Lime for termites??

[shad]

Hello, i'm needing to stack alot of SYP lumber in an open barn/shed to finish air drying.
The shed has a dirt floor. I'll be stacking it up off the ground.
Should I put anything down on the dirt before I start like Lime or borax to keep the termites/bugs out of it?
Thanks
Shad

[Magicman]

My experience, if it is dry you should not have a problem.

[kelLOGg]

I would stack it 18" high on something that will not provide an invisable channel for termites to tunnel on. For example, I stored items in my dirt floor barn on a board supported by cinder blocks with the blocks oriented as they would be in building a foundation. Termites tunneled inside and I never knew it until the board nearly collapsed. I rebuilt it with the face of the blocks contacting the earth so I could see the tunnels if they appear.
Don't know about the effectiveness of lime of borax.
Bob

[ljmathias]

We're helping with a remodel for a young couple that adopted five girls, all from the same family.  Tore out the wall of the enclosed garage to make it more useful, and lo and behold!  Termites!  Turns out they'd had the current enclosure done by some "friends of friends who did it cheap."  Yeah, right.  Cheap at the time would have cost them their house- idiots used PT sill plate that was 2" to short, so guess what?  The dropped a couple of wall studs to the concrete surface to fill the gap: perfect route for the wood eaters.  In 4 years, they tunneled all the way up into the old garage header which we'll now have to replace, and looks like they made it into the side wall- probably have to rip out drywall to see how bad so the bug man can do his thing.  Bummer!  Had planned on four days total for this job (all free labor from church men's club) but this will slow us down some.

Point is: termites can find a way if it's at all damp, which it was on the concrete (low point in the drive).  I've had wood laying under the barn I park my lawnmowers in- poplar, red oak, pine boards too short to use so I piled them up for future use- no termites.  Put a similar piece of wood two feet over in the grass where the rain gets to- termites within weeks or days.  Dry is key if you really want to be safe.  Don't think bug killer will keep them out, persistent rascals that they are.  Remember, Mother Nature designed them to be very efficient wood recyclers, and they are!

Lj

[Den Socling]

Lj, that garage wall story is scary. I have a garage built from rough cut that showed tunneling in one exposed 2x4. I watched it for a couple years and never saw any evidence of current activity. The garage is now 40 years old so I guess whatever was munching left when the wood dried out.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 Is old technology taboo ??

 When I was young, EVERY structure HAD to have a "Termite Plate". It was flashing, in a roll, that was spread out on top of the cement blocks or poured wall. Then, the wood was placed on top of that flashing. Make it 3" wider than the supports, on each side, and bend it down at a steep angle.

 Old Timers swear that NOTHING can crawl around that thin edge hanging down.

 Newer technology changed the metal to asphalt paper or banding. Termites love that stuff.

[jim king]

As you can imagine living in the biggest swamp in the world we have a LOT of termites.  At the mill all sweet or non acidic woods are treated in a dip of "chlorpyriphos" for at least ten seconds and dead stacked for a day prior to entering the kiln.  This eliminates any and all future termite problems even after drying and planning.

I have also used it many times mixing a two capfuls of the chemical in a pail of latex paint to paint infected wood or plywood and that is the end of the termite problem.  For lumber treatment it is mixed 1 liter to fifty gallons of water and treats about 5000 bf of 4/4.   We also add 1 kilo of Borax in the 50 gallons.

It can also be brushed or sprayed in problem areas.  It used to be imported from the States but what we buy now is from India and about half the cost.  The cost here is about $25 per liter to make a 50 gallon mix.

We have some species that will be infected in 24 hours and made useless unless treated immediatly after coming of the mill.

[Bro. Noble]

My son and I built my Dad an old time store building to put some of the treasures he has collected in.  He made stone foundation pillers with bolts and termite plates for us to build on.  He wanted it built like it would have been done back in the old days

[Magicman]

Our termites need moisture.  If it's powder dry, they can't survive.  They will eat pressure treated lumber just as quickly as non-treated.  I'm not familiar with Jim's recipe, but I quickly found a source.

http://www.pestmall.com/cyperwp-cyper-insecticides.html

You can still get termite plates at my Building Supply.  If they weren't available, I would use flashing and build my own.

[kelLOGg]

 It was flashing, in a roll, that was spread out on top of the cement blocks or poured wall. Then, the wood was placed on top of that flashing. Make it 3" wider than the supports, on each side, and bend it down at a steep angle.

 

That's exactly how I built my barn in 1984 - I even tarred the anchor bolt holes in the sill plate. No termites at all and they are all around.

Bob

[Den Socling]

hey I wonder if lime on the ground under a stack of wood would slow down termites?       

[5quarter]

Den,

That's a great question! What on earth made you think of it

Chet

[shad]

thanks guys for the info. sounds like keeping the barn powder dry is the best remedy.
Shad

[ely]

cholrodane is the best remedy for termites... or was.

[StephenRice]

I am not sure about the lime, but I know that Borax will deter termites.  A better alternative is Tim-Bor.  They both have boric acid in them, but less soap and more salts and other good stuff in the Tim-Bor  I have been using it in my construction business for years. 

Not only is it good for termites, but it also gets rid of any other wood detroying organism, even microorganisms that cause wood rot, mold, mildew, and gets rid of other bugs like ants and roaches as well.  I would get some of that and mix it up extra strong (like two to three pounds to a gallon) and soak it into the ground around where the stack will be, especially under and on the blocking that will be under the stack touching the ground.

Then, like suggested above, keep the area dry.

I hate to break it to all of the old timers here, but I have seen first hand that termites CAN crawl around the edge of the sheet metal termite shields.  My father has them under his house, before he had to rebuild almost the whole thing, and since.  I personally saw the termite tubes break over the edge of the termite shields an watched termites crawl over the edge of the metal.  At least, that is with the tiny formosan termites that we have down here in the south.  They might work okay on the big termites from up north or in other parts.