Termite Damage at Retirement Community in Berkeley Township, NJ

Challenge

Recently, I completed a termite treatment for a home at a retirement community within Berkeley Township, NJ. Cowleys has had the opportunity to service many of its friendly residents here and help them resolve all types of pest infestations. We don’t want termites or anything else to get in the way of a relaxing retirement!

This particular termite job shows the significant amount of termite damage that can happen if these infestations are not timely treated. As this homeowner learned the hard way, there is no other insect that comes close to the amount of damage that an underground termite colony can cause to a home. Termites are often called the silent destroyers of homes since, as subterranean insects, they do their damage hidden from plain view. It’s easy for homeowners to miss the often subtle signs of a termite infestation until there has already been substantial damage to the home. To avoid this situation, homeowners need to be vigilant about recognizing signs of termite damage like mud tubes across foundation walls and, for those in high termite areas, consider a termite inspection very few years. Catching these infestations early can make all the difference.  

Here, the homeowners did not realize there was a termite problem until a number of areas around the home had been damaged. The sun porch had foundational damage to the sill plate, header boards, and studs. Even the kick plate in front of the house had damage.

Solution

To successfully treat an active termite colony, the technician must be able to apply the liquid application directly into the soil. Often, quite a bit of work needs to be done to gain access to the soil around and underneath the home. Here, I needed to make a series of small drill holes around the concrete foundation. I also rodded the soil around the rest of the house to allow the product to be applied deep into the soil. Once the product is applied into the soil, the termites take care of the rest. The foraging termites will transport the product back to the nest, and because of all the activity going on down below, the termites distribute the product throughout. It doesn’t take long to kill the queen and the rest of the colony.  

This was a rewarding termite job. I only wish that we were called sooner so that I could have treated the infestation before all of this damage was done. The lesson of this particular job is that although termite damage occurs slowly by the day, the cumulative damage over the years can be quite substantial.