What a Mess

Today, I used the shop vac and cleaned up my screened in porch. Then I sat down on the step outside. Well, all these things were crawling around and then I noticed they had wings. They were on the steps, on the screens on the porch, trying to get in the back door, everywhere. My husband took a look and then the called the exterminator who we have the termite contract with on our house. It just so happened he was in our county and within about thirty minutes he was here. Well, he said they looked like termites, but didn't act like termites, whatever that means. He went under the house and didn't find anything. He is the man who does quarterly spraying for bugs, which is done with a lesser solution than what they originally treated the house with when it was built 2002. He caught some of the critters and put them in a jar to take in to show his boss. The boss will make the executive decision. In the meantime he decided to give us a spray all the way around the house. Well, my cats live in the back yard. We have been in the process of replacing the shrubs there. We are replanting in stages and we have it all done but for maybe five plants we need to buy. Well, my husband puts down the landscaping paper and then tops it with pine straw for mulch. So all of that now is just open dirt that the exterminator sprayed a chemical on. So that means I can't put the cats back out there until we get it covered with the landscaping paper and the pinestraw. I don't want them walking around where that stuff has been sprayed. For now they are on the screen porch. When we go to bed, I will put them in the garage in the big pet cage. But they are antsy wanting outside. If they determine the critters are termites, then they will have to come back and retreat the house, go under it etc, and spray the stronger solution. So he can't fix the yard until we know it is all over. What a messy day.

I feel for you! Closed in kitties that are used to being outside are NOT fun! Did they give you a time frame of when you can let them out again?

If the looked like termites...kinds sort of but not really...I'm betting they are carpenter ants which isn't much better. Do you have the traps set outside for them? There are different traps needed for termites and carpenter ants and they shouldn't be harmful to the cats if they are put in the ground.

My BIL is an exterminator and they should be able to look at the holes in the wood to see exactly what you have, but unfortunately if you have one, you proabably have the other because the ants feed off the termites so I would treat for both.

Good luck with the kitties! Lots and toys and lovins!

Oh I'm so sorry sweetie! Sounds like quite the nightmare. We're having a problem with slugs here and have no idea what to do about it. All the ferals we've been taking in to be TNRd have lung worm (they get it from eating slugs). We've taken great pains to make sure they don't get in the food we put out for them - but I'm sure they eat garbage and other stuff too. We have to examine our shoes and sandals before we come inside and it's generally just a nightmare. My mom's solution when they were a problem in the garden was to put out small containers with beer - they climb into it and drown. But I'm not so sure the cats won't drink it.

Good luck and hope it all works out without too many more hassles!

The exterminator went under the house and found no damage. In fact he had just done the yearly check about three weeks ago. They found no sign of the crawlers under the house and no damage. We will find out tomorrow what the boss says they are, ants or termites. If termites, they will have to come back and retreat around the foundation of the house and under the house with a stronger solution. Then we can cover all the dirt up around the back part of the house where the shrubs are with the landscaping paper and pine straw. I don't want my cats walking on that bare dirt where that chemical stuff is sprayed. If it is termites, they probably won't get back here until next week which means my cats will have to stay on the porch and in the garage until the respray and we get it all covered back up.

It's that time of year when the nests are kicking drones out, and in mass. So they can end up in odd places. I've found a few termite drones caught on the screen door, we don't have termites anywhere on our property... too many ants for that.

I've had people spray and have to avoid my turtle pens. Usually I stand out there like this - . Cats can come in and aren't as sensitive as something that will be living directly on that dirt, digging in it, and eating insects.

Originally Posted by LDG

But I'm not so sure the cats won't drink it.

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Try offering your house cats a sniff of beer - the look of disgust you'll get is pretty amusing. You and others are always quick to suggest DE for fleas and ticks, do you not realize you can use it for slugs, too?

Once or twice a year up here we get these flying ant like critters. It is so odd because, I would call my mom, and she would have them too. She lived 4 miles away. It was only on that one day!

They would be everywhere. On the lawn in bunches, everywhere. Then as suddenly as they appeared, they would disappear until the following year.
Weird!

Why not call your neighbors and ask them if they have the same thing? Or maybe it's just particular to this part of the country.

More then likely they are those flying ants - which do look like termites. What color is the body of the insect?

Originally Posted by farleyv

Once or twice a year up here we get these flying ant like critters.

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Those were ants. In most areas ant nests kick the drones out a couple times a year.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

More then likely they are those flying ants - which do look like termites. What color is the body of the insect?

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They were dark looking. I printed out a picture that showed the ant next to the termite. According to the image, the ant has three body parts, the termite two, just head and tail. The termite antennae are straight and the ants are bent. Also the two sets of wings on the termite are the same length and the ants, one set is shorter. Nevertheless, when you are looking at something that small and it is moving, it is hard to tell. I even had a magnifier trying to look at them. I guess we will get the opinion of the boss today.

That does sound like a real mess. Hope they figure out what the bugs are and rid you of them fast. Hope the kits will get used to the idea for now of being kept elsewhere.

O no, what a terrible day, I hope it all gets sorted soon.x

Well, the boss of the company said they were termites, the swarming kind. He said everything was fine though with the spraying they did yesterday. I saw my brother-in-law today. He lives thirty miles away. He said they were all over his yard yesterday. They were also some property he owns about 20 miles from here. So the were everywhere. My poor hubby has worked himself to a frazzle today. He finally has all the landscaping fabric down with the pine straw over it. The cats are back in the yard. Praise the Lord!!!!!

Oh good. Things have calmed down. Thats so weird how you got them at the same time. Maybe these up here are termites too, but we don't have any in the house. Not that I know of...........