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Swansea, IL
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Needham, Massachusetts
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 Shocking Termite Discovery
[#2] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 11:55:12 AM |  |  |
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Never. Never heard about anyone else seeing it, either. That's novel.
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Lexington, KY
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#3] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 11:58:03 AM | | |
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Never. That is cool!!
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Louisville, KY
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#4] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 11:59:19 AM | | |
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Just when you thought you've seen it all.
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ABI Home Services
Louisville KY Home Inspector
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#6] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 2:17:26 PM | | |
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Should cause no problems with the wire. They were after the paper. In 1974 Jack Goldring,(ashi charter member) was called on a termite job in Manhattan. Termites on the third floor, but not below. Eventually traced to an electrical conduit from the building next door. In NYC there are many building with no space between and common walls between buildings. The damage to the third floor apt was considerable.
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Reisterstown, Maryland
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#7] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 2:43:05 PM | | |
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Isn't that what you call the "path of least resistance"?
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Bob Kenney
www.IndependentHomeInspectionMD.com
"We are masters of the unspoken word, and slaves to those we speak." Winston Churchill |
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Little Rock, AR
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#8] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 3:50:59 PM | | |
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Totally cool.
I think we should add a new forum for these kinds of things.
Not nearly as interesting as Mark's find, but I once found a termite tube up the outside of a water heater. The little guys labored to get almost 4' up the side of a water heater before throwing in the towel and conceding there was no food there.
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Kevin
"Politicians are interested in people. Not that it is always a virtue; fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
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Gaston, Oregon
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#9] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 3:55:12 PM | | |
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Mark, if you could, I'd love to have high rez versions of those pics - jim@amipdx.com
I'd say that it's a big problem. For one thing, you now have a well-established termite highway into the building. *No one* can say how long it'll take the termites to figure out how to get from there to the house's wood framing.
The termites will need to be treated. What chemicals are listed for use *inside* NM cable? Will they damage the insulation or the wires?
Does any really know that the termites haven't damaged the insulation around the conductors? Termites are certainly capable of it.
There are good reasons why NM cable isn't allowed to be used underground - even if it's in conduit. This is probably not one of the reasons that the code authors anticipated, but it's definitely the outcome of using the wrong product in the wrong place.
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Jim Katen, Oregon
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#10] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 4:50:33 PM | | |
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while they are capable "of it" they will not eat the wire coating if paper is available. A chemical treatment on the exterior is the solution. Any of the chemicals used would be soil treatments designed to get to the colony. Never heard of the little buggers eating the wire coating. Once the colony is introduced to the chemical it would eliminate the problem. There is no evidence of termites eating non cellulose products that I am aware of.
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Victoria, British Columbia
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#11] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 5:33:56 PM | | |
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But it is the wrong cable for direct burial, so the outside portion needs to be replaced anyway.
Nice catch, Mark.
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Dallas, GA
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#12] Posted: 08/02/2011 - 6:05:48 PM | | |
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If you were interested I bet you could get that one published in the ASHI reporter.
That is a very cool find.
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Swansea, IL
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Gaston, Oregon
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#15] Posted: 08/03/2011 - 05:11:12 AM | | |
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Quote: Originally posted by Jim KatenQuote: Originally posted by ghentjr
while they are capable "of it" they will not eat the wire coating if paper is available. A chemical treatment on the exterior is the solution. Any of the chemicals used would be soil treatments designed to get to the colony. Never heard of the little buggers eating the wire coating. Once the colony is introduced to the chemical it would eliminate the problem. There is no evidence of termites eating non cellulose products that I am aware of. Termites don't eat plastic but they will easily chew through it if it makes it easier to get to the paper. I've seen them mine out vinyl flooring to get to framing. There's a very real danger that they chewed through some of the plastic somewhere in the cable. Sure a chemical treatment will probably kill the colony. But the damage to the cable is done -- and it shouldn't have been used underground or outdoors anyway. Of course the termites should be treated, but the cable should also be replaced. Heck, it should be replaced even if it wasn't damaged by the termites.
O.K. I have to agree with you.
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Charleston, SC
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#16] Posted: 08/09/2011 - 7:10:54 PM | | |
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Quote: Originally posted by Jim KatenQuote: Originally posted by ghentjr
while they are capable "of it" they will not eat the wire coating if paper is available. A chemical treatment on the exterior is the solution. Any of the chemicals used would be soil treatments designed to get to the colony. Never heard of the little buggers eating the wire coating. Once the colony is introduced to the chemical it would eliminate the problem. There is no evidence of termites eating non cellulose products that I am aware of. Termites don't eat plastic but they will easily chew through it if it makes it easier to get to the paper. I've seen them mine out vinyl flooring to get to framing. There's a very real danger that they chewed through some of the plastic somewhere in the cable. Sure a chemical treatment will probably kill the colony. But the damage to the cable is done -- and it shouldn't have been used underground or outdoors anyway. Of course the termites should be treated, but the cable should also be replaced. Heck, it should be replaced even if it wasn't damaged by the termites.
Agreed! In my pest control days I saw a subterranean colony take a nice chunk out of a rubber shoe left on a front porch they were feasting on.
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Charlotte, NC
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#17] Posted: 08/12/2011 - 2:59:07 PM | | |
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Wow that is pretty neat. Thanks for taking the pictures so we knew exactly what you were talking about!
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Wyckoff, NJ
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Shocking Termite Discovery
[#18] Posted: 08/17/2011 - 2:15:19 PM | | |
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I have also seen instances where they tunnel through foam board insulation on foundations to get to the food source. They were here before us and will be here after.
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We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them
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