u/RHOUTX

Hi y'all,

I have confirmed Formosan activity on my property in Houston (fence boards, planter boxes, one abandoned exploratory mud tube along the garage wall). I had 4 pest control companies come out, inspect the garage wall from both sides and the rest of the house, none were able to identify any activity in the house. 3 recommended a bait station setup, one a full perimeter liquid treatment (which I prefer to avoid). However, the amount of bait stations varied a lot between the 3. Some had as few as 12 stations, others up to 24. Some recommended to go around the pool to be safe, others said that was not needed.

I have in the meanwhile read a ton about the Trelona Annual Bait Stations. Based on that I have come up with my own map of what I think would make sense after reading their install instructions. I am planning to send this to the 2 companies that offer Trelona to modify their proposal to this bait station placement. (see plan in images above as well as pictures of each side of the house)

- about 12-13ft spacing around the house, aiming to hit corners and skipping utility locations, AC pad and pool equipment pad.

- about 14 to 16 ft spacing along the pool for extra protection close to all the trees and planters and to bridge the 36 ft concrete pool deck between the house and pool.

- placement would be 1-2ft off the concrete which puts it inside the 2.5ft overhangs with gutters, so the soil there remains fairly dry.

With this approach I get 22 stations, each with 2 active baits. Does this look reasonable? Any modification suggestions before I send this off for final quotes?

I have a 10 year old house, slab on grade in Houston, TX. Foundation is exposed 5-6in around the whole house except where the front door meets the walkway. I walk the perimeter about every 2 months to look for mud tubes.

Last walk I did was end of May when I had a termite swarm in my back yard pool that were identified as Formosan. At the time I found no mud tubes and no signs of any entry into the home. But I did discover Formosan termites eating my untreated wooden raised bed frames about 20 ft from the foundation. The neighbors 1950ies home had termite damage inside their home and applied a full perimeter treatment about 5 months ago.

During my inspection walk today I found two tubes that were already broken. They must have gotten created after May and already broken since then again (the sun hits that concrete side for 8 straight hours every day, not sure if that's the reason or the yard guys weed whacker may have hit them). When I touched the intact piece, it completely crumbled at the lightest touch (see video).

I called a Stuart Pest Control, a highly recommended no-sales pressure, pest control company and the owner on the phone told me to not worry, that if it crumbles immediately it might just be ants and if it was Formosans I would very quickly see a new tunnel and unless that happens there is no need for an inspection. He said that other pest control companies will happily charge me a few thousand dollars for baits or a full perimeter treatment but that this was just a money grab. He recommended I wait a while and see if I find any new mud tubes and to inspect the inside of the home for any water leaks.

What are your thoughts?

Pictures show the two tubes (about 20ft apart on the same wall), the damaged planter which is sitting 20ft from the house and the termites I found in May at the pool.

Last night at 8:30pm (right after dusk) I noticed bugs coming in through the crack of our sliding patio door. Looking outside I noticed a huge swarm. 10-20 made it inside which I vacuumed up right away. I walked out another door that had no lighting and sprayed the swarm down with hydrogen peroxide. I also noticed many of them floating in the pool. I capture some in a glass (see pics + video of wings)

Is anybody able to tell me if they are drywood or subterranean? If they are subterranean I am a bit less concerned, because I don't think they would be able to live in the house (see Foundation Check below). But if they are drywood, I was concerned they may have emerged from my house?

Either way, I plan to get a professional inspection just in case. Any recommendations for a true inspector and not just a sales person in Houston?

Videos of swarm + close up floating in glass and high resolution pics:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hCphL7Vzy183h2DJ8

A bit more background:

Foundation Check: I have clear visibility of 2-5 inches between the ground and the top of the foundation everywhere and regularly check, there are no mud tubes. The house also has termite metal mesh screens (Termimesh) that were installed around all plumbing penetrations when the foundation was poured.

Yard: we have natural backyard with lots of trees and shrubs and also some old stumps int he ground and I have a few times over the past years seen termites in the yard, but never close to the house. The most I saw was when a piece of OSB was left on the ground for a while and when I picked it up I saw the white termites and mud tunnels underneath it. And once I noticed them eating through mulch around an orange tree when I loosed up the mulch.

Neighbors: we know that our neighbors (houses are just 15ft apart in our area) had termite damage inside their house. They had a company come and put a perimeter treatment trench a few inches deep.