Category: Everyday Life

It has been one year since we found termites!

It has been one year since the fearful time that we found termites after some gaps appeared between the walls and posts of our house after the 2005 Fukuoka earthquake.

Last week, a person from the termite extermination company came for the last check of the one year contract term that our landlord made. We heard they got rid of the termites that attacked our house, so they wanted to remove the chemicals inside the house.

People say the area around our house was originally the kind of slightly elevated and moist place that termites like. Our neighbour said there had been a lot of termite damage here and there. Coincidentally, our extermination company has also been treating the house across the street, and the exterminator explained about the situation to our landlord, so our landlord continued the contract for one more year. Thanks, Mrs. Landlord! (Actually, we were wondering what we would do if the termites came back after the contract time finished. Yes, there are more termites in the world than the few thousand they got rid of!)

This time, the termite man went under the floor and between the first and second floors, did the final check, and showed us something interesting. It was dried stuff, full of many passageways, made from termite poo and saliva. It’s called ‘ant soil’ or an ‘ant road’. It looks just like a concrete block full of holes. Of course we can say it’s interesting because we could get rid of the termites. He found it in the post with the worst damage. (It’s one post of the badly ventilated bathroom. Some hateful thousands of termites reached up to the second floor.)

Recently I read in the newspaper that one of the biggest termite extermination companies was using some almost fraudulent sales techniques. (Actually, a few years ago, a sales guy from that company came to our door, and went away grumpy after we refused a free inspection.) Of course we want you to watch out for tricks by companies like that, but we also want you to be careful if you actually see winged termites in your house. I was told not to spray chemicals by myself, because it cuts off their path and it becomes harder to get rid of them completely. In particular, watch out if your neighbour had some damage. We heard they become more active in June and July.

By the way, I don’t want to buy wooden edging for flower beds any more, or put wooden flower pots directly on the soil. Some of ours were invaded by termites a few years ago. We can tell you that a crowd of termites really makes you sick.

–YS, 10 July 2006

10 July 2006