Lary,

I used to work for a pest control company many years ago. Subterranean termites will build mud tunnels up the sides of concrete blocks to reach the wood that sits on top. They will also build them straight up in the air without any support to reach wood. I've seen it with my own two eyes. The reason for the mud tunnels is that direct exposure to air tends to dry them out, literally. They use the mud tunnels as their highways to travel to and from the food source, which would be your house.

Check all four sides of each concrete block support beam for any mud tunnels.

Good luck!

 

As mentioned by ssandlin, they are ferocious foragers of any wood anywhere, they feed on your home and live out in the yard someplace. I had them tunnelling thru the drywall in several rooms. A Termidor barrier around the entire footing/stemwall of the home will stop them from coming in. The ones that are already there when you treat will die in few days. I have a 1900 sq.ft. home and it cost about a grand to treat with a 10 year gurantee, any new or fresh damage is covered. Happy welding or lumberjacking or however you decide to barbq them little critters

 

Thanks guys for the advice, I have looked repeatedly and can find no mud tunnels anywhere around or under the house. I have the feeling I just happened to find the start of a problem and will probably be best served by setting traps around the home to see if we can find any more and go from there.

 

Lary,

One other thought. You mentioned this doorway was leading to a concrete porch. I'm assuming the slab was poured and abuts your home. The termites could very well be underneath the porch slab. 30 years ago the method of treatment was to drill holes in the slab all the way through to earth and use pressure injecting equipment to flood the soil underneath the slab with Chlordane.

Don't know how they do it today. If it were my home, I'd find a reputable pest control company and open a dialogue with them.

 

My thoughts as well, I am actually replacing that slab next year because of the lousy prep allowing it to drop about 3" on one end and crack in 9 directions.

 

The slab you're talking about at the front or back door is setting on a concrete wing (Stoop) which comes up from the footing and reaches out about 3' at the top of the wall.

Not too many years ago that area was considered the trash pit by the workers. In there went many wood scraps and then topped off with soil. It then becomes the pest control mans delight! A haven for termites.

Termites can also enter through cracks in the concrete. They can be under your slab and enter through any broken concrete and enter into columns, floor plates, etc.

They require moisture to survive.

The best time, and least expensive, to treat a home is as it's being built. Treat the ground before the slab is poured and the backfill as it's put in over the footings. But then, that's a pipe dream. Kinda like making sure your drain tile is located correctly and the exterior walls are sealed correctly.

 

If your not seeing any live termites dont worry about it. I worked for Copeland Pest Control in Coleman, TX for a bunch of years. Do keep an eye on it (check for the mud tunnels). It may very well of been that you caught them just as they got started. Dont worry its not like the will devour your house in a couple of months. If you do find them again (live ones) I would recommend a termiticide injection. You can actually buy the chemical on ebay and do it yourself if you have a spray rig and injection wand. Its really pretty easy. If you need any specifics pm me.