Termites!

[Brucellosis]

Bought a 2001 Casita freedom 17 deluxe this spring. It is in nice shape, but recently found what I believe to be termites on the door sill. I sprayed the area and the following day found numerous winged nymphs dead where sprayed. The floor seems solid, so any advice on how to insure any infestation is eliminated? The floor is original carpet with wood (I assume) underneath.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Brucellosis

Bought a 2001 Casita freedom 17 deluxe this spring. It is in nice shape, but recently found what I believe to be termites on the door sill. I sprayed the area and the following day found numerous winged nymphs dead where sprayed. The floor seems solid, so any advice on how to insure any infestation is eliminated? The floor is original carpet with wood (I assume) underneath.

Oh My you should be very careful termites will eat a fiberglass trailer.

[Raspy]

Bruce,

First thing to do is get the carpet out and see if they are in the plywood floor.

I had termites in a fiberglass sailboat. They got into the main bulkhead, which was plywood, and went all over the place, between the inner and outer layers of the plywood. We saw some winged ones too. In certain areas we'd find some brown residue, or a very small hole in the wood. So we drilled into the wood with about an 1/8" drill, not through, but half way in, and injected a product called Bayer Carpenter Ant & Termite Killer Plus. We did repeated injections whenever we'd find a hollow spot, see a hole, or find residue. It took a while, but we finished them off.

Another excellent product is Copper Napthenate. This is pretty serious stuff. A green liquid you can brush onto wood, or inject. It will stop all rot and kill all bugs, but you'll have to let it air out thoroughly before you'll want to spend much time in there.

If you want to fill hollow spots in the wood, you can inject liquid epoxy with a special syringe made for glue that is available where you get the epoxy. Epoxy is available in viscosities from as thin as gasoline, to as thick as putty. A medium density, like thick oil, works well for this. System Three, or West Systems are common brands of high quality liquid epoxies.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Bruce,

First thing to do is get the carpet out and see if they are in the plywood floor.

I had termites in a fiberglass sailboat. They got into the main bulkhead, which was plywood, and went all over the place, between the inner and outer layers of the plywood. We saw some winged ones too. In certain areas we'd find some brown residue, or a very small hole in the wood. So we drilled into the wood with about an 1/8" drill, not through, but half way in, and injected a product called Bayer Carpenter Ant & Termite Killer Plus. We did repeated injections whenever we'd find a hollow spot, see a hole, or find residue. It took a while, but we finished them off. Unless they're fiberglass eating termites yu won't find anything by ripping up the carpet.



Another excellent product is Copper Napthenate. This is pretty serious stuff. A green liquid you can brush onto wood, or inject. It will stop all rot and kill all bugs, but you'll have to let it air out thoroughly before you'll want to spend much time in there.

If you want to fill hollow spots in the wood, you can inject liquid epoxy with a special syringe made for glue that is available where you get the epoxy. Epoxy is available in viscosities from as thin as gasoline, to as thick as putty. A medium density, like thick oil, works well for this. System Three, or West Systems are common brands of high quality liquid epoxies.

Casita has a fully fiberglass encased floor.

[WizWid]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Casita has a fully fiberglass encased floor.

Yeah right.
No holes in it for plumbing etc I suppose.
Why all the threads about floor rot in Casitas then?

[Jon in AZ]

Agree you want to attack the infestation vigorously. Sure don’t want them to get established inside the floor. Just not sure how you get the insecticide in there- drill small holes, maybe, and fill them later?

[Raspy]

Jon, The insecticide is pumped in through the drilled small holes that go half way through the thickness of the floor. It can be tricky to find the void, and may requires some searching with the drill, but that's OK, as the termites will do far more damage given some time. It's easy to spot the difference in the wood when you find a void. It's just hollow inside, instead of like drilling wood. Some insecticides, like the one I listed, in the gallon or larger bottles, come with a sprayer attachment and hose that allows one to squirt it right into a hole. The epoxy syringe, or plastic squeeze bottle with pointed cap, would work well on a flat floor. When the bugs are gone, epoxy putty or other material can be used to fill the holes in the surface. Once you know the thickness of the floor, you can wrap a piece of tape around the drill to leave half of that amount exposed, as a guide while drilling.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Casita has a fully fiberglass encased floor.

Obviously, they are not "fully fiberglass encased" if termites got in. Termites don't eat fiberglass.

[cpaharley2008]

I always thought termites returned to the ground daily? The tubes built keep them out of daylight in their search for moisture. Thus the return underground. Surprised they are in a mobile trailer and a boat. Maybe a wood boring ant or flying ant?

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Casita has a fully fiberglass encased floor.

Not true. Underneath is fiberglass. On top it is just coated with resin. And then you have all the plumbing and electrical that penetrate floor. Newer models they installed a plug where every penetration is placed. But not back in 2001.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I always thought termites returned to the ground daily? The tubes built keep them out of daylight in their search for moisture. Thus the return underground. Surprised they are in a mobile trailer and a boat. Maybe a wood boring ant or flying ant?

Jim, You could be right. I'm not an expert on them. They do fly, and they do live in wood.

[Iowa Dave]

Termites, carpenter ants, other wood invasive critters are pain as has been described . For hidden voids and tough to get at cracks, crevices and like nearly inaccessible places, we usually used a product called Termidor. It comes in a pressurized can with a flexible hose and hard plastic nozzle. It’s an expanding foam. Not cheap but effective and easy to use. domyown.com Termidor foam.
YMMV.
Iowa “used to be licensed pesticide applicator” Dave

[k corbin]

If you have it parked at your home you need to have a pest inspection company come out and do a survey of the property. If it is just in the trailer and they are not in your home and other structures then they can have the pest control company tent it on its own for fumigation. That way you will have both the bottom of the wood floor as well as the interior treated.

This is not a DIY situation, let the pros deal with it. You don't have the equipment to fumigate it yourself. Plus at this time getting the proper safety equipment such as the right kind of respirator, suit, gloves etc will not be that easy to obtain. They are of course hazardous chemicals regarding having them shipped to you. But a pest control company will have it all in stock. They are an essential service.


If you have it stored some place other than home I suggest you move it to a new location ASAP after it has been fumigated.

[Jon31433]

Originally Posted by Brucellosis

Bought a 2001 Casita freedom 17 deluxe this spring. It is in nice shape, but recently found what I believe to be termites on the door sill. I sprayed the area and the following day found numerous winged nymphs dead where sprayed. The floor seems solid, so any advice on how to insure any infestation is eliminated? The floor is original carpet with wood (I assume) underneath.

I got them in my sail boat and ended up having it tented and professionally fumigated. It took about a week and cured the problem.

[nefldiver]

Doesn't mean termites can't get at the plywood floor

[Jimmy J]

We live in the rural South where termites are everywhere, and they will they find and eat any piece of untreated wood that is laying on the ground. Termites "live" in the soil, and must return to it, or another moisture source daily, I'm told. Only Formosan termites can colonize above ground. Winged termites and winged ants look much the same. It's possible you have/had ants, and not termites. I would just keep an eye out for other signs before taking drastic action. JMHO

[Jon31433]

Originally Posted by Jon31433

I got them in my sail boat and ended up having it tented and professionally fumigated. It took about a week and cured the problem.

Actually it did get to the termites in the plywood substrate. I had to pull some of it out and all the termites were dead. I replaced the damaged plywood and reinstalled the teak sole. Five years later still no problem.