pvc pipe along exterior wall for termite treatment

[rlee6]

This is not necessarily a tractor project but I would like to hear from experienced TBN'ers here. I have a typical stick frame house built on a monolithic concrete foundation with stucco wall. (stucco is basically cement slurry applied on sheet metal sheath that is nailed to the framing wood.) The key for termite treatment is to saturate the soil right at the level where the foundation meets the stucco wall, in other words, termite entry point. And this is about 7-8 inches below grade.

I am going to bury a PVC pipe, 1" diameter, right at this level. I will drill numerous small diameter holes (1/16") on this pipe. Instead of digging a trench every time I apply chemical, I can just fill this pipe from above and let gravity and diffusion do the spreading into surrounding soil.

Will this really work? Am I overlooking something major? Thanks for your help.

 

[srs]

Instead of digging a trench every time I apply chemical, I can just fill this pipe from above

Unless you have pets couldn't you just pour the liquid on the ground right next to the foundation and just let it soak into the soil?

 

[johnday]

rlee6; You may be on to something, but the only problem is that the holes could only be on the top of the pipe and you would need a soil sock of types to keep dirt from plugging the holes. I suppose you could make pipe like that, or even use an old soaker hose, the ones made out of old tires. Interesting at any rate. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Zork]

Hi, you'd be better off buying a tree root feeder peg and put your chemical in that way every 12 inches apart and down to 18 inches deep (to keep the rain water from diluting it or moving it downstream). /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gifSince your house is built on monolythic slab, they can only come in from the outside perimeter of the house. Except for penetrations for ceptic and water pipe /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Every house should have a minimum of 6" clearance from any kind of siding to the ground (get rid of the moisture and you get rid of all kinds of problems) and the ground should be sloped away from the house at about 6" in 10 feet horizontal. Even if you didn't have termites, you'd end up fighting moisture problems down the road if you dont have it graded away from the house. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif With that said, termites (subteranian) need lots of moisture. With the 6" clearance you can visually monitor your foundation and apply when needed /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif, instead of just randomly treating/ poisoning the soil /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. You dont want that stuff to get into your drinking water /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gifor someone elses /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif, even if it protects your house. Try buying the queen killing type of stakes in hope of killing the nests below your house or you can treat it with a tree root feeder every 7 or 8 years. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Hope this helps.. Oh, if all else fails we can turn this into a tractor question by asking....how big a trattor do I need to.....????lol Thanks for allowing my 2 cents. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[LarryD]

rlee6, I would think that in order to achieve a uniform application around your foundation you would need some sort of pressurized delivery system, like the soaker hose johnday suggested. Sounds like a fairly good idea, you might even patent your design and become a rich man. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I read an article (advertisement) in one of the trade magazines recently about installing tubing in walls for pesticide application from a central point. If I can find the ad I will post the company/website information.

 

[NIXON]

Sounds like a fairly decent idea ! But , what are you going to do for the interior parts of the slab ? (Tub ,toilet,and shower drains ) John

 

[MarkV]

Do you think the pesticide would flow and distribute equally enough to get the far end of your pipe run? Maybe a number of filler points to minimize the length of the runs would help guarantee total coverage. I would hate to think that the far ends were not being treated and creating a treatment free termite entry point. Nasty little buggers for us Southern folks. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

MarkV

 

[btolle]

I can see a couple of things that would bother me about this type of system. The first is the unnecessary use of pesticide in areas where it is not needed. You might have termites on a small area and end up dumping pesticide along the entire wall of the house.

Secondly, you are going to have to use a lot more pesticide than necessary which will get very expensive. The stuff I use costs $150 for a 5 quart bottle. While a gallon would probably be good for a couple of spot treatments it might take 5 gallons or more to fill your system.

Lastly, treating when not needed is not only a waste of money, but given a few years helps the termites build up a resistance to the chemical used.

Since you are on a slab it is easy to check for termite problems once or twice a year. Subterrannean termites build a dirt "tube" up the side of the foundation to get to the wood parts. These tubes are easy to spot. You can pull the covers for the plumbing connections on the inside walls to check those areas.

While the TV commercials would have you believe that termites can eat your entire house down to the ground in 30 days that is BS. If that were the case why do the termite companies only inspect once a year if you have a termite contract? Simple answer, even in a years time termites will not do real significant damage to a dwelling.

Do yourself a favor and do some research on the Internet and learn how to recognize termite tubes, keep the soil away from the top of the slab, make sure you don't allow plumbing leaks to keep the soil damp in the area where the bath tub and other plumbing comes through the slab, inspect it yourself at least once a year, and forget the fancy system.

Texas A & M termite information

BTW, if a termite company shows you some termites and tells you your house has termites ask them to show you the dirt tunnels. They can bring their own termites in with them but they can't build the little tunnels like the termites do!

Bill Tolle

 

[rlee6]

Thanks for the replies. All were good suggestions and I am modifying my plan accordingly.
1) I am increasing the size of the hole to make it unlikely to get plugged up.
2) I am wrapping the pipe with fabric so that dirt plug up the holes.
3) I thought about the soaking hose. Considering it is for pressurized application (about 50 psi), it may not work on gravity-fed system.
4) Each segment is 6-7 feet long for uniform application of termiticide.

Let me assure Bill T. that I am not poisoning the envirornment. Soil treatment must be continuous without interruption along the exterior wall. I am not overdoing it. There is no way I can poison the environment since all the "wonderful" poisons have been pulled out of consumers' reach. Chlordane was the first. Now even diazinon is out. So we are using permethryn which is hardly a poison. You cannot kill a termite with permethryn. It discourages termites from entering the house. It is called repellant, not a termiticide. By the way, this is not a tractor project so let me stop here. Thank you all for wonderful advices. When I buy a tractor which will be next year, I will ask tractor related questions.

Edit: My slab (and all my neighbors') is buried in 8-10 inches of soil. Removing the dirt and exposing the slab is practically out of the question. It will make my house look sitting on a lower ground surrounded by other houses sitting on higher ground. There is no way my wife would let me do it.

 

[cqaigy]

rlee6

I don't have an oppinion on your pipe idea, but I've heard there are some pretty safe pesticides i.e. based on boron or something like that. I think people have used boric acid desolved in water sprayed on wood mainly before construction is complete but i believe there are water stabilized versions of the same thing that can be sprayed around your foundation. One of the main advantages is that it in pretty innocuous to most things but tough on insects.