For decades we avoided getting our house tented for termites. We dreaded getting this done because: the gas is poisonous, our roof is made of breakable Spanish tile, we would have to prepare the house for the treatment, and we (and our cats) would be displaced for a couple of days. For a long time, we had "spot treatments" for termite control, but over the summer the termites swarmed. Reluctantly we arranged with Borite to have our house treated.
I probably made a bigger thing out of it than I should have but I was particularly stressed because I had read of a ten-year-old who had brain damage after the fumigation of their house in Florida. I studied all the literature Borite gave us; I did additional research on the internet, and I was meticulous about removing all food stuff from the house. I also removed or double-bagged (with Borite's special nylon bags) medicine, vitamins, makeup, soap, towels, blankets, cat food and toys, anything that I was uncertain about. I was repeatedly informed that Vikane is a gas that floats up into the air, but I figured better safe than sorry.
We also had to remove valuables. If you look it up, there are stories of burglars wearing masks to rob tented homes, although on occasion they do die from the noxious fumes.
We had to dig up some plants near the house because the fumes could kill them. As it turned out, the tent was very close to the house walls and most of the plants look like they'll be fine. But there was great disorder as huge pots had to be removed from the upstairs patio, and away from the house.
Before the treatment, we contacted our cats' vet to see if he has a kennel, and yes he does, and that's where my "boys" went. This was the first time they had ever been kenneled and were shocked to be behind bars. I visited them the one full day they were there and got the report that the two had fought and had to be separated. (I had thought they'd comfort each other in one kennel.)
We checked into a nearby hotel and occasionally drove by our house to check on it. I had informed our neighbors of the tenting and warned them to keep track of their outdoor pets during the tenting (lest the animals get into our house and get poisoned), and I also asked them to keep an eye on the house.
The tent went up on Wednesday mid-day and by Friday we had our house back, and everything was in order. Even the cats survived their kenneling experience. We needed a person to go up and fix displaced and broken tiles, but bit by bit we've resumed our normal life. Termite tenting was an ordeal though.
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Tags: termite treatment, fumigation, house, termites, termite control, tenting, home
This is all for now,
Cecilia
It must have been very expensive. Is there a guarantee the termites will never be back . And I see there are electric posts on your street. We had american guests before and when they saw our MERALCO posts, they said they don't have such back home
ReplyDeleteI understand the termites will come back but it will take time for them to be as "plentiful" as they were before. In other words, the damage they can do is minimized. There are older areas with electric posts; but there are new areas with underground lines.
ReplyDelete