Dear blogging friends,
I haven't posted lately, and one of the reasons has been that my little house was inundated this past month with termites! They swarmed into every room, and there was evidence that they had been in the attic for some time.
Did you ever wonder why the tenting usually has stripes? Each stripe is five feet wide, making it easy for the exterminators to calculate tent size and house area.
We'll get back to Pompei with the next posting.
I hope you'll join me then.
.
Oh dear, my commiserations. We have them here, and even within the 37 storey building, probably as a result of teak wood flooring in some apartments. I had ours removed in our remodel, (the wood), and replaced with granite. There was one small outbreak in the skirting in the bedroom adjacent to the next door apartment, but it was dealt with swiftly and efficiently several years ago, and I have not seen a repeat, although I am ever vigilant for those telltale signs. I hope the extermination progresses efficiently.
ReplyDeleteDear Columnist,
DeleteIsn't it amazing that termites can get into skycrapers? Maybe they take the elevators. I had to have this house tented 25 years ago, and at that time, there was extensive damage to the baseboards, as there was for you. I replaced dozens of feet of molding then.
Dear Mark - I assumed that you were taking a break not having your home fumigated because of unwanted visitors in the house.
ReplyDeleteWe do not have termites here so I have just looked them up on Google, and see that there are four different types that you have in your area.
Thank goodness you have got rid of them - I do hope that the treatment people took care not to damage your Pompeian Room.
Dear Rosemary,
DeleteTermites are a constant worry here in the sub-tropics, and as I just mentioned to the Columnist, I've gone through this before. The exterminator said that because the termites swarmed throughout my house, there was a good likelihood that they had been in the woodwork for several years, which is a scary thought to any homeowner. The most effective protection is to have a yearly service plan, which I will now follow religiously. (Thanks for asking about the Pompeii Room — it's just fine.)
Dear Mark, So sorry that you have to have this inconvenience. I hope that you have not experienced too much damage to the structure of your house and all the wonderful art it contains.
ReplyDeleteYour 5 foot stripes remind me of our local custom of 1 black sheep amongst fifty sheep...It's easy to count them from the air.
In the meantime make the most of your holiday.
Dear Gina,
DeleteI have actually not seen any damage, but I did see piles of termite poop (like dark sawdust) in the attic, so I know they made inroads (so to speak) there.
I never heard of one black sheep in 50 — I think that's brilliant!!
Mark, I'm sorry to hear about the termites. (They are problematic in the DC area, too.) Hopefully everything will be okay, especially the Pompein Room. I've been in Maine....will catch up on your progress. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHello, Loi,
DeleteI envy your time in Maine, even if it is a working vacation (and I'm guessing that you're continuing to renovate). I think everything is going to be okay here, though as I mentioned to Rosemary, I will never let another year go by without having the exterminators out for an inspection!
oh no! We discovered termite damage to our house during the renovation which is why it's still ongoing - we had to practically rebuild the whole thing! hope everything is OK.
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan,
DeleteI have friends in town who had the same experience as you. They had a Mediterranean "castle" (sort of a small-scale Addison Mizner) with a tower, and they had to rebuild the tower section from the inside out! I've been very lucky by comparison!
Mark at least you had a wonderful and relaxing getaway. I have always wanted to visit the Gulf of Mexico area!! Sorry about the hassle of the termites and tenting!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Stems Soiree
Dear Karena,
DeleteI've lived 20 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico for more than 30 years, and I still love saying those words, maybe because when I was a kid and looked at maps, it seemed so exotic and romantic. If you ever came to this area, you might enjoy staying at the Don CeSar Hotel. It's a national landmark that's been used a number of times as a movie backdrop.
Oh my, my first thoughts immediately went to your murals. They'll be okay won't they? Well, at least you got a nice respite on the Gulf. Hmmm, that sounds pretty good. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Yvette, and thanks for your concern. I have no doubt that the house has experienced some termite damage, but as yet, I haven't seen any (and the Pompeii Room is fine).
DeleteA good friend lent me the use of a condo just a block from the beach, so I had no complaints. :o)
Hello Mark, What a nightmare for you to go through! In Taiwan, there are swarms of flying termites every year, but now there is very little wood for them to eat in buildings. Much of the woodwork that one sees on older buildings, however, is riddled with termite damage. I used to often visit in Florida and see the termite tents on buildings, but I never new the reason for the stripes.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Hello, Jim,
DeleteI used to live on Okinawa, and I never heard of termites there, but then the island was completely rebuilt with cement after WWII. I can well imagine that Taiwan has its termite problems; Florida has gotten a particularly pernicious and fast-moving species that comes from Asia.
Regarding the striped tents, I hope you read Gina's interesting comment.