Evening star., 1939-07-22
Threat Of Termites
Often Exaggerated;
How 10 Fight Them
Contoct With Moisture
Is Necessary to Life;
Breok Colony Links

The age and soundness of such
historic frame houses as Mount
Vernon, the House of Seven Gables
Quilt in 1640 and the Fairbanks
House at Dedham, Mass. dts tim
bers were bought over from Eng
land prior to 1886, should do much
to allay fears of termite decay and
attack by home owners.
So much has been written about
termites in homes, old and new,
that the Department of Agriculture
recently stated: Home owners
should beware of overdrawn and
alarming reports of injury to build
ings by termites or white ants"
Swarming or flying termites do
not attack. 1t is the descendants
Of these flying ants, the workers,
that are destructive Blind, shun-
ming light, concealing themselves in
their shelter tubes, they carry on
their perpetual hunt for food.
Where damage is done it is the
work of the subterranean termite
and not of the species which feeds
on low grasses and vegetation.
Moisture Necessary.
The thing to remember is that
subterranean termites always enter
buildings from underground colo
nies. The workers build foraging
tunnels and gain entrance through
cracks IN concrete, masonry or wood
walls or by building shelter tubes
along the surface of pipes, fence
posts, trellis or stonework. Con-
tact with soil moisture is absolutely
necessary to the life of termite
Breaking the ground connection of
the parent soil colony with
building will result in the prompt
death of any termites remaining in
the building. If through leakage or
other sources moisture is provided
above the ground contact, termites,
cut off in the building, may con-
tinue to work as long as there is
moisture.
For protection examine founda-
ton walls and posts of piers for
termite shelter tubes. Break these
tubes and then proceed to make
repairs and replacements to pre-
vent further damage. Seal all
foundation cracks and cap founda-
ton walls with dense cement NOR
tar. Where wood touches the
gqround it should be pressure treat
ed with an approved preservative
or replaced with wood known to
be termite resistant
Termite shields may be placed
over or in the masonry foundations
of buildings, old or new. The
shields are formed of a strip of
non-corroding metal, firmly insert
ed in the surface of the masonry
or between the foundations and
the wood with the projecting edge
bent downward at an angle of As
degrees and extending horizontally
at least 2 inches from the face of
the foundation
The effectiveness of these shields
has been exceptional, the Bureau
of Entomology stating that in
period of 100 years, of which it
has record, there has been no in
stance of failure of properly in
stalled shield. A built
test house erected with untreated
lumber and metal shields in the
Canal Zone, Panama, heart of the
termite region, has been immune
to termite attack for the entire 10
years of its existence.
Another protective measure is the
use of soil poisons. An economical
poison is one part creosote oil to
two or three parts of kerosene or
mineral spirits, diluted according
to the density of the soil Chemi-
Gals should be applied in a shallow
trench about l foot wide. with
the earth loosened as deeply as
possible below the trench, against
all walls, steps and stair founda-
tions. The creosote mixture should
be used at the rate of gallon per
10 lineal feet of trench. All wood
and other debris should be removed
from the soil and walls before ap-
plying the chemicals.
Can Retreat Later.
The work should be inspected
about three weeks after the poison
ing is completed and the soil re-
treated if there is any indication
of continued termite activity.
Three cardinal points to remem-
ber about termites are Cd the po-
tential danger of termite damage
Is grossly exaggerated; they are
not a hopeless plague nor of re-
cent origin, being here long before