all of the houses in my area have a 1/2 or full acre (I have an acre) My out building has termites on the north side which is shady and also has hosta plants at the foundation. It gets pretty wet during the rain. Should I not have plants there? Should I make a run off and replace the hostas with gravel?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I'm so sorry that you're having this problem. The good news though is that you only have one species of termites that are of concern to buildings in Chicago. As it happens, this particular species is somewhat easy to treat. You can trench around the outbuilding, and that should do the job for you. As a general rule, you should not plant anything within 2 feet from the side of a building. So, if the Hosta plants are further away from the building than that, then they should be fine. Planting any closer than that creates a variety of pest problems and complicates maintenance to the side of the building. You may also be able to treat this by using termite granules. The granules that I normally recommend have been discontinued. That is a new development that happened about a week ago. The company has marketed a new termite granule that has even more active ingredient and, theoretically, should work even better. The new granules get applied differently though, so I am in the process of creating a new video just for this product. I am hoping to have the video completed by the end of next week. If you subscribe to the channel, then you should be notified when the video is posted. Don't worry about waiting that long because the species of termites that you have are very slow eaters, and it takes them a long time to do significant damage. Also, you are getting into the colder weather there, and termite activity slows way down over the winter. So, this may be something that you want to do in the spring anyway. That all depends on how cold it is getting there right now. It's kind of a judgment call. Anyway, if the outbuilding isn't too large, then it shouldn't take long to trench it. However, if you have a good size building, then granules may be a better choice, just to save the time and work. You can apply the granules around an entire house and water them in about an hour. No digging required. Either way should work well in your case. I hope that helps. Be well Sandra.

[@DAS-Videos]

That was my thinking too, about the drilling. Termites like wet dirt and after a rain some will travel from under the patio to other areas. When the perimeter is poured, I think it doesn't take long for the termites to go into the wet treated dirt and spread the chemicals throughout their paths that go under the patio.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

If you trench around the patio, then they will pass through the termiticide on their way under it. The idea is that you need a continuous barrier from the street, around the house, and back to the street. No drilling required in most cases. Be well my friend.

[@AshleyCourt-kn4yd]

Thanks so much for the video Guy. This was very informative. I would like to get your advice. We had a bait system installed last year after seeing swarmers in our foyer by a large pest control company in New Jersey. Obviously, I did not see your fantastic videos when we did that. We finally uncovered mud tubs on the ceiling of our unfinished basement this year directly below the foyer's outer wall because the swarmers returned this year in the same area (no swarmers in the basement !?!?). There are no mud tubes going up the wall of our poured concrete wall/foundation in the basement either. The large pest control company's answer was to put bait systems where the mud tubes were in our basement. Our house is built into a hill so the basement/garage is at ground level, and our first level (where the foyer is located) is on top of it. We have a large stoop and concrete patio (likely built on cinder blocks) that wraps around the front entrance area and is directly adjacent to the foundation wall where the termite swarmers are. Because of the information in your videos... I sought second opinions.. I called two companies and they feel the nest is below, or near this elevated concrete porch that is adjacent to the foundation wall near the problem area. The first guy who came said they would like to drill from the top of the concrete patio (every foot) following the outer wall/foundation where we are seeing swarmers come from and inject the treatment in the the elevated porch from above. He also said that he would trench our entire house which is about 200 linear feet. The guy seemed very thorough with his inspection... He actually found that one of my sprinklers was hitting the house and the water was running down a channel in the vinyl siding and dripping next to the foundation in the vicinity of the problem. The only issue is that he quoted the job at $2900 dollars. He offers a 1 year guarantee that that can be renewed annually upon inspection for 100 dollars. The second guy who came also seemed very good and knowledgeable... he can highly recommended and is related to a friend of my wife. His plan is to drill the concrete on the side of the porch and bore a hole lengthwise underneath our concrete porch toward the outer wall of the foundation and inject from there (so we don't see holes in the deck of the porch). I told him about the sprinkler theory from the other company, but he didn't think it mattered much. He said that he would also like to trench the entire house, and quoted us $1000 dollars for the job. He has a 3 year guarantee up front no inspections required. Curious what you think on the difference in approach when it comes to the concrete deck? Will one be more effective than the other when it comes to treating the elevated concrete porch? Do you think the first gentleman's theory about the water is credible? Are termites attracted to water? And what do you think about the difference in price? I just want this problem gone. I liked the first guy a lot because he seemed so thorough, but do you think he is just trying to make as much of a profit as possible? II just do not want this to be a "you get what you pay for scenario". Thank you so much for your help!!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for reaching out to me. I want to congratulate you on doing several things correctly. The first thing you did right was to get more than one estimate. As you have now discovered, treatment options and pricing can vary wildly in this industry. You have now also discovered that not all pest controllers know what they are doing. You also got it right by contacting me, because I have been doing this long before most of them were even glimmer in their mother's eye. There aren't too many situations that I have not seen and there's usually a very easy way to take care of subterranean termites without spending a lot of money. This is especially true if you live in New Jersey. The truth is that you only have one species there that is of concern, and they are ridiculously easy to treat in most cases. To give you the correct treatment for your house I need to see some photos of it. You know. A picture is worth a thousand words. Please send me photos of all sides of your house. It would be helpful to see the property from each side of the house to the property line. I am looking for sidewalks, driveways, porches, landscaping, and all that sort of thing. How you do the treatment is dependent upon all of these factors. You can send photos to [e-mail]. I would like you to relax about the situation because the species of termites that you have happen to be very slow eaters and it takes them a very long time to do any significant damage. So, you do have the luxury of time to get this right and to do it in the most cost effective way possible. The situation with the sprinkler water hitting the house could have created a problem with termites. They are attracted to water, so it is never a good idea to have water continuously hitting the house. That is also why it is never a good idea to have landscaping any closer to the house and 24 inches. A lot of people do it, but it's generally because they do not understand the pest control considerations. Anyway, that is a situation that we often do need to work around. When you send the email, please remind me of the situation. I receive an insane number of emails everyday, and most of them are regarding termites. So, it is very easy to get people mixed up. I kind of remember the jobs based on the problems. Still, I get so many emails about termites that I usually need to reread them every time I make a response to refresh my memory. Make sure that you remind me that you are from New Jersey. Location matters because different species are known to exist in different areas of the US. I look forward to receiving your email. Again, please relax, because you have time to deal with this. It is not an emergency. So, let's take a breath and get this right the first time. I promise that I will get you through it. Be well Ashley.

[@AshleyCourt-kn4yd]

@@GuysPestSolutions thank you!!! You are the best! I just sent you an email!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@AshleyCourt-kn4yd You are very welcome. I have your email and I briefly looked at it. I am a little pressed for time this morning and I want to do a good job answering your email, so I may need to write it a little later today. As you can see from other comments, I like to do a thorough job answering questions. I promise that you will hear from me today. I would do it right now, but I have a disabled son that requires a lot of care and it's time for me to get him up and ready for the day. It takes a couple of hours to pull his care together in the morning, but I will respond to your email just as soon as I have that taken care of. So sorry for the delay. Be well Geordan.

[@wkaiser1956]

Goodmorning! Thanks so much for sharing valuable information, really appreciate it! question: what about treatments for flying termites? We live in the caribbean and have them fly into the house when it rains ...thanks for getting back to me whenever y can find a minute, Wilhelm Kaiser

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I am not too familiar with termites in the Caribbean, but I can tell you that all termites that fly are swarmers. They are the kings and queens that are coming out of an existing colony and looking to start a new colony. You didn't say where in the Caribbean you live. I'm guessing that different locations may have different species, but it is a safe bet that you have both drywood termites and subterranean termites. I think some places in the Caribbean even call drywood termites "Caribbean termites." I'm pretty sure you have conehead termites as well. Anyway, if they are subterranean termites, then they only colonize in the ground, so those swarmers are trying to find a nice, soft spot of ground where they can dig in and start a colony. That could be right next to your house, and they may use your house as a food supply. If they are drywood termites, then they will fly directly into your house and find their way into the wood via cracks and crevices around windows, doors, the eaves, and so forth. So, you cannot treat the swarmers. You need to treat the colonies that are created by the swarmers. If you are seeing swarmers, then there is either a colony close by or already inside your house. In either case, you should get an inspection done by a qualified pest control company or you should inspect yourself. Just look for mud tubes around the house going from the ground up. They may also be in the crawl space or attic. If you see mud tubes, then you have subterranean termites. Also look for frass on the inside of the house, on the floor around the walls, particularly under windows. Frass looks a little like sawdust or small pellets. If you see frass, then you have drywood termites. After you have determined that you do have an infestation, then get back to me and I will help you figure out how to handle it. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@marrked646]

Hey Guy, According to the Taurus and Termidor labels, if you have a basement where the footer is more than 4' deep, then you'd dig your trench and drive rebar 4' down. If the footer is about 8' below grade, would I need to go 8' deep and put 24 gallons of solution in the trench per 10 feet of length? The label does say to add 4 gallons of finished solution per 10 ft long trench per 1 ft of depth.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

They are not talking about rebar. They are talking about rodding under pressure. I understand that this is on the label, but the truth is that it makes no sense. Termites do not travel that deep in the ground. I mean, nowhere near that deep. They only travel a couple of inches below the surface. When they go through the six inch barrier, they will go up or down. Usually up. No matter the direction though, because they have already gone through the barrier. So, it's lights out for them. No need to rod down that deep. I never saw a pest controller ever do that. Not once. They just dig a 6 X 6 inch trench. They do rod the concrete, but that too makes no sense if you can go around it. Trust me. Just dig a 6 X 6 inch trench, and pour in 4 gallons of Taurus SC per 10 foot section, and treat the backfill dirt. That is all you need to do. You do not need to dig the trench a foot deep. The label says that six inches is fine and so do I. Here is the exact wording from the label. "When trenching, trenches must be a minimum of 6 inches deep (no deeper than the bottom of the footing) and need not be wider than 6 inches". I would not steer you wrong. Be well my friend.

[@a.m.s.1300]

Hi Guy, thank you for posting videos. I recently purchase a mobile home in Phoenix, Az. It has termites festation in the crawl space underneath. Around the cement block that supports the unit the termites made their way up on the cement block and ate the wood wedges. About 4 of them. I scraped their mud tube off there to keep them down. I haven't got any treatment yet but working on that. Do I trench the dirt inside of the skirting or outside of skirting of mobile home? I believe they are subterranean termites.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I recommend that you wait a few days and then go back under the building to see if the termites rebuilt the mud tube. Hopefully they did. It is never a good idea to remove the mud tubes. When you remove mud tubes, the termites may abandon them and then move to another area of the building. You see, the termites are not colonizing in your home. They colonize in the ground. Your house just happens to be their favorite restaurant. So, if you know where they are at, that makes them a lot easier to treat. Since you have mud tubes that are in direct contact with the ground, that would suggest that you may have a colony that is directly under the house. This happens if you have a crawl space that has a dirt floor. The reproductives get into a crack or crevice around the outside of the crawl space and get inside where the floor is. Then they dig into the ground and start a colony. It is also possible that you have a colony outside the home as well. You may have both. Normally, the best way to treat it is to trench the outside of the house and to trench the inside of the crawl space as well. That would include trenching around any piers that you have. In your case, I think if you trench around the piers and the outside of the skirt, that should be sufficient. This way it doesn't matter if the colony is under the house or somewhere outside the footprint of the house. If you have created a barrier around all the piers, and the skirt, then they are going to need to cross it when they eat your house. The idea is that you want to let them eat. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but that is the best way to treat them. As they pass through the barrier you created, they will take this material back to the colony and share it with the other termites. The entire colony should be dead within about 12 weeks. No colony, no termites, no infestation in your home. Keep in mind that you do have Formosan termites where you live. These guys are very aggressive and can do a lot of damage very quickly. So, after you get the treatment done, then find one of those mud tubes and scrape off just two inches of it. If you just scrape off 2 inches, then they should rebuild it again. Hopefully, you can find a specimen in the mud tube. You are looking for one that has a red head. If you find one like that, then put it in a jar and let it die a natural death. At that point, you can identify the species. Please watch my video on how to identify termite species. If you have a specimen like that, you will find it very easy to tell if these things are Formosan termites. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@corylee1800]

Love the video I have a question about wood boring Beatles how do I get rid of them and keep them away

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Are you talking about inside the house or outside? Please explain exactly where you are having the problem because the treatment may be somewhat different. Be well my friend.

[@corylee1800]

@@GuysPestSolutions I see them inside the house more in my garage

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@corylee1800 Wood boring beetles in the garage are very easy to treat. Just buy a gallon of Bora-Care and mix it one to one with water, in a 5 gallon bucket, using an electric drill and a paint mixer attachment. Mix it until it has the consistency of water, and then pour it into a one gallon pump-up garden sprayer. Then, simply spray all the wood in the garage. You need to get the wood wet, but there is no need to get it dripping. Please note that they recommend mixing Bora-Care with hot water, but I can tell you from experience that cold water works perfectly fine. Also, buy the cheapest sprayer you can find because this stuff can clog the sprayer really quickly and it can be hard to clean out. So just by a $10 sprayer and throw it away when you finish the job. This is a permanent treatment and you never need to reply the Bora-Care. You can only apply Bora-Care on wood that has not been finished in any way. Most of the time, the wood inside a garage has never been finished. Treating these guys inside the house is different. If they are in untreated wood that has not been painted, stained, or sealed in any way, then you can use the Bora-Care. However, if the wood has been finished in some way, then you need to inject a fipronil foam into all the holes until the foam is either coming out at you or coming out of the other holes. You should have foam either going into or coming out of every hole. This will eliminate any activity in the treated areas, but unlike Bora-Care, this is not a permanent treatment. All you did was kill off the existing infestation. If the problem persists, then retreat it one more time with the foam, and then apply Talstar P on any surfaces where you need to prevent the problem from happening again. Just mix the Talstar P one ounce per gallon of water and apply it with a pump up garden sprayer. You can also apply it with a hand held pump sprayer like the kind that Windex comes in. Walmart sells them for about $1.20 each. The Talstar P is not a permanent application either, so you need to reapply it every 90 days. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Bora-Care: www.domyown.com/boracare-p-100.html Fipronil foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html Talstar P: www.domyown.com/talstar-professional-insecticide-p-97.html

[@joeprimal2044]

Awesome video. So helpful!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@freespirit1975]

Guy, I have been trenching/treating/Termidor around my house and have gotten about half done before winter rain has set in. Even though I have heavy clay naturally, it is spotty around the house and is interspersed with something with more sandy content. I'm putting a 6"x6"x10' trench in one at a time and flood it with three gallons of prepared solution. However, it sometimes tends to soak in before I can backfill, sometimes no backfill gets into the solution no matter how fast we push it in. I then sprinkle a gallon of solution over the backfilled soil with my watering can but to me it seems it is not getting enough chemical on what will be the shallower soil where I am assuming the termites will tunnel. I have heard you say, even in these comments that they are generally tunneling two inches deep. The last few sections I did I backfilled half of my excavated soil in the first of two "lifts." THEN, poured the three gallons over that while flooding the trench. Then, finish the backfill and saturate that top "lift" with a gallon of solution from my watering can. I am going to probably have plenty of chemical left over, so if it looks like the backfill didn't saturate, I will pour an additional gallon over that. That seems like enough to saturate that clay in the backfill. Another problem I now have is, unlike when I started in early November at the end of a drought when the clay was dried out and readily accepted the solution, now, rain has set in about once or twice a week and the clay is pretty moist, close to saturation. I don't have any obvious termite problems now so I am thinking about finishing the work in drier weather, usually May around here. The first half of my house I already did faced the neighboring house that has been empy for two years and the bait stations not checked for at least four years and I worried about that. I feel pretty good on protection at that end now. The other half of my house I have yet to do, but at least my neighbor on that end has regular bait station inspections. I just don't think those chunks of clay being moist or saturated now are going to soak up enough chemical. I should have started in October but I am a procrastinator and it bites me on the butt all the time unfortunately. Ironicallly I thought it was too dry and hard but I was 100% wrong. In this prarie clay, there is a brief period of workability between two wet and too dry. It is crap soil.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

It sounds like you are doing a good job. If you do not have active termites, then it's fine to finish after things dry out. I think the way you are doing it will work well, but if you want even more peace of mind, then install monitoring stations. You can buy them for about $15 each or you can make them for about 50 cents each. I made them for my house and I did the entire house for under $25. Do not install them any further apart than 8 feet, regardless of what the directions tell you. I have mine installed 4 feet apart, so the termites cannot miss them. There is a dot on the top of the station. When the dot disappears, you have termites. The homemade stations do malfunction sometimes, so always pull them up if they go off to make sure you have termites. If you do, then put the station back and install a bait station next to it. If there are no termites, then just replace the station. I will give you a link to my video on how to make them and a link to the commercial ones. It is important to walk around the house every month to check for missing dots. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to make monitoring stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narIY2qXja2Fqbs Commercial monitoring stations: www.solutionsstores.com/red-eye-termite-monitor

[@freespirit1975]

@@GuysPestSolutions Thanks for the reply Guy. A funny thing, but I already have pro grade bait stations in the ground and I put them only five feet apart. I got them at Ron Dawson's online pest control company in Dallas (it's not the Sentricon system). That's how I found out I had termites 16 years ago. I got hits on one bait station on one end of my house and killed them with the poison insert (that's the one that is a stomach poison (that works) and not the chemical that is a molting inhibitor that is used by Sentricon (that I don't think works nearly as well-too slow). That saved that whole end of the house. Then by the time I got hits on my bait stations beside the patio in back, they were already in my walls in the kitchen/dinette. That's when I panicked and called the national company that starts with a T. A good experienced older man inspector pulled that patio wood bait and it was riddled with termites and he said with a grin, "Did I ever tell you how much I love these guys", and I said, "Well I don't!" 😄 He then found the worst area in the front of my house and they were in the guest bedroom wall, woodwork, and windowsill. He showed my what to look for on a sheetrock wall-a little hole where they "daylighted" then backfilled with red mud. He smeared it with his finger. I now look out for that when I inspect, and I tap every linear foot of the woodwork at the floor with a small hammer and listen for hollow vs. solid sound (my idea). I also look for mud tubes from the ground to the brick ledge and in the mortar above outside. None of this was done by the so-called inspectors from the national company that starts with a T for 16 years after the treatment. They would litterally walk around the house and stare at the clouds, and maybe point out a wasp nest (that I already knew about). Anyway, after they treated with Taurus SC (they put Termidor on the work order but it had an odor and Termidor is odorless, which is kind of fraudulent but it worked anyway), the termites were all killed. The colony was so big in the front that the ground subsided so much that it left one of my bait stations sticking out of the ground two inches! Funny thing is, I had no hits on the wood in those bait stations in front yet they were litterally eating down my house just feet away. Between that making me think bait stations are fallible, and my fear that they would acutually attract termites, after we trenched/treated I took the baits out but left the green plastic units in the ground empty in case I changed my mind. I could still use them and I have plenty of wood baits left. I would just need fresh chemical inserts. I guess you can tell this subject interests me.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@freespirit1975 If you had monitoring stations around your house at 5 ft intervals, that were using wood inserts, then that was a very good idea. The only time these things attract termites is if they are very close. That is why it is possible for them to miss the monitoring stations and go straight to your house. Most of the time they do find the monitoring station first, but not always. That is why I always treat around my entire house with termite granules every year. Between the monitoring stations and the termite granules, there is very little chance that they will get past it. Since you are already trenching, you do not need to bother with termite granules. However, I think it's a good idea to replace the wood in the monitoring stations. The trenching alone should protect you, but it's still a good idea to know that the termites are there and to treat them at the station. Keep in mind that the wood can become moldy and termites do not like mold. So, you need to change out the wood if you see it getting moldy. All monitoring stations have this problem. Mold likes damp, dark areas, and it is very damp and dark in the stations. It is perfectly fine to use the bait that is designed for these stations when you see activity in the wood. Just remember that you need to check these stations every month for them to be effective. You never want to put bait in the stations, unless you have activity in the wood. It is somewhat unusual for a professional company to treat with Taurus SC instead of Termidor SC, but the truth is that they are the exact same thing. There's literally no difference, except the price. The only reason I do not use Termidor SC is because it costs more. I hope that helps. You all my friend.

[@serenadevon]

Hello Guy, I trench around my house although I have a spot where there's a deep slope. How would I treat an area like that? Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Just dig the trench in 2 foot sections. Be sure to treat the backfill dirt. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@MT-cy5tm]

Hi Guy. I plan to use Taurus SC to treat an expansion joint in a concrete slab. The directions say to plug the drill holes with a non cellulose material. Will latex caulking work? If not please let me know 2 or 3 things that will work. Thanks for all your help.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You can buy a sealer from Home Depot or Lowe's that comes in caulking tubes. It has the same texture as concrete, and works well for applications like that. It sticks well to concrete. Of course, I cannot help but ask the question, why would you want to treat the expansion joint? Is this a patio, sidewalk, driveway, or something else? In most cases, it is unnecessary to treat the expansion joints. If you do treat an expansion joint, they typically run all the way through the concrete to the ground. Therefore, it is possible to treat them without drilling the concrete. Termites seldom have a colony under the concrete. They are almost always getting there from a colony that is located within 300 ft of the house. Most of the time, they only travel a couple of inches below the surface of the ground and that is how they are getting to the expansion joint in the first place. Therefore, if you trench around the concrete, you are most likely going to kill the termites that are entering the expansion joint. In the case of a driveway, all you need to do is trench both sides of the driveway, and that usually gets it done. I prefer doing it that way because drilling through concrete and treating it that way requires high pressure rodding to do it correctly. Most people cannot afford to purchase that sort of equipment, so it is a bit impractical for homeowners. Trenching almost always works, and it is way easier to do. Treating the expansion join can make sense in some cases, but most of the time it is unnecessary. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@MT-cy5tm]

This is a pressed cardboard type not saturated in asphalt. They either like to eat it or travel along the side of it. So I plan to drill down through the joint every 2 feet which is 3 1/2" to the ABC base below then treat with the Taurus by pouring it in with a funnel. I will not be drilling concrete. So what is the purpose of the plug? Is it to keep the Taurus vapor,s or termites from coming out or in or just cosmetic reasons?

[@MT-cy5tm]

I will also be trenching and treating the perimeter of the house. I'm just curious about the purpose of the plug. Thanks for your help.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

The plugs are just to seal up the holes in concrete to keep the weather out, prevent pests from going in, and for aesthetic reasons. You don't need it for expansion joints. You can remove the existing material in the joint and replace it with a non-wooden material. They sell it on Amazon. If you are trenching around the house, then you probably don't need to treat the expansion joints. Just trench right around the concrete slabs. If you are seeing activity in the expansion joint, then you can use that to tell if the infestation is gone. It takes up to 12 weeks to be fully effective. When you no longer see the activity in the expansion joint, then the colony is most likely dead. That being said, it won't hurt anything to treat it the way you described. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@qualitysure]

Excellent video!!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@sonnys8535]

I noticed mud tubes and damage on the floor joists in my basement. Today I trenched and treated with Taurus SC at 1.2oz per gallon. I also drilled 1" holes 16" deep every 12" in the trench. I figured that would increase the penetration depth. My next step is to treat the joists and all exposed wood in the basement with Bora-Care. I plan or drilling small holes half way through the damaged wood in multiple places and then treating with Bora-Care. Does that sound good or should I use Termidol Foam in the damaged wood and crevasses ? I also bought a bore scope to inspect areas that aren't visible. Once I no longer see evidence of termites I will treat the new wood with Bora-Care before making my repairs. Thanks !!!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

The trenching you did should be enough on it's own. Treating with Bora-Care is always a good idea, but you do not need to drill holes in the wood. Always mix it one to one with water and not one to five. If you apply it directly over the infested area, that will kill the termites. However, you cannot use it on wood that has been sealed in any way. So, you should be okay with floor joists. Using the Termidor Foam won't hurt, but it's probably overkill. You should always treat new wood with Bora-Care. Very good idea. It sounds like you've go this. Be well my friend.

[@vapeurdepisse]

Wow this message could have been written by me

[@vapeurdepisse]

But why Taurus vs Termidor?

[@sonnys8535]

@@vapeurdepisse Price. I also bought a 78oz bottle. Figured for the price it'll be my quarterly ant treatment in the sprayer

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@vapeurdepisse Taurus SC and Termidor SC are the same exact thing. The Taurus SC is just a little cheaper. That's about it. Be well my friend.

[@allanmccullough8550]

My first job out of high school was Pro Trench Digger.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

That's what I call a tough row to hoe. No pun intended. That's a hard way to earn a living. I'm happy to hear that you went on to better things. Be well my friend.

[@allanmccullough8550]

@@GuysPestSolutions I greatly appreciate the info you give. I worked for a company building swimming pools in the early 70's and once the hole was dug the rest was all manual.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@allanmccullough8550 You sound like a hard worker. I hope life is a bit easier for you these days. Be well my friend.

[@paulasmith4933]

Guy do termites go back into ground in the winter? I was doing some work in my shed. And found wood that had termite damage in it.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Subterranean termites never colonize in the wood. They live in the ground. Your shed just happens to be their favorite restaurant. They do not stop eating in the winter, but they do slow up quite a bit. Please tell me where you live. Also, is the inside of the shed finished in any way? Do you have drywall, wood, etc., on the walls or is it painted or sealed in any way? How large is the shed? This could be very easy to solve, but I need all that information first. Be well my friend.

[@ouchydoom]

I'm sorry if you have already answered these types of questions. We have discovered a large amount of termite mud tubes coming from behind the drywall of our garage. On the other side of that wall is our bathroom and we have found a small portion of the baseboard of the bathroom to be hollowed out with mudtubes, but no signs of damage elsewhere in the bathroom. There were also some other empty, isolated mudtubes on some cardboard boxes on the opposite wall of the garage, but nothing attached to the wall studs. We have checked our basement all the way around and haven't seen any other activity elsewhere in the house. We have had bait stations professionally installed since October of last year after finding some termites on some old wood outside. We have been told they are subterranean termites. We just had the pest control company back to look at this new activity, and they just added a bait station outside and placed two indoor bait stations in the garage and bathroom. All that said, do you think these bait stations are going to be enough to clear the current infestation? Or should we opt to trench around the house? Any other advice you could give us based on the above information?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I have a video that talks about trenching vs bait stations. I will give you the link to it. I am not a big fan of using bait stations for an active infestation because they can take up to 2 years to work and sometimes they don't work at all. That is because the bait does not kill any termites. They use an insect growth regulator that simply prevents the termites from breeding. Termite workers can live up to 2 years. All of this is assuming that they actually find the bait. Sometimes they miss the bait entirely, which may have happened in your case. Pest control companies like it because it is fast and easy to do and they can charge big money for it. Then they can rip you off with an annual maintenance fee every year for the rest of your life. Trenching is way more effective and will kill off the entire colony in under 12 weeks. It only costs about $100 to do yourself and it is almost a sure thing if you do it correctly. So, my advice is to trench the house yourself and fire the pest control company as soon as the contract period ends. The trenching job will last 5 to 10 years, with 7 years being the average. It all depends on soil conditions and things like that. You do not need to dig the trench all at the same time. You can literally do 10 feet a day after work. I helped a single mom in NJ that did it herself with her two teenage daughters. They just did about 10 feet after work and school every day until it was finished. They were 100% successful. It's really not that hard and you can take your time with it. I'm turning 74 this month and I'm still doing this sort of thing. Of course, my wife keeps reminding me that my brain and my body may not be on the same page when it comes to the sorts of work that I should still be doing, but it's not bad if I take my time. Start on the wall that is closest to the infestation and then work your way around the rest of the house. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Trenching vs bait stations video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKOzo6Vrecl1lck

[@ouchydoom]

@@GuysPestSolutions Thank you so much for this comprehensive answer. It has been a nightmare trying to find consistent information on how to treat them when they have already entered the house, even on youtube. I brought up trenching to our pest control company and they brushed it off. I do get the sense they are stringing us along. They never mentioned how long the bait stations would take to eradicate the colony. I will take your advice and check out the video you mentioned. Thanks again!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@ouchydoom You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. If you read the contract for the baiting system you have, you will most likely find language in it that will tell you that it can take a long time for baiting to work. Some contracts will even tell you that it may not work at all. Even though the company will usually not explain this to you, is it almost always stated in the contract. If you have a damage warranty in the contract, it will most likely not cover previous damage. Most of the time, they will tell you that the damage you are seeing was caused before the baiting system was installed, so they don't pay. You can't even take them to court over it because the contract almost certainly contains an arbitration clause. I am planning to make a video on termite bonds and warranties sometime this year. A lot of people pay an annual fee so that they can be protected against termite damage, but it's a total waste of money. I am very happy that you now understand the truth. Be well my friend.

[@charlesdelile8547]

Thank you sir great Video

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@NoName-w6e1r]

Any advice on how to trench and apply the Taurus SC on a steep slope with partial clay soil? I'm concerned about the Taurus SC just flowing down and out of the 10' trench.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

It depends on how steep the slope is. Just dig the trench shorter. I have already had to separate the trench in 12 inch sections. What I generally do in that case, is I make barriers out of plywood that I can jam in the trench to section it off. This way I can dig a 10 foot section and use whatever number of these barriers that are needed for the angle of the slope. Just make as many as you need and pour an equal amount of the Taurus SC into each section. The most important thing with dense soil is to make sure that you do a good job treating the backfill dirt. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@bigfranksworld]

A very good explanation, thank you. I have a mobile home in Northern California. I have never delt with termites before. We noticed a couple of mud tubes coming from the ceiling, behind a valance in the cabinets. Sure enough, there are subterranean termites there. it appears they have been eating away the strip style ceiling material (material like pressed cardboard like you would see in a commercial dropped ceiling) from the back side. I think there is just the ceiling material, and probably batting insulation, then the metal roof. I'm sure they have gotten into the wood ceiling joists by now. I was going to pull that ceiling down and spot spray with Taurus SC, then re-sheetrock. But after watching this video, I may be better to spray the foam up between the joists, trench and apply Taurus SC, then monitor the activity. I would rather not spray Taurus SC inside my kitchen, even with taking everything out of it if possible. I will also go under the mobile and see if there are mud tubes and treat those areas. The plan is to replace the ceiling in that area anyway, but if I can get rid of the termites without pulling all of the ceiling don, it would save lots of additional work. Would this work okay, and if you have a better solution, please let me know. I subscribed so I can keep up with your good work. Thank you. On edit: Now after watching a few more videos, I'm confused. I though only subterranean termites made mud tubes. Now I see that Formosan termites also make mud tubes. Now I have to get some of them and see if i can tell which ones I have for sure. Dang...

[@GuysPestSolutions]

If you live in Northern California, then you do have Formosan termites there. These guys are subterranean, but they also have the ability to colonize in your house. They are the only species of subterranean termites that have this ability. Also, Formosan termites are very destructive. Other species of subterranean termites are very slow eaters, and it takes them a long time to do any significant damage. That is not the case with Formosan termites. These guys are very fast eaters and can do a lot of damage very quickly. They are known as "super termites" because of their ability to do so much damage in a very short period of time. Therefore, I recommend that you try to obtain a specimen that has a red head. If you can acquire one of these, then I can identify the species for you. The other option is to call a pest control company and ask for a free inspection. When they arrive, tell them you would like to know the specific species and exactly how they plan to treat for it. I do not recommend that you sign anything. Just thank them for their time and let them know that you are going to get several estimates. If you can tell me the species or you can get me a photo of a termite that has a redhead, then I can give you and effective treatment plan. I would not be surprised if these turn out to be Formosan termites. Most species of subterranean termites start eating low in the building and you normally see them on the lower part of the walls or in the floors. With Formosan termites it is fairly common to see them build mud tubes up to the roof and then start eating in the attic and ceiling areas. The fact that you are seeing mud tubes coming from the ceiling is very concerning. While it is possible for other species of subterranean termites to attack this way, it is far more likely that these are Formosan termites. Due to the aggressive nature of this species, I would urge you to either get that photo of a termite or get the building inspected without delay. Treating Formosan termites is somewhat different than treating any other species of subterranean termites. However, in all cases, you do need to trench. If you are living in a trailer, that is on piers, then you need to trench around each pier. If these are a species other than Formosan termites, then that is all the treatment that is required. You can spot treat the damaged area with a fipronil foam, but it's not absolutely necessary. However, if these are Formosan termites, then you also need to look for "cartons" that may be located in the walls or even the ceiling. We can talk more about that after the species is identified. For now though, it wouldn't hurt to begin trenching. You can obtain the Taurus SC and a fipronil foam from domyown.com. I will place links below. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Taurus SC: www.domyown.com/taurus-sc-termiticide-p-1816.html Termidor foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html

[@bigfranksworld]

@@GuysPestSolutions I pulled down part of a mud tube last night and looked at them with a magnifying glass. The solder didn't seem to have crossed mandibles and the head was rectangle shaped. When I poked at it, it was aggressive though. I can find another solder and send a good pic to you. What is the best place to send it? I will do that today when I get home from work. Thanks for your help so far

[@bigfranksworld]

@@GuysPestSolutions I can get pics to you. What email should I sent them to?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@bigfranksworld You can send the photos to [e-mail]. It sounds like you may have gotten lucky and all you need to do is trench around the piers. In addition to trenching, you can also spot treat to give the trenching a bit of a boost. This is not necessary, but it helps. Just scrape off about a 2-inch section of each mud tube down to the bare surface and shoot a fipronil foam into the tube in both directions. Then shoot some of the foam on that 2-inch bare spot as well. The termites will most likely rebuild the mud tube and they will carry the fipronil back to the colony and share it with the other termites. This is exactly how the trenching works. I will give you a link to the foam. Treating termites is a slow process. You do not want to kill them too quickly or they will not have time to bring the poison back to the colony. Therefore, all these sorts of treatments take between 2 to 12 weeks to work. This is not a problem though because subterranean termites are slow eaters and will do very little damage in this relatively short period of time. You can determine when the infestation is gone by using the mud tubes. Again, scrape off about a 2-inch section of a mud tube, every two weeks, and see if there's any activity inside the tube. If there is, then treat the tube with the fipronil foam again and let the termites rebuild the tube. Then check again in another two weeks. When you no longer see any activity in any of the mud tubes and the termites are no longer rebuilding them, then the infestation is gone. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Fipronil foam: www.solutionsstores.com/fipro-foaming-aerosol

[@jennab176]

Hello sir! I just found your channel today and I'm very hopeful that I can take care of my termite problem myself thanks to your helpful information. I'm a single mom working within a limited budget. Last week I found 2 dead and one live termite that I now know were workers within my home. I purchased the Spectracide Terminate killing foam, the termite killer that comes with the spray nozzle, as well as the stakes, the latter of which I have not used yet and will likely return. Today I found 3 mud tubes all within about a foot of each other going up the foundation of my home (on the outside) up to cracks in the brick. I unfortunately removed the mud tubes in their entirety and sprayed the the outside with the spectracide spray, as well as pushed the little red straws on the foam spray up into the cracks as far as I was able and emptied 2 cans of the foam inside. Unfortunately the inside wall is in my kitchen and behind kitchen cabinetry, sink and dishwasher, so very difficult to access from the inside. I now feel like I probably made a mistake both with the termiticide I purchased, as well as how I used the product. Is the Spectracide product a repellant? I can't seem to find the information, but it's Prallethrin and Lambda-Cyhalothrin. What would you recommend I do now? I just purchased the BioAdvanced granules that you recommend and they will be here tomorrow...I plan to sprinkle them over the entire flower beds because there is unfortunately a lot of leaves and mulch, bushes and trees, and I live in south Texas where we have soil with a lot of clay. Should I also trench and purchase the Taurus SC? Should i purchase the Termidor or FiPro foam and use that inside the cracks in the brick where the termites were entering my home like I did the Spectracide product? Any advice you can give me will be very much appreciated. Thank you so much! Your channel is a blessing, and I'm very grateful to you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I do not recommend using any of the Spectracide termite products. The termite stakes are a waste of money and you should just return them. The spray is not considered to be a repellent, but it is a quick kill product. Therefore, it should never be used on termites. So, the treatment that you did may have made the problem worse. It's hard to say. Keep an eye on the area where you removed the mud tubes. If the termites rebuild the mud tubes, then you are in good shape. Otherwise, they are most likely going to attack another part of your home. Since you live in South Texas, I do not recommend using the granules for two reasons. The dirt where you are is likely to be too dense for the granules to be effective. Also, you are deep into Formosan termite territory. It is possible that the species that it's attacking your home may very well be Formosan termites. For those reasons, I would not take a chance with granules. With that being said, the granules will work just fine in your garden. Here's the thing though, the only species that will eat live plants are Formosan termites. So, if they are in your garden, then that is a definite cause for concern. I recommend that you do trench and use the Taurus SC. You should also attempt to obtain a specimen that has a red head. If you can find more mud tubes, break one open and try to find one of these guys. Put it in a jar and let it die a natural death. At that point, you could take it out of the jar and easily identify it. I will give you a link to my video on how to do that. Don't worry. It is a lot easier than you may think. If these guys turn out to be Formosan, then in addition to trenching, you also need to inspect the inside of the house with a moisture meter. Formosan termites are the only species that have the ability to colonize in your home. Therefore, not only do you need to trench to keep them away, but you also need to go after the "cartons" that may be in your walls or ceilings. I have a video on how to do that. I will give you a link if you find out that this is the species. For now, I recommend that you start with the trenching, because that will treat 100% of the termites that are traveling to and from the colony. If they are Formosan, this will probably be at least 90% of them. If they are not Formosan, then this will kill 100% of them. Let me know what you find out about the species. I can guide you further if they turn out to be Formosan. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to identify termites: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@jennab176]

Is there someplace I can send you images of specimens? Do you have an email? Also, I havent seen them in my garden or eating any vegetation in my yard, I'm sorry if I was confusing. I only meant to say that I have a lot of vegetation next to my house, because I believe you mentioned in another video that if you do, you should use the granules in the entire flower beds and not just a 6 inch strip. I'm worried now that I made things worse in my ignorance...just to let you know, the only termites that were in the tubes were the white baby ones, no soldiers or workers. And the only type that came out of the cracks in my brick when I destroyed the tubes (which weren't very many) were the white babies as well. I did find 1 live termite and 2 dead within my home, but no wings, and no teardrop head, so I'd really love to send you pictures if possible. Do the swarmers have teardrop heads as well? The ones I have do not appear to have a teardrop or cone shaped head, but they are orangeish in color.

[@jennab176]

The 1 live and 2 dead in my home appear to be workers. But still not sure which type. They are a orangeish brown and the heads are darker and brown. Even if the granules won't get rid of them completely, would that be a good start? If they are Formosan then time is of the essence. Should I put the granules down while I wait for the Taurus SC and my pick axe to arrive?

[@beautylover7123]

@@GuysPestSolutions Is there someplace I can send you images of specimens? Do you have an email? Also, I havent seen them in my garden or eating any vegetation in my yard, I'm sorry if I was confusing. I only meant to say that I have a lot of vegetation next to my house, because I believe you mentioned in another video that if you do, you should use the granules in the entire flower beds and not just a 6 inch strip. I'm worried now that I made things worse in my ignorance...just to let you know, the only termites that were in the tubes were the white baby ones, no soldiers or workers. And the only type that came out of the cracks in my brick when I destroyed the tubes (which weren't very many) were the white babies as well. I did find 1 live termite and 2 dead within my home, but no wings, and no teardrop head, so I'd really love to send you pictures if possible. Do the swarmers have teardrop heads as well? The ones I have do not appear to have a teardrop or cone shaped head, but they are orangeish in color.

[@beautylover7123]

@@GuysPestSolutions The 1 live and 2 dead in my home appear to be workers. But still not sure which type. They are a orangeish brown and the heads are darker and brown. Even if the granules won't get rid of them completely, would that be a good start? If they are Formosan then time is of the essence. Should I put the granules down while I wait for the Taurus SC and my pick axe to arrive?

[@SuperShirts]

Great video thanks. If you have a deck with posts 10-15 ft away from foundation, should you trench both around the post AND the foundation, or just around one or the other?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

When you are dealing with a wooden deck, the preferred method of treatment is to trench around each of the support posts. You should also treat along the side of the house, underneath the deck. I also recommend treating around the stairs where it meets the ground. Oftentimes this is not possible because the deck is too close to the ground to access the support posts or the side of the house. If this is the case, then the best you can do is to treat around the entire deck. This will usually get it done, but keep in mind that there is dirt under the deck, so it is possible that the termites could have established a colony directly under the deck. This is somewhat uncommon, but I do need to mention that it is a possibility. When that happens, trenching around the deck is not going to be effective. There are ways to go after them if they are colonizing under the deck, so let me know if this is the case, and we can talk about ways to treat it. Again, this is an unusual situation, so I would begin by using a standard treatment to see if it works. Keep in mind that it can take up to 12 weeks to eliminate a subterranean termite colony. It is the same amount of time if the pros to it as well. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@brandypenell9918]

Hi Guy. I believe I see termite damage around the door frames of my home. I believe it is subterranean termites because dry wood and Formosa termites aren’t know to live in Oklahoma. I plan to treat the perimeter of my home with Taurus sc but in an effort to avoid trenching my crawl space I was considering spray Bora care directly onto the raw wood under the house. My concern was if there is a contradiction in using both. For example is Bora care a repellent and if so should it be applied using a different sprayer and after Taurus treatment? You have also advised the used of Imidichloprid granules, can I also use these around the perimeter after trenching?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You definitely do not have drywood termites in Oklahoma. However, there has been reported activity of Formosan termites in the southern part of the state. That being said, I think it is far more likely that you are correct, and you are looking at a fairly common species of subterranean termites. If you live within 50 miles of the Texas border, then you may want to watch my video on how to identify termites species, just to be on the safe side. I will give you a link to that video. Now, let's talk a little bit about the crawlspace. The only time you need to treat the crawl space is if you are seeing mud tubes that are in contact with the ground. If there are no mud tubes touching the ground, then simply trenching around the house should get the job done. That being said, treating the wood under the crawl space with Bora-Care is never a bad idea. That will protect you from all sorts of would destroying pests, including termites. The treatment is also permanent, which is a nice feature. Using Bora-Care under the crawl space is not going to interfere with the Taurus SC in any way. It is also a non-repellent product. It does not work the same way as Taurus SC, but the two products can be used in the way you are describing. If you do have mud tubes that are in contact with the ground, then it is possible that there is a colony under the house. If that is the case, then the standard procedure for treating it would be to trench under the house as well. You would want to trench along the perimeter of the foundation, and around any piers that are under there as well. If the crawlspace is too tight to allow you to dig, then you can use bait stations. Just install one or two of them in the dirt directly in front of the mud tubes. Check them every day to see if the termites take the bait. If they do, then this may take out the colony. You can make bait stations yourself and I have a video on how to do that. It is important to check the stations every day to make sure that you don't run out of bait in the station. My stations will usually kill off the colony in about 12 weeks. You can buy them commercially, but those can take up to two years to be fully effective. If you treat with Bora-Care, you should also apply it on the foundation walls and on any piers as well. After the infestation is gone, then cover the crawlspace floor with polyethylene plastic. This will prevent termites from starting a colony under the house. Termite granules work in about 95% of all cases of subterranean termites. They do not work for Formosan termites and you cannot use them under the crawlspace. Keep in mind that for the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should stick with trenching. Make sure that you buy the correct granules. You need the ones that have imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. If you trench, then there is no advantage to also using the granules. You should just use one or the other. I hope that helps. Be well Brandy. Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k1_1_6&amp=&crid=157C3RV0MY0AK&amp=&sprefix=termit Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Video on how to make bait stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGGYi2CXiq-Yntk Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@CraigRider-h8r]

Thanks for the video. Very informative.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@douglasgriffin35]

Thanks for the information

[@GuysPestSolutions]

You are very welcome. Be well my friend.

[@Polkadotpup]

Hi. I got my chemicals yesterday and I’m doing it this weekend. Question..how far up from the baseboards do I spray the Termidor foam…and how far apart? Do I punch holes in my entire wall. This is my first time to do this.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

If you have termites in the baseboard, then drill holes that are about four inches apart, along the entire damaged area. The holes only need to be wide enough for the applicator tip to enter, and the hole should only be drilled halfway through the wood. For a typical baseboard, that would be about 3/16ths of an inch. If you suspect that they are also in your wall studs, it is difficult to know how far up the stud the infestation is going to be. Most of the time, the infestation is going to be limited to an area very close to the floor, but not always. So, figuring out how high up the stud the damage goes is a little bit of a process. Get a stud finder and locate the exact position of the stud behind the wall. Drill your first hole just above the baseboard, into the stud about 3 inches, and shoot the foam into it. If it comes right back out of you, then that spot probably does not have termite damage. So, drill a hole four inches above the baseboard and try again. Like before, if the foam comes right back out at you, then there is no termite damage. Do this until you have reached 12 inches up the wall. If you haven't found any termites, then there's a good chance that stud is not affected. If you hit a spot where the foam does not come back out at you for a couple of seconds or more, then you hit a spot where there is likely termite activity. In that case you want to drill the holes every four inches, until you hit a spot where the foam is coming right back out at you. When you find that spot, continue treating every four inches for 12 inches past that spot. If the foam keeps coming out at you, then you probably went far enough up the wall. Now, is it possible that they skipped 12 inches and then started eating again. Yes it is, but that doesn't matter because you already poisoned enough area to get the job done. You certainly want to poison as much food as you can, so do try to treat as many active areas as you can, but you do not need to hit them all to be effective. I hope that wasn't too confusing. Please let me know if you need any further clarification. Be well my friend.

[@dougs3866]

Another great video, Guy! Some of the area around my house and driveway are also covered with 3-4 inches of gravel or bark mulch, what are the suggestions to treat those area to create the barrier? Thanks.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

There are two options for treating subterranean termites yourself. The easiest way is to use termite granules. It costs less than $60 to do and it only takes about an hour. The application is so easy that a child can do it. The other option is to trench around the entire building, including the driveway. You can remove the gravel or mulch and then trench or you can try the granules. For the granules to work you need to have dirt around most of the house and that dirt needs to be porous enough to allow water to seep into the ground fairly quickly. To find out if the dirt around your house is porous enough, just dig a small hole next to the house that is about 4 inches deep, 8 inches long, and just the width of the shovel. Fill the hole with water and watch to see how fast it drains down into the ground. If it seeps into the ground fairly quickly, then the granules should work just fine. However, if it just kind of sits there, then the granules would not be a good choice, and you should consider trenching. Make sure that you buy the correct granules. You need the ones that have imidacloprid as the active ingredient. A lot of the Home Depot and Lowes stores no longer sell the correct granules, but you can get them from Amazon. I will give you a link to them. You can give any termite treatment a bit of a boost by doing a spot treatment. If at all possible, spot treating for subterranean termites should not be the only approach to eliminate an infestation. An additional exterior treatment should also be done with either granules or trenching, whenever possible. Spot treating alone may totally eliminate the infestation with no other treatments, but it's not a sure thing. To spot treat subterranean termites, you need to buy a fipronil foam. I will provide links for two products that you can choose from. I like the FiPro the best because it's a little less expensive and I like the applicator tip better, but the Termidor Foam also works very well. The FiPro is not available everywhere. If you can get one of these foams, then drill holes in all damaged areas, that are 4 inches apart, and drilled about halfway through the wood. If you are seeing exit holes in the wall, then there is most likely a stud behind the exit hole. Get a stud finder and locate the stud where it meets the ceiling and drive a small nail into the stud a couple of inches below the ceiling. Attach a weighted string to the nail and that will show you where the stud is. Then drill the holes 4 inches apart along the entire length of the stud, about 3 inches deep. Do the same thing for woodwork, except only drill the holes halfway through the wood. If you think that there is a 2 x 4 behind the woodwork, then drill a 3-inch-deep hole every 8 inches. The holes only need to be wide enough to get the applicator tip of the foam can into the hole. After the holes are drilled, then shoot the foam into each hole for about 5 seconds or until you have foam either coming back out at you or coming out the other holes that you drilled. All the holes should have foam either going into them or coming out of them. This will contaminate their food source and they will take the fipronil back in the colony and spread it around to the other termites. Most of the time, subterranean termites are going to be building mud tubes somewhere. You will most likely find these mud tubes going up the exterior or interior of your foundation and you may find them along joists and even in the attic sometimes. If you have a slab home, then you may find them going up the outside of the house on the slab and even the side of the house. If you can find the mud tubes, then you can treat them as well. Just scrape off about a 2-inch section of each mud tube down to the bare surface. Then, shoot that foam into each side of the mud tube and also apply a little of it on the surface where you removed it. The termites will rebuild the mud tubes and bring the foam back to the colony to spread around to the other termites. Also, if you can find the mud tubes, this is a very good way to determine when the infestation is gone. If you scrape off that 2-inch section of a mud tube, you can see if there are any live termites in the tube. Again, the termites will rebuild the tube and go about their business. Do this every two weeks after you finish all your treatments. Apply the foam to the mud tube every time you do it. At the point you are no longer seeing live termites and they stop rebuilding the mud tube, then your infestation has been eradicated. It typically takes several weeks for any termite treatment to be effective. That is because you are using slow kill products. If you were to kill the termites too quickly, then they would not have a chance to bring the poison back to the colony and share it with the other termites. If you don't kill off the entire colony, you will not end the infestation. Therefore, you must kill off subterranean termites very slowly. So, I would give this at least 12 weeks before I would decide that something went wrong, and the process didn't work. Hiring a professional to trench your house is pretty much going to take about the same amount of time to kill off the colony. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Video on how to apply termite granules: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmjViJKKiKd7gJY Termite granules: www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUIJYM?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k0_1_7&amp=&crid=39LQH28BN6B0V&amp=&sprefix=termite FiPro: www.solutionsstores.com/fipro-foaming-aerosol Termidor Foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html

[@dougs3866]

@@GuysPestSolutions Appreciated the detailed reply. Now I reember the pest control guy who did the trench around my house took short cuts by digging shallow and narrow trenches and diluted chemical less than the 0.8 oz (per gallon) ratio. So I am planning to retreat it by myself after watching the videos. Another question is that what should I do if I found termites under the bark mulch in the front yard?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@dougs3866 Probably the best way to treat the mulch is to simply apply the granules over the top of it and just water it in. You know the termites are very close to the surface because they're eating the mulch, so treating that mulch with the granules will probably take out the entire colony. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@AprilAllYear7]

Hi, Guy; thank you for doing these videos and sharing this information. I happened upon your channel when trying to research to learn how I can best treat my home for likely termite infestation. In another video, you said that trenching isn't necessary and demonstrated using granulated termiticide. My question is: Will I be able to use the granulated method, watering it in since it's the first application - or - will trenching be best? I would appreciate your input on where to start. Thank you again!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Great question. The granules work about 95% of the time. You cannot use them for Formosan termites or drywood termites and your house needs to have mostly dirt around it. Also, the ground needs to be porous enough so water will leach into the ground. If you dig a shallow hole, about 4 inches deep and about 12 inches long and fill it with water, just look to see if the water is leaching into the ground. If it does, then the granules should work just fine. You cannot apply them over concrete or wood. You must apply them over dirt. It is okay to apply them over gravel, as long as there is dirt underneath. If the water does not leach well or you have too much concrete around the home, then you may need to trench. If you are seeing mud tubes or you have damaged areas of wood, there is a way to also spot treat that will give the process a boost and it only costs another $30 to do. Let me know if you are seeing mud tubes or damaged areas and I will share the procedure with you. Also, please let me know where you live. Location matters. I told you that Formosan and drywood termites need to be treated differently, but they are only found in certain areas of the US and some other countries. If I know where you live, I can either rule them out or advise you to investigate further to make sure that you are treating the right species. I hope that helps. Be well April.

[@AprilAllYear7]

@@GuysPestSolutions Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I'm located in Florida. After I posted this question to you, I did watch a few of your other videos on termite treatment and identification and I'm concerned with possibility of drywoods as we've seen swarms and haven't found any tubes. Although it would be ideal to call a professional to investigate/ locate them, whatever is done will have to be DIY which I realize is complicated. Had we suspected subterranean , your instructions would have made it easier for sure, so thank you again.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@AprilAllYear7 It is always my pleasure to assist. If you are getting swarmers, then it's actually pretty easy to figure out if these guys are drywood or something else. There are a couple of ways to do it. Pretty much all pest controllers will do a free inspection for you, and they will tell you for sure what is going on. If you show them one of the swarmers, they should be able to identify it and then check to see if you have an active infestation. If you do, they will leave you with an estimate, but you do not need to hire them. Just thank them for their time and let them know that you want to get several estimates before you proceed. Another way to do it is to send me a photo of one of the swarmers. I can most likely tell you what it is. Since I am not looking at an actual specimen, I need the photo to be as close up as you can get, and it must be in perfect focus. Place the specimen feet down and get as close as you can without losing focus. If your camera has a macro setting, then you should use it. Photos can be sent to [e-mail]. If you send a photo, please remind me who you are and what is going on. I get a lot of email, so I don't want to confuse you with someone else. Please let me know what your KZbin name is as well. If you don't call a pest controller, then you can do the inspection yourself. Look on the floor for frass. This looks a lot like sawdust, and you will find it next to the walls. So, move the furniture. You will often find it around windows and doors, and you may find it under cabinets and furniture. If you find frass, then you most likely have drywood termites. Since you live in Florida, you most likely have a slab home. Walk around the outside of the house and look for mud tubes. They will most likely be coming from the ground, but look at the eaves too. If you find any mud tubes, then you have subterranean termites. Finally, please tell me if you found the swarmers inside the house or outside the house. This matters because, if they are inside the house, then you probably do have an infestation, but if they are outside the house, then you may not have an infestation. Also, tell me where in the house you found them or where outside you found them. For example, are they near the windows? After we figure out exactly what is going on, then I can offer some suggestions about the best way to treat this yourself. I understand that not everyone can afford to hire a pro and that is why I created this channel. So, I will do my very best to assist you in any way I can. Be well April.

[@AprilAllYear7]

@@GuysPestSolutions Good morning and thank you again for your reply. I've emailed you!

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@AprilAllYear7 You are very welcome. I had to take the day off yesterday and I am trying to get caught up on comments and emails today. I get a lot of them, so it may take a bit for me to get to your email today, but I will do my very best. I always answer them in the order in which they are received. I will keep working on them until I get through them all. If I run out of time, then I will finish up tomorrow morning. Sorry for the delay. I try not to take days off because I get so backed up, but I had no choice. I just want you to know that I have not forgotten about you.

[@stevenle1760]

Thanks for another great video! 👍

[@GuysPestSolutions]

That is so kind of you to say. Thanks for watching. I know you are a fan and that is so humbling and so much appreciated. You are a super person. Be well Steven.

[@bryanutility9609]

Guy, I did the trenching method you described and we chatted about it thanks. Now I’m wondering, why “trench”? Why does there need to be a 6” trench when the fluid just drains down into the soil within 3 minutes? It was very fast. It didn’t pool for more than 3 minutes. Could I just dig enough to control the flow and pour in the chem? The digging part takes all day.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

That is the reason why I recommend treating the back fill dirt. The Taurus SC bonds with the soil, so if you treat all the back fill dirt, then you have a solid barrier that the termites cannot avoid. As long as you have the back fill dirt treated, then it is a good thing if the Taurus SC drains down into the ground. That will give you even deeper protection. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@keepitsimple8]

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge for free and for being so thorough, so as to help the average person do it themselves and to save $$$. If I have a basement, do I need to dig a trench deeper than 6"? Does the TAURUS SC interefere with their moulting process or just kill them? Does TERMIDOR interefere with their moulting process or just kill them? Same question for FiPro foam and Termidor foam? Thank you.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thank you so much for those kind words. Very much appreciated. Let me start by saying that Termidor SC is the exact same thing as Taurus SC. The only thing is that Taurus SC is a bit less expensive. These products are not insect growth regulators, so they do not prevent the termites from reproducing. They are designed to work on the nervous system of the termites and kill them outright. However, these products are purposely designed to kill slowly because we want the termites to bring these materials back to the colony and share it with the other termites, including the queen. Subterranean termites must return to the colony fairly often to bring food back to the other termites and to obtain the moisture that they need to survive. Most species never colonize in your home. They always colonize in the ground. Your home just happens to be their favorite restaurant. Subterranean termites only travel a couple of inches below the ground and so you only need a 6-inch deep trench, regardless of how deep the foundation is. When the termites travel to and from your home they will pass through this barrier and they will carry the pesticide back to the colony. This should kill off the entire colony within about 12 weeks. No more colony, no more termites, no more infestation in your home. Both FiPro add Termidor Foam are pretty much the exact same thing. They work exactly the same way as Taurus SC or Termidor SC. The only difference is that the foam expands to several times its original size, and this allows it to get into a lot of different nooks and crannies that liquids cannot penetrate. You did not tell me where you live, and location matters. In some areas of the country you also have Formosan termites or Western subterranean termites. These guys are also subterranean, but unlike other species of subterranean termites, they do have the ability to colonize in your home. Therefore, if you're dealing with these guys, not only do you need to trench, but you may also need to do a treatment inside the house, which may require removing some of the drywall. As the name implies, Western subterranean termites only exist in western states. They are most active in California, but they are active in other states as well. Formosan termites are typically found in southern coastal states, California, and Hawaii. If you tell me where you live, then I can let you know if you need to check further for one of these species. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@keepitsimple8]

@@GuysPestSolutions I live in northeast Ohio but I'm thinking of my parents' house in western PA. Termites got into the concrete block foundation wall below ground and worked their way up into the sill plate at the top of the foundation wall and ate their way through it going 3 feet and making a 90 degree turn with the sill plate. There were no mud tunnels on the outside wall. If termites got into the concrete block well below the 6" trench, would the Taurus SC poured in the trench run down the foundation wall and get to the termites? In 1997, they had Terminex put bait stations around the yard and termites NEVER once hit a station and for 10 years and they saw signs of termites every spring, especially swarmers. Then in 2007, they came out with the Termidor, drilled holes and sprayed and never saw signs of termites again. In their case, would pouring the Taurus SC in the 6" trench go all the way down to the foundation wall and be enough or would they have to dig deeper than 6" or pour more than the 4 gallons in the trench per 10 feet? Also, if I don't have termites, it seems that putting bait stations every 4 feet around my house is like inviting termites to come and target my house. If they find food there, then they signal for more termites to come in the direction of my house. What do you feel about that thought? Thank you :-)

[@GuysPestSolutions]

​@@keepitsimple8 Thank you for sharing that additional information. It is very helpful. Let me start by saying that both in Ohio and Pennsylvania, you only have subterranean termites that do not colonize in homes. So that makes it pretty easy. The Taurus SC that you pour into the trench is probably not going to run down to where the problem is, but the termites do not generally travel that deep anyway. So, they will still pass through the barrier even if it is only 6 in deep. Most of the time, when termites reach a foundation, they head up toward the surface and start building a mud tube. However, the termites do not always get the memo that this is how they are supposed to behave, so they sometimes go down, or even to the left or right. When they do that, then they look for openings in the foundation where they can get in, and they use that opening to find their way to a food source. Therefore, in this scenario, simply digging a 6-foot trench around the house is still going to work. However, in rare cases, the termites may have established a colony just outside the house, and that colony may be very deep in the ground. When this happens, it is possible that the termites are coming straight up from the ground to that opening in the foundation. In that scenario, trenching around the house would not work. The problem is that you have no way of knowing which one of these things is the case. That being said, I can tell you that it is very unusual for the colony to be that close to the house. It is almost always the case that the colony is somewhere within a 300 ft radius of the house and the termites are simply going in the wrong direction when they reach the foundation. It is not all that uncommon to see this happen. Therefore, my recommendation would be to trench around the house. There is probably around a 98% chance that this will solve the problem. However, it wouldn't hurt to spot treat any areas where there is either damage or mud tubes. To spot treat subterranean termites, you need to buy a fipronil foam. I will provide links for two products that you can choose from. I like the FiPro the best because it's a little less expensive and I like the applicator tip better, but the Termidor Foam also works very well. The FiPro is not available everywhere. If you can get one of these foams, then drill holes in all damaged areas, that are 4 inches apart, and drilled about halfway through the wood. If you are seeing exit holes in the wall, then there is most likely a stud behind the exit hole. Get a stud finder and locate the stud where it meets the ceiling and drive a small nail into the stud a couple of inches below the ceiling. Attach a weighted string to the nail and that will show you where the stud is. Then drill the holes 4 inches apart along the entire length of the stud, about 3 inches deep. Do the same thing for woodwork, except only drill the holes halfway through the wood. If you think that there is a 2 x 4 behind the woodwork, then drill a 3-inch-deep hole every 8 inches. The holes only need to be wide enough to get the applicator tip of the foam can into the hole. After the holes are drilled, then shoot the foam into each hole for about 5 seconds or until you have foam either coming back out at you or coming out the other holes that you drilled. All the holes should have foam either going into them or coming out of them. This will contaminate their food source and they will take the fipronil back in the colony and spread it around to the other termites. Most of the time, subterranean termites are going to be building mud tubes somewhere. You will most likely find these mud tubes going up the exterior or interior of your foundation and you may find them along joists and even in the attic sometimes. If you can find the mud tubes, then you can treat them as well. Just scrape off about a 2-inch section of each mud tube down to the bare surface. Then, shoot that foam into each side of the mud tube and also apply a little of it on the surface where you removed it. The termites will rebuild the mud tubes and bring the foam back to the colony to spread around to the other termites. Also, if you can find the mud tubes, this is a very good way to determine when the infestation is gone. If you scrape off that 2-inch section of a mud tube, you can see if there are any live termites in the tube. Again, the termites will rebuild the tube and go about their business. Do this every two weeks after you finish all your treatments. Apply the foam to the mud tube every time you do it. At the point you are no longer seeing live termites and they stop rebuilding the mud tube, then your infestation has been eradicated. It typically takes several weeks for any termite treatment to be effective. That is because you are using slow kill products. If you were to kill the termites too quickly, then they would not have a chance to bring the poison back to the colony and share it with the other termites. If you don't kill off the entire colony, you will not end the infestation. Therefore, you must kill off subterranean termites very slowly. So, I would give this at least 12 weeks before I would decide that something went wrong, and the process didn't work. Hiring a professional to trench your house is pretty much going to take about the same amount of time to kill off the colony. I never recommend putting bait stations around your house if you do not have an active infestation. In fact, I never recommend putting bait stations around your house even if you do have an active infestation because they kill way too slowly for my liking. However, I do think it is a good idea to put monitoring stations around the house. Monitoring stations are not the same thing as bait stations. What the professionals typically use are bait stations and that bait is designed to attract termites. I don't know that I want to put anything around my house that is going to attract termites. Monitoring stations do not work the same way as bait stations. The monitoring stations use wood and that wood does not give off the same sort of attractant that is used in commercial baits. If you are using wood in the station instead of a bait, then the termites need to get very close before they find it. When I say very close, I am talking about probably somewhere within 10 feet. So, if you place these things every 4 feet around your house, then there is a very high probability that the termites will find them, if they are in the area. They will not be attracted to them unless they are reasonably close to your house. If the termites are traveling reasonably close to your house, then that is the sort of thing you want to know about, because they could attack your house instead of the monitoring stations. Bait stations on the other hand may attract the termites from quite some distance away, and that is why I don't like to use them. If you use monitoring stations, and you check them at least once a month, then there is a good chance that you will catch the activity before the termites attack your house. There's no guarantee of this, but it sure beats not knowing at all. If the termites are attacking one of the stations, then you can simply place a bait station next to it. If the termites attack that bait station, then there is s a good chance it will take out the entire colony and your house will never see a termite. The professionals almost always install bait stations instead of monitoring stations. That is because they do not want to come out every month to check them. If they install bait stations, they figure the stations will just go on working all year, and so they only need to inspect once a year to replace the bait. If you make the monitoring stations yourself, they will have a little orange dot at the top. If that dot disappears, then you have termites. So it only takes a couple of minutes to walk around the house and look for the dots. It is very quick and easy to do. If you see a dot that is missing, then simply remove that station and check to make sure that there are termites in it. Occasionally one of the stations will go off by accident because the stick may not have been long enough to stay in place. If there are termites in the station, simply put it back where it was and then install a bait station next to it. If there are no termites in the station, then simply replace it with a new one. All monitoring stations have a problem with mold, and termites do not like mold. So always pull up one of the stations every year to check for mold. If the station does not have any mold, then you are good for another year. If the station does have mold, then check a few more of them around the house. If several of them have mold, then start to replace all of them. Mold is a problem for the commercial stations as well. Anything you put under the ground in a dark and damp environment is subject to mold. The good news is that the monitoring stations only cost about $0.50 to make and is very easy to make them as well. They literally install in seconds. So homemade monitoring stations are a quick and easy thing to do that will alert you to the presence of termites, and give you an opportunity to treat them before they start eating your house. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. FiPro: www.solutionsstores.com/fipro-foaming-aerosol Termidor Foam: www.domyown.com/termidor-foam-p-3528.html Video on how to make monitoring stations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narIY2qXja2Fqbs

[@dpmatsontube]

If I have an infestation that's been there for four years, would you use bait in or near the wall? Or would you inject foam into the wall? Or would you do both?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

How you handle that will depend on the species. Figuring out the species is actually pretty easy and I have a video on how to do that. I will provide you with a link below. After watching this video, you should be able to identify the species. Just get back to me after you watch it and let me know what you found out. At that point, I can tell you exactly what you need to do. Let me know if you have any problems identifying the species, but I do not think that you will. It is much easier than you may imagine. Also, please tell me where you live. Location matters. Be well my friend. Video on how to identify termite species: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrWkJRmo8uJoMk

[@CaliMaxe]

Which foam is the one you like to use? There are 2 that you have linked in the description. Thanks for the great video and info.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

I like FiPro the best, but it is only sold by Solutions Pest & Lawn. Unfortunately, they will not ship to all states. So, if you cannot get FiPro, then go with the Termidor Foam. DoMyOwn.com will ship almost anywhere but NY. I hope that helps. Be well my friend.

[@peterdicapua3498]

Thank for all the info guy. I bought a house in south Alabama in January and i just returned last week, and found thousands of dead tiny winged termites in one bedroom and bathroom. I bought and applied the granules two days ago, how do I know if they worked?

[@GuysPestSolutions]

There are two questions here. First, if these are subterranean termites, then it takes between two to eight weeks for the granules to kill off the entire colony. The bigger question though is, "Are these guys subterranean termites?" Just based on the number of swarmers that you found and where you live, I suspect that these guys are not subterranean termites, but rather drywood termites. The granules do not work at all for drywood termites because they do not colonize in the ground. I recommend that you get a free inspection done by a pest control company. Almost all pest control companies will inspect for free. If they turn out to be subterranean, then you are good to go with the granules. However, if they are drywood termites, then you need to get back to me. I can walk you through the entire process. Don't sign a contract. Drywood termites are super slow eaters, so you have plenty of time to solve this problem. While you are waiting, you may want to watch my video on your treatment options if these are drywood termites. I will place a link below for you. Drywood termites are a much bigger problem than subterranean termites, so you need to be educated on them before you hire anyone to treat them. I hope I'm wrong about this, but if I'm right, then I can assist you with it. I hope that helps. Be well my friend. Drywood termite treatment options video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3WZf4eLZptgjrM

[@peterdicapua3498]

Guy, I took pics of the dead swarmer termites, there was not any red in the termite and the wings were transparent. I can't figure out how to send you a pic. I'm going to call for the estimate, and ill let you know what they say. Thank you for your advice and all your videos.

[@GuysPestSolutions]

@@peterdicapua3498 You can send photos to [e-mail]. When you take photos, put the camera in macro mode. Most cell phones today have this feature. Then get as close as you can and be sure to focus. I need a lot of detail. Take photos of the back side and then turn them over and do them legs up. Having the wings on is best, but not always possible. I will do my best to identify them for you.