Bugs!!!

[AMISLANDER]

Anyone notice, in the more southern climates, an abundance of flying ant type bugs like hanging on vinyl siding? I just cleaned a bunch off around the front door of my office at the beach...maybe they're even termites???

I do know that this is the time of the year in FL that the termites start to swarm...especially around 7 p.m. at night, but these are just looking like they were dead on the side of the building...when I started to remove them w/a dusting tool...they started moving...ick!

[Minnymouth]

Sounds like termites too me.........

With as much wet/moldy wood as would be down in that area right now I would say that the termites were in abundance........

Old non-treated lumber, mulch, etc cause termites..... especially if it stays damp or wet......

No mulch at my house, just stone...........mulch keeps Orkin in business.....

My neighbor had a wood fence around his garbage cans.... it rotted, he cut it down..... termites from it went to my tall A-shaped cedars and started chowing down...... about killed my tree before I found them.... I ended up putting a BIG garbage bag down over the tree and fogging it..... then sprayed the ground all around.... Hopefully, I have killed them off..... will have to keep a close eye on the rest of my trees.....

Remember there is wood underneath all that siding and often around the base of a house...... SPRAY GOOD................. at least twice.....

[AMISLANDER]

Great....

This is all my LCAM probably wants to hear...we have all of our summer projects for 2006 budgeted & I don't think it includes termites...would they be hanging off the the siding during the day just like little bats?

[Minnymouth]

Get you a couple samples of them and take to a local place that sells farm insecticide or your local county extension office.... they can probably tell you what they are..... but yes could very well be termites....

[jane taylor]

Oh no, not termites!!! We had those and almost never got rid of them! They ate down to the slab in our master bath and the repairs cost us a fortune!!

I HATE bugs--especially those gigantic cockroaches that would take over the world if they had brains! Killing those suckers is my husband's job--it's in the pre-nup--LOL!

[robivi3]

AMIS, it could be carpenter ants. Termites aren't the problem here that they are up North. Our places are concrete bunkers compared to those stick and knock downs i'll likely be living in in Tennessee, no matter how nice they look they are junk, crap built homes. My first home in North Miami had termites but they never touched the Dade County Pine (unbelievably hard wood), only the two by fours dividing the rooms. we got rid of them. The outside walls were poured concrete, a Mack Truck couldn't knock them down.

We have carpenter ants here also, I just treat, not worried at present.

[Minnymouth]

Robivi3,
Didn't know carpenter ants had wings??? I always thought those were the "big black ones" you see around wood......

I've had a terrible time this year with carpenter bees (the big black and gold ones that look like huge bumble bees).... and they drill holes in your rafters and nest...... Huge things..... And they chase you and stand you off when you come around them.....
Only way to kill them is hit them head on with a trash can lid (they explode and you hear splat).... or spray their nest at sundown when they go in their hole they've made..... hate those things.....
Have had many an afternoon "war" with them......
Have you had any dealings with those????

[anonymuse]

Check here for the difference between carpenter ants and termites:

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/termites/difference_ants_termites.htm

[Minnymouth]

Great - Very Useful - Site................

[AMISLANDER]

hmmm......????

Check here for the difference between carpenter ants and termites:

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/...s_termites.htm

great site! I think they're the swarming ants...they are back in full force around the outside perimeter of my office...must be mating season.

[Minnymouth]

Yours might be ants, mine are termites......

Neighbor guy built a bin around his garbage cans out of untreated lumber......wood rotted, termites invaded.....

Yeah, mine are termites..... but we killed them off and sprayed complete yard, trees, etc.... and around base of home..................

[BassBoy]

Robivi3,
I've had a terrible time this year with carpenter bees (the big black and gold ones that look like huge bumble bees).... and they drill holes in your rafters and nest...... Huge things..... And they chase you and stand you off when you come around them.....
Only way to kill them is hit them head on with a trash can lid (they explode and you hear splat).... or spray their nest at sundown when they go in their hole they've made..... hate those things.....
Have had many an afternoon "war" with them......
Have you had any dealings with those????

ROFLMAO! You're too funny Minny. The reason for my laughter is because I know the sound you're describing when you swat a carpenter bee with something. We don't have much wood around our home, but the carpenter bees are eating away at the next door neighbors fence. Anyways, when they come flying around, I picked my son's baseball bat........one of those big, fat, red, plastic, toy baseball bats for kids..........and the sound is way cool. It has this hollow sounding thud when you get them good. It's hilarious!

[Minnymouth]

Yep, You Know The Sound Alright................

My Roommate Says " I'm Going Bee Hunting, Want To Go Count Them For Me?"

So I Sit On The Deck, She Swats And I Keep Count Of The Bees And The Cool Ones We Have..........

Lol