Termite Turmoil in Toms River, NJ

Challenge

I recently received a call from a project manager in Toms River, NJ. As his team was renovating a strip mall for a new business, they uncovered a nice little surprise — termite damage in a wall. They had to halt renovations until I remedied the issue. Situations like this can present a huge expense for small business as well as delay the construction process, thus impacting the opening day for the new business. Needless to say, we needed to fix this ASAP!

Solution

I treated the studs and sill plate board with a termiticide foam before a repair was done. There was a lot of concrete and asphalt around this building and it required a lot of drilling. There is an urban legend out there saying that termites can eat through concrete — they cannot! Although it may seem like they can, termites often enter properties by crawling up the foundation. If the termites can find a crack in the foundation, they can easily travel undisturbed from the ground to the property above.

Properties that are built on slabs often have tiny cracks. Some of the cracks happen while the new concrete is drying while other cracks may appear if the soil settles under the slab. When termites find these cracks, they move up into the property. Termites also enter properties through expansion joints. Expansion joints are also known as "cold joints" and they happen wherever two slabs meet. Very large buildings often have expansion joints at regular intervals, such as warehouses, shopping centers, townhomes, and apartment complexes. 

After drilling, termiticide was injected into the soil underneath and then the holes were sealed with concrete cement. Termiticide is a durable product that can last for many years to protect the structure. After all was said and done, the project manager was extremely grateful for how fast we were to correct the issue as well as how thorough we were when placing the termiticide. Now the team can continue their renovations without any additional delays from annoying pests!