Termite Troubles in the Barn

We got a call yesterday to alert us that the pest control folks would be here to do their annual termite inspection.  They have monitoring station/bait traps set up around the perimeter of our home.  The technician checked and could find no sign of termites around our home.  That is welcome news to us.  He couldn't find a few of the stations, but put out more to take their place.  All in all, we got a report that we wanted to hear.

Out in our barn, however, is another matter entirely.  In year's past, we've put out our own termite bait stations around the barn.  This station at the southwest corner of the barn is something that you don't want to see.  It means the termites have eaten through the bait and the fluorescent probe pops up to ruin your day and alert you that those terrible wood eaters are present.

A few years ago, the termites ate a hole in the floor of the feed room.  That was some good 2 x 12 treated lumber.  What a mess!  This winter, while it is cool, I'll try to re-deck the feed room.  The problem is, of course, that lumber is very expensive right now.

The hungry termites eat through the wood, like you see right here.  The piece of wood I'm holding is lighter than a piece of cork.  When I stepped through the floor and found the problem, I got some termite spray and killed all of them that I could find.  You just know there's more though.

I definitely don't want the barn to fall down, so we've got to do something about the infestation.  Tricia let me know that we had 5 more bait stations left over from the last time we treated.  Time to get these in the ground.

I see some signs of the termites eating in some of the support beams that frame up the barn.

The termite killer comes with a hand auger with which you use to drill the holes to set the termite stakes.

You simply turn the auger by hand until it's all the way in and then you pull up, leaving a hole.

Then you insert the bait station in the hole, and you check it periodically for the telltale signs of activity.

We had our barn built with used materials from other barns that were being torn down.  If I had to guess, we might have imported a termite problem with some of those building materials.  We'll do our best to combat the termites as we like our barn.  Unfortunately, the termites like our barn too!