What the heck is happening this evening?

Bump

My post just got weighted down by the 10-ton Realtor Commission fee thread.

Need to know what is invading my home, so that I can sleep soundly tonight. Can anyone tell me? I assume that this is some sort of seasonal swarm, but of what?

Will ponder compensation for the Realtors in the A.M. ;)!

Hey Mell

The first time this happened to us it freaked us out as they covered our screen door and window screens !!!

What we found is that after heavy rain sometimes these things (for the want of a better word) come out and are attracted to light, so now at the first sign we just turn everything off and go to bed !!!

All I can say is that they only live for a very short period of time and are all dead by morning - I think they are termites of some kind but not sure, but I know the "old timers" (meant in the nicest way possible 🙂 ) of this forum will be able to tell you exactly what they are.

I used to have 'various things' that would either hatch or decide they wanted to be inside during heavy rains. No real problem, but kind of gross. When I got Terminix to do a monthly border spray, they completely stopped.

This might not help for tonight, but for the future.......

Best wishes,

Dan

Certain types of Termites, not the subtrainiean type, will swarm at certain times of the year. They are looking for new homes. They will only live an evening, at least the ones you still see. The others have gone to wood.

Mell,
If you had lights on outside, wait till you open your screen or front door this morning.
Hundreds of them will be dead on the ground.
Gross is an understatement.
Good luck and at least they are not cockroaches, right? 😉
O.

Mell, they are indeed termites and during heavy rains are often dislodged from their tree homes (which look like huge dark brown tumours on softwood trees) and are attracted to light. Your best bet during such temporary swarming is to close off all your lights and wait it out. I know the first time I got hit with them I was pretty freaked out and felt as though I were in the middle of a nasty sci-fi movie!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for explaining this phenomenon -- you were all VERY helpful.

Oh boy, do I need to be concerned about my wood furniture?

Should I treat the furniture now? Or should I just wait and watch carefully for signs of an infestation?

Best :),
Mell

Mell: I kow you're in the process of moving but wherever you live, look out for irregularly formed dark brown strips on your walls, usually starting by a window and crawling from there. If you touch them they'll crumble but these are termite tunnels.

Some houses here were/are built cheaply using untreated lumber and plywood and these are a real treat for the termites. And they will, insidiously, invade certain kinds of "soft" furniture wood and shelving - and books and cardboard containers!

As Dan mentioned, you can opt for monthly treatment by a company such as Terminix if you have a problem that you can't contain yourself. On the other hand, if it's just a once-in-a-while problem, the best product I've found is "Term-Out" which you can buy at pretty much any hardware or building material store (Home Depot, East End Lumber, Cost U Less, even some supermarkets, etc.)

Look in less obvious places too for the termite tunnels. For instance, if you have storage space that you don't get to very often, make sure your stored things are in heavy plastic containers rather than cardboard.

It's something you just get used to and deal with and I wouldn't worry right now about your furniture (if you have "softwood") because if you keep an eye out for the obvious signs of termite infestation they won't have a chance to eat it up! Hope this helps, as in Termites 101!

Hi STT,

Thanks so much for all the info :)! I suspect I will be referring to this post numerous times in the future!

OMG, I had these last night too!!!!!!!! Had no idea what they were, thought for a minute I was being invaded by locusts, LOL!!! They were mostly flying around the deck light, but when I turned that off, they disappeared...except for the ones that managed to get into the house or were sticking to the screens and sliding doors - YUK!!!!! Thank goodness for Raid, but will look for the "Term-Out" that STT Resident suggested.

As always, everyone's help is much appreciated!

As termites in this number are fairly new for me too, I followed the Terminix fellow around and asked about furniture. He said it I ever a) saw little wood balls on the floor or b) one of those tunnel marks mentioned above, to bring the piece of furniture in on a Friday. They will gas it for the weekend, and it will be termite free.

They did say that as long as the termites were happy i.e. had full bellies, they were not likely to go furniture hopping. As doors seem to be prone to infestation, I made the comment that I would replace the lower level doors with metal and the man got very upset. He said absolutely not due to some building code in which base level doors must be wood to avoid electrocution during a thunderstorm. He said it could strike anywhere in the valley, but if someone had their hand on the door they could get fried. I guess it makes sense, I just never really though like that.

I hope this is helpful, and I only mention Terminix as they had a great price and reputation. I'm sure there are other companies that do the same and are just as thorough.

Dan

So why not second or third level doors? Never heard of this one! Have to check it out. Amazed at some things that people warn you about that aren't true. You knwo how many metal doors are bought and sold here for both new and old construction? Tons!

RL