[Amanda Lovan]

My husband and I are buying land that has an uninhabitable home standing on it. I'm not sure if the house has been formally condemned as it's outsidecity limits and has been owned by family for generations. Termites are the reason for the state of the home. My question is: Do I need to treat for termites if they're still present so they don't move into the new home we'll build?

 

[Alice In TX/MO]

Wait till you get it down. Treat soil.

Contact a pest extermination company for the best treatment.

 

[Amanda Lovan]

Wait till you get it down. Treat soil.

Contact a pest extermination company for the best treatment.

Thank you. That's what I thought but I figured a termite company would tell me, "Of Course! It should be treated before, during and once a month after through eternity."

 

[AmericanStand]

The old house doesn't change what you should do with the new house.
Native termites would find the new house pretty quickly anyway
Try to build a new house to be termite resistant.
And of course it wont hurt to treat for termites before hand.

 

[Bearfootfarm]

Treat the new house and don't worry about the old site.
There are lots of ways to deter termites at the early stages of construction too, which will reduce the need for chemical treatments.

One of the best ways is by putting down a layer of plastic, and a thick layer of sand inside the foundation before the floor is framed.

That will keep things nice and dry under the house, and termites need moisture to survive.

Then use overhanging metal flashing on top of the foundation and piers to keep them from climbing up to the sills and joists.

 

[Southern Forest]

Any chance you can just burn the house down? That'll kill a ton of termites and then you can treat the site. I've burned a couple of houses (I'm a licensed prescribed burn manager). It's possible to get a burning permit, contact the volunteer fire department, and burn the house for them to play with. It'll be cheaper to tear down, the fire department can get some training, and you can sterilize the soil beneath the house.

 

[haypoint]

Over the past 40 years, 600,000 people have left Detroit. Half of the homes and businesses are vacant. Attempts to deal with the blight, the city began an aggressive plan to tear down 400 buildings each week. Early on, this was done by shoving the house into the basement and covering it up. Termites loved this and grew in numbers. After consuming a few houses, the insects turned on the remaining, occupied, homes. Now, the homes are hauled to landfill and soil is dumped into the remaining hole.
New home construction, by a contractor familiar with termite protection, should solve any concerns.

 

[GTX63]

I'm a pyromaniac so I'd prefer to burn it down as well, load and remove the debris pile once it is finished and then treat the soil. The preventative measures noted in the earlier post for new construction should be all you need.

 

[Amanda Lovan]

I think we're going to salvage any wood we can and then burn the rest. We're outside city limits and there is no electric to the house anymore. I'll have the soil treated just to be safe and build the new house a good distance away while taking measures to ensure the new structure is termite resistant. I really appreciate every one's input. Loving this forum so far!

 

[outgunu]

As an X-pest control guy, my advice is to treat the base of the old house prior to taking down to kill subterranean termites that live underground. The treatment takes a while to work, but kills the entire colony. Furthermore, here in Florida foundations are pretreated before the concrete is even poured to ensure good coverage.