When you see them, it’s too late. They can pass through walls unseen, entering and leaving a space that has cracks only as wide as a credit card. They are many, and they will travel far to find what they’ve come here for: food. They are termites. Termites don’t care how hard you’ve worked to make your home beautiful. To them, it’s a feast. Unless they find a better/easier food source before they get to your home and workshop/apartment buildings that you’re going to be working super hard to make amazing over the next year (or 8)! We have used the Sentricon® system for years to protect our homes. So when they reached out about partnering on this post, I was like, “duh”. Spreading the word about termite damage and what you can do to prevent it is right up my alley!
This post is sponsored by Sentricon. I received compensation and free products to write and share this post with you. All opinions, observation and experiences are authentic and my own.
Termite Damage at Calderwood
It’s been a while since Julie and I finished Calderwood Cottage, but our experience with discovering extensive termite damage there solidified my resolve to always protect my homes and structures against termites. There were no active termites when we renovated the house but they sure did a number on it. We had the Sentricon system installed to protect Calderwood (and all our hard work) from being feasted upon by any new colonies.
The Termite Threat
The thing about termites are really determined to find food. Those suckers will travel more than 100 yards in search for food. If your neighbors have termites, they can (and probably will) affect you too.
The buggers are practically everywhere. Pretty much the only place they won’t be is Alaska. I don’t blame them–it’s so cold up there the wood is probably frozen solid. Termites invade 5 million homes each year and termite damage is rarely covered by homeowner’s insurance because it’s preventable. And that is the best way to deal with termites: prevent them from finding your home when they’re looking for a food source!
A termite colony contains millions of termites and it is common to find multiple colonies foraging around a home. They get in and feast away without detection. By the time you start seeing signs of termite damage, they have probably already done a lot of structural damage.
Protecting our Investments
One of the first things we did after we bought our new house, was get it protected from termites. We used Sentricon to protect our last house and Calderwood and that’s what we used again. Our house is on a concrete slab, which a lot of people think means termites won’t be a problem. However, termites can enter through cracks, plumbing or utility entries or just crawl right up the concrete slab. We initially had Sentricon installed just around the house. (Wes kind of ignored the workshop building so he could focus on moving into the new house while I stayed in Maryville and completed it. Which is fine because it is currently just a big concrete block building on a concrete slab with metal framing and a metal room. Not much of a feast for any food scouting termites. However, before I start any work on the inside to make it my awesome “dream space”, I’m wanted the Sentricon “ring of protection” installed around the building so no dang termites will damage all the hard work I’m about to put into this building!
The Sentricon System
The Sentricon system doesn’t attract termites–it’s just a food source they find when they’re searching for food. Once they find the bait stations, they share it with the rest of the colony. When the termites eat the bait, they can no longer molt which makes them die. The queen dies and so does the whole colony. Sentricon focuses on eliminating the entire colony. And the bait stations are always there, always active, protecting our building from any and all termite colonies that come foraging for food. Russel’s Pest Control just has to come out once a year to check and/or service the bait stations, to make sure they stay Always Active and ready for action!
You can find a termite professional or see how much you are at risk on Sentricon’s website. We used Russel’s Pest Control to install our Sentricon system. It was interesting to see what the bait stations look like before they are put in the ground.
The ground was pretty soft, because it rains here- a lot. So the Russel’s Pest guy was able to use a hand auger to dig the holes.
He installed bait stations all the way around my enormous workshop building — for which I have BIG plans! And I don’t want any destructive creatures messing things up. I can’t wait to share the adventure with you!
You scared the poop right out of me! I’ll be calling the termite this week! Thank you SDG!
Well the damage termites can do IS scary! (As seen from our Calderwood Cottage experience.) I don’t even want any of my hard work being eaten away by the buggers so I protect. Glad you’re going to look into it too!
So glad we don’t have termites in the United Kingdom. We have wet rot or woodworm but not termites.
Just a heads up, baits are not the recommended treatment plan any more. Research shows they are way less effective than Termidor or Taurus SC. Almost anyone can apply it, dig a 6”x6” trench around your foundation. Pour in the termidor and it provides a 10 year barrier. Kills a colony in 90 days. Non repellent that coats the termite in fipronil and which slowly kills the entire colony when they bring it back. Every reputable non-franchise exterminator recommended the exact same treatment. Franchises want the recurring transactions from checking the bait pods and replacing them. No benefit for them to push Termidor etc as it is an actual permanent one time solution.
Hi Matt, thanks for joining the discussion. I have read comparisons on both products and am looking at it from the perspective of “homeowner” not “extermination expert”. Before partnering with Sentricon for my workshop, I’ve had my home protected with Sentricon for 9 years and have not had any termite damage since then. I personally like having someone annually inspect my property to make sure my “termite barrier” is working effectively. From my experience, the amount of work Julie and I had to do to demo and rebuild Calderwood Cottage because of the damage caused by termites, I’m not willing to DIY termite protection. I want it done by a professional that stands behind the product they install.
Definitely need to check into Sentricon. Thank you!
Glad you’re going to check it out. Get protected. 🙂
I need to do an inspection on my roof (the electricity line tension has pulled the top part of my roof and there is a gap of a few inches). Unfortunately no jobs out here and I am in a well populated area. Unemployed for one year and this was the year I planned on remodeling my house from top to bottom. Didn’t foresee this crappy economy.
Sarah I’m so sorry you haven’t been able to find a job in your area.
Considering the damage done to your cottage, protecting wood definitely seems essential. Thanks for the blog!