As I understand, you should poison exterior ground first to kill off termites outside before treating the house.

dcarch

Ack! What a nightmare to have to deal with termites.

I'd toss the herbs/spices and just start over. You can run your cookware/dishes through the dishwasher when it's all done.

Try to enjoy your cruise...I know easy to say not so easy to do when you're dealing with all this.

Tenting is such a nightmare. Supposedly, the gas does not leave residue on surfaces which is why you don’t need to bag dishes, etc. However, it can become trapped in fabrics including clothing, draperies, upholstered furniture. The best remedy is to aerate all such items as much as possible following fumigation. Vacuuming is a good way to help aerate upholstered pieces and mattresses.

One of the things is they also pump in deterents, like pepper spray, to keep out people looking for a warm spot and breathing the poison. I know people who have had reactions to that rather than what's sctually killing the termites.

Make sure you bag or remove all the cosmetics and toiletries. Re things like herbs, sometimes it's easier to just pack them and worry about which to toss at leisure, when you're unpacking.

Have a great trip!

I would try to keep whatever would be the most expensive to replace.

We just discovered a termite problem! Ugh!!!

I am just getting in front of it to figure out what needs to be done. I just read you have to unplug your fridge? OMG! The freezer and spare fridge are in a semidetached garage. I have an 86 year old Mom and an old dog too. Not looking forward to this process. I hope they haven’t spread to the garage.

And once the bugs are gone, repair the roof! Good golly.

Joan. No. the electricity stays on, as they have to run fans, gas is turned off. BUT you still have to bag anything in your fridge/freezer that is not sealed in it's original packaging. Also bedding and towels ?????? Plus anything that you might use like meds

--------" gas is turned off. "--------

Ask about pilot lights.

Also, hot water heater may have pilot lights. Boiler for radiators also may have pilot lights.

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Any crawl space needs to be checked for termite tubes.

dcarch

I now have my fingers crossed that we may be able to spot treat. My husband had worked for a pest control company briefly and he showed the video of the problem to the old boss. He thinks we had water damage (the scary looking bit) and the bugs went towards that spot. We are hoping to be able spot treat this week. It’s just really scary wondering then if you got them all.

The downside to living in the woods in Florida. Oh well, could be worse. Fingers crossed here. Good luck with yours NancyJane.

Gas gets turned off by them. Already made an appt to turn on right after we get back!