Termite infestations are a common concern in South Florida due to the region's tropical climate which creates ideal conditions for these pests to thrive year-round. These silent destroyers often swarm in the spring and summer, especially after rain, making no structure entirely safe from potential infestation.
That is why Sans Souci resident Jeffrey Tomlinson inspects his house for termites every five years, as a precautionary measure.
“There’s no insurance for termites,” said Tomlinson. “It’s a buyer's beware; make sure you keep your home treated.”
(Courtesy by Eugene Jackson)
Damaged wood in one of Jackson's client's attic reveals unmistakable signs of termite activity, with hollowed areas and brittle, crumbling surfaces.
Although Tomlinson remains vigilant for termite invasions, his periodic five-year inspections did not protect him from Asian subterranean termites that cause irreparable damage in as fast as one year, making them more aggressive than the typical dry-wood termites.
Asian subterranean termites have been around South Florida since the 1980s, said Tomlinson, who works as a real estate broker in his company, Tomlinson Realty Group, and first encountered them in Golden Aisles back then.
“We knew Golden Beach and Golden Aisles got the first hit of these termites in the ‘80s, they traced it to a home in Golden Aisles that brought in furniture from China, where they originated,” he said.
According to the University of Florida, subterranean termites were first discovered at a pawn shop near the Port of Miami in 1996, with infestations beginning in Key West in 1999.
“By the time they found them they were already spreading throughout Miami,” said Tomlinson.
APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
(Courtesy of Eugene Jackson)
Subterranean termites found inside a bait station placed in a client’s home by Jackson.
Tomlinson first discovered the infestation in his home two years ago, when he noticed pieces of wood stored along the side of his house had been eaten away – classic signs of termite damage. Suspecting the worst, he called a pest control inspector, who later uncovered extensive destruction in both his attic and the back of the home.
“They made a giant nest and ate up my attic,” said Tomlinson. “We had to remove the entire roof and rebuild a new one because they ate up all the truss in my attic.”
Tomlinson explained how pest control had to conduct vigorous methods of chemical warfare to get rid of them, such as injecting poisonous liquid four feet underground all around his home since these termites predominantly dwell beneath the surface where it can be most humid.
“Subterraneans come out when there is a water source such as a leaky pipe, or a dead tree trunk that is holding water,” Tomlinson said. “As long as they can drink water they can travel right into the house.”
In Tomlinson’s case, the termites congregated from the ground to his roof by living off the moisture from his insulation. He was also required to leave his home for four days; three days for tenting and one day for trap collections that target the colony’s queen.
“They gassed them and tented the house, then they set up poisoned wooden bait inside because after you spray, they move around and go to the bait and eat the poison and take it to the queen,” he said. “Your goal is to kill the queen.”
Treating his home for subterranean termites and repairing the structural damage they left behind turned into a financial nightmare, costing him more than $25,000.
Six months ago, a subterranean termite infestation began taking its toll on Alan Marcus’ Sans Souci home – but he caught it just in time before the damage could spread throughout the house.
“We caught them very early,” said Marcus, who noticed his front door wasn’t closing right due to the termites eating up the structure framework.
Marcus was advised to seek professional help immediately to avoid the swift destruction of his home. Pest control injected liquid treatment all around his home and set bait traps to locate where the termites were concentrated.
“They focused in the back of my house, close to the neighbors,” he said. “There are a lot of people in the neighborhood who have them.”
Tomlinson warns of subterranean termite infestations escalating in his neighborhood.
“Two neighbors posted on our community chat site how they see them swarming by, and others have them in their toilets, ceiling, and laundry mat,” he said. “They are swarming right now as we speak.”
ESTIMATED HARM
(Courtesy of Eugene Jackson)
A mud tunnel inside a wall stud created by subterranean termites to travel within a home. These termites build large colonies beneath the soil and use mud tubes to travel and access food sources in wooden surfaces such as in homes.
Lurking beneath the surface, subterranean termites are nearly impossible to detect until it’s too late – by the time their underground armies rise, the destruction is already well underway.
“Eastern termites build colonies of 100,000, but Asian subterranean termites make millions,” said Eugene Jackson, owner of Pest Tech Professionals.
Jackson has spent more than two decades battling termites across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, including the aggressive Formosan species, but he says nothing compares to the relentless appetite of subterranean termites.
“You can tell they are subterranean by how fast they eat your property,” he said, adding that they can eat up to a pound of wood daily. They work around the clock and are more destructive than Formosan termites.
After treating a house for subterranean termites, Jackson installs monitoring treatments around the home to ensure the termites do not come back, as they might have spread and remain in the area.
“Customers have to understand that it is a neighborhood problem because termites can travel up to 200 yards for promotion, that’s like four or five houses, depending on the house size,” he said.
He explained that they build satellite colonies – smaller, secondary nests away from their main hub – to expand their reach and access new food sources.
“That’s what makes them so unique, because they consume different colonies.”
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
(Courtesy of Jeffrey Tomlinson)
In the aftermath of an extreme subterranean termite infestation, workers urgently install new wood to rebuild the damaged roof of Tomlinson's home.
If the conditions are right on your property, subterranean termites are proven to wreak havoc very quickly. There are several ways homeowners can take precautionary measures to avoid an infestation, or prepare once it occurs.
“You want to keep a monitoring system going just in case you get hit,” said Jackson, especially during the summer seasons when it is most humid is when subterranean termites are most active. The monitoring system should be checked every 60-90 days, and monthly for homes that have been infested in the past.
He also advises homeowners to watch for conditions that attract termites, such as mulch or any kind of wood debris around the property, and any moisture or water leaks near the home’s exterior.
Visible signs for active termite infestations are their nests, wood damage, or mud tubes which are gray structures used to travel inside a home and are particular for subterranean termites.
Jackson also advises to buy the most effective ingredient to kill subterranean termites, Hexaflumoron, which he says has been proven to kill colonies, not suppress them.
“Now they have a lot of systems coming in, but people have to be careful which systems they use because some of them are colony suppressant,” Jackson said. “My secret is using Hexaflumoron that has been proven to eliminate colonies. A chemical treatment has to be done very diligently, by the book, Anyone can get pest control products and apply them, but the problem I see is you must have experience handling it and making the right decisions because you are gambling with your home.”
According to Jackson, when treating a home for termites, there is a significant difference between seeking professional help and doing it yourself.
It’s in the critical but straightforward decisions one takes after being hit with a termite problem, said Jackson, such as how many bait stations to put in certain areas or ensuring there is no cross contamination from domestic areas to termite station areas.
“Once an entire community employs the right systems to prevent termites, you can wipe out entire colonies for real,” said Jackson.