Oh god... what do you do... termites?

[MrTroy]

So... everyone remembers when I picked up those cabinets a few months ago? I had the burger time and 3 A.P.B machines. Well.. one of the had like 6 termites on it. Of course I freaked and killed them.... Now I'm so upset I don't know what to do. I don't know if my machine is infested, if I should throw it away or what.

The dude who is paying me to put a computer inside(And run all my own software of course) already started paying for everything. Now I'm so upset I have no clue what to do. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do to see if it's really infested or not? It's not like this or anything.

[JODY]

Assuming the cabinet came from around the Philly area, I think it will be OK.  The termites that live in northern climates nest in the ground.  There are termites in the south where it is warmer that can nest above ground.  Anyway, assuming the termites are the northern type, only workers would be in the cabinet unless there was special circumstances like water in the cabinet (the termites can nest above ground in a northern climate if they have a year round water supply).

[D10]

If six is all you have seen i don't think you will have much to worry about. If you keep seeing more on the cab then you might need to spray it or use an insect fogger that will work on termites as well.

[TheVengeance]

So... everyone remembers when I picked up those cabinets a few months ago? I had the burger time and 3 A.P.B machines. Well.. one of the had like 6 termites on it. Of course I freaked and killed them.... Now I'm so upset I don't know what to do. I don't know if my machine is infested, if I should throw it away or what.

The dude who is paying me to put a computer inside(And run all my own software of course) already started paying for everything. Now I'm so upset I have no clue what to do. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do to see if it's really infested or not? It's not like this or anything.

Not a big thing if you catch it in time. First determine what kind/ and how much damage has been done. Usually your biggest threat will come "drywood termites", they can be nasty, and more importantly, they can be quick.

You can usually have a cabinet gassed if you call a local pest control place. Some of them have no problem putting your cab into a house that needs to be tented for termites. Some of the better pest control labs, have something almost similar to a gas chamber you'd see in prison. This is usually used for furniture, dressers, and whatnot. That is a little more expensive, but still does the trick.

You'll need to remove the electronic components before some will even talk to you, like the board, monitor and other electronics.

[JODY]

If it is the drywood termites (not native to northern areas) then this talks about them and tells two ways of getting rid of them.

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/tdrywood.html

[MrTroy]

I believe these termites aren't drywood ones. They're all white. At least I hope they aren't the dangerous kind

[TheVengeance]

If it is the drywood termites (not native to northern areas) then this talks about them and tells two ways of getting rid of them.

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/tdrywood.html

Okay , what would you like to know? Also, I forgot to mention, try not to confuse a termite and a carpenter ant. Both very destructive, but feed in different ways.

Please don't laugh at this, but are there droppings around your cab? It will look almost like sawdust, but in all actuality, it's feces?

Also, pictures help. Do you have any pics you can post of the damage, esp. the holes/tunnels they're making?

[TheVengeance]

I believe these termites aren't drywood ones. They're all white. At least I hope they aren't the dangerous kind

Do they look like these my friend?

http://www.buginfo.com/wooddestroying/drywood1.cfm

If that cab is inside your home, please if you don't listen to anything else I say, put it outside NOW, or at least in the garage.

[Wade]

Those in the picture look almost exactly like the regular ground-nesting termites found in PA, WV, etc.  I wouldn't worry about them.  They can only do damage if they find their way back to the colony.  Which they won't, in this case.  Just kill the ones you found and move on.

Wade

[divemaster127]

ive worked for years with termites, do not worry about termites they have to go back into the ground every 24 hrs, because of water, they cannot live above ground, period so if all you found was 6 other than the damage that may already be done, they are dead
thanks
divemaster127

[TheVengeance]

ive worked for years with termites, do not worry about termites they have to go back into the ground every 24 hrs, because of water, they cannot live above ground, period so if all you found was 6 other than the damage that may already be done, they are dead
thanks
divemaster127

A termite is a termite is a termite. Damage will come no matter the numbers. There are both SUB-TERRAIN and DRYWOOD termites. Assuming his are white like in the link I posted, and even what he described, he could still potentially have a very serious problem. They're hollowing out the very structure of this cabinet, taking away from the sturdiness it once had, it will if not today, begin to crumble.

Trust me on this. At the very least get them sprayed with TERMIDOR or something of the like.

[MrTroy]

Well I was too terrified to bring the cabinet in the house last night So I left it outside. At least now I know where they came from. They came from the actual wood of my porch which means I have to call the land lord about this. No matter.I checked the cabinet like crazy this morning and I saw nothing on it. No nest... no eggs. I'm still scared to bring it in the house. I dunno if I should risk a whole fleet of them resting behind a microswitch in the coin door charging and invading my other cabinets.

[ChadTower]

If they came FROM your house, then you have a bigger problem than your cabs.

[divemaster127]

much bigger problem, they can get into everything

[TheVengeance]

If they came FROM your house, then you have a bigger problem than your cabs.

Ooooh, so true.

You mentioned something about telling the landlord, maybe when/if he takes of it, he'll have the house tented. Then you leave the cabs inside, and kill 2 problems at the same time.

[shawnzilla]

I'm a Kansas/Missouri Realtor, and I've seen my fair share of termite inspections/infestations. You may want to take a screwdriver and poke around in various locations of the cab (hopefully you didn't paint already).

[danny_galaga]

i would be very surprised if there was a nest IN the cab. termite queens need a bit of volume around them. most species i know of live underground and make their way UP into the wood. in all probability the nest is back where you picked the cab up from. as someone else pointed out, they are a social creature and wont live away from the nest for long. and the only termite reproducing is the queen. still worth poking around of course since there may be a species in the US that nests IN the wood...

[MrTroy]

Well once I moved it away from the dirt of my backyard. It seemed to be fine. So I left it out there again(Still scared to bring it in the house) This morning.... again nothing was on it.

[ChadTower]

You probably want to look under your porch, since that is where you said they came from.

[shawnzilla]

One of my favorite building inspectors always tells my client there are two types of houses: ones that have termites and ones that WILL have termites. I agree with Chad, you probably need to inspect under your front stoop. Termites work slowly, but if you ignore the problem, it becomes costly when it's time to sell your house.

[divemaster127]

He is exactly right you need to have the house checked, take a screw driver & check under the window seals, if you find mud there you have problems
thanks

[danny_galaga]

where i used to live there are so many termites that it was normal to spray the whole yard every 5-10 years automatically. even people into organic veggies and the like had to concede defeat to those little buggers.

[TheVengeance]

He is exactly right you need to have the house checked, take a screw driver & check under the window seals, if you find mud there you have problems
thanks

Also, you might want to check for wings. They usually shed them after they've found a good site to infest. I don't know about where you live, but down here / Florida it's swarming season and sometimes you literally run into them like love-bugs.