Termite advice

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vinny11950

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
May 17, 2010
1,795
Eastern Long Island, NY
Hello everyone, it's been a while since I posted here. I have been lurking and trying to stay connected to the group.

I need some advice on how best to treat a termite/carpenter ant issue in my front porch.

As you can see, the concrete was poured right up to the T1-11 siding. I think this is the original siding and concrete, so 52 years old.

[Hearth.com] Termite advice


So I busted out the concrete along the edges, making enough room to give me space to work. I was hoping it wasn't going to be too bad but no work to this house goes easy.

[Hearth.com] Termite advice


[Hearth.com] Termite advice


The far wall was a mess. Sill plate rotted out with water and what I think is termite damage. I also think there is carpenter ant damage because I always see one or two in the porch in the spring.

[Hearth.com] Termite advice


The sill plate came out with no problem (no concrete anchors, just some faint rust marking of what I think were nails or screws in the concrete). Rim joist also had damage on the lower half and came out with no issue. I don't think they used PT lumber for the sill plate. They put a shingle like material and metal flashing below the sill plate, and under all of it, a thick white paste/dust treatment which I am guessing is some sort of borax. Anyway, lucky for me that wall is not carrying too much weight and I can work freely.

So what's the best treatment for the termites/ants to kill the ones still there and to prevent future issues?

I was looking at Boracare but I am not sure. I was also thinking of using the HD stuff for now.
 
Midaswell bust out the rest of that concrete and get it below the siding as that's what started your issue all the water running that direction. Needs to be lower and sloped away from the foundation. Once you get rid of all the rot the termites and ants should leave on their own.
 
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I don’t see any termite damage there or any mud tunnels, was it cleaned up?

Fix the rot, fix the drainage issue.

You can’t legally buy Boracare in NY without a 7c pesticide license.
 
You can’t legally buy that without a 7c license either. NY isn’t thrilled with sales of pesticides.
 
All I can say is that Amazon doesn't keep their own rules. I (ahem, accidentally) bought something that I later saw had a remark on the product page of Amazon that it couldn't ship to NY (and one or two other states).
Yet it arrived nicely in 3 days...

Do be careful with chemicals. Read all instructions.