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[NickNack]

I am so upset.  I think I might have termites.  I've got about a 1 1/2 inch piece out of the trim on the bottom of my baseboards.  It's like the place chipped away.  I thought my housekeepers must have done it with the vacuum cleaner.

Yesterday I had friends over who asked me what it was.  My friend said it looked like termite damage.  They had it in the garage of one of their old houses, and she said it looked just like that. Her husband looked at it closely and said there were trimmings behind the cut out.  I am getting a termite inspection on Tuesday.

This is just all I needed.  This summer I had to repair my foundation in addition to a water problem in my crawl space.  That was extremely expensive.  Before I found out about my foundation problem I had already started replacing the siding on my house.  

I had just now decided to go ahead and paint the interior of my house and had started looking at colors when I found the potential termite damage.  I know I shouldn't get upset before I know for sure, and I'm really not, but this will be very upsetting if it is termites. 

Edited to show piclture of damaged trim at bottom of molding.

[fortune]

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@NickNackwrote:

I am so upset.  I think I might have termites.  I've got about a 1 1/2 inch piece out of the trim on the bottom of my baseboards.  It's like the place chipped away.  I thought my housekeepers must have done it with the vacuum cleaner.

Yesterday I had friends over who asked me what it was.  My friend said it looked like termite damage.  They had it in the garage of one of their old houses, and she said it looked just like that. Her husband looked at it closely and said there were trimmings behind the cut out.  I am getting a termite inspection on Tuesday.

This is just all I needed.  This summer I had to repair my foundation in addition to a water problem in my crawl space.  That was extremely expensive.  Before I found out about my foundation problem I had already started replacing the siding on my house.  

I had just now decided to go ahead and paint the interior of my house and had started looking at colors when I found the potential termite damage.  I know I shouldn't get upset before I know for sure, and I'm really not, but this will be very upsetting if it is termites. 

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@NickNack

Sorry about all your recent "house" problems!  Glad you're getting right on the termite situation!  It seems like the costly house problems seem to come all at once!  I had a water main break, a failed water heater, and an outdoor rat problem all at once!  Maybe after this latest "rash" you'll be through with this stuff for a while!  Good luck!

[NickNack]

Thanks @fortune.  I wouldn't have wanted to have your problems either.  I hope you were able to get rid of the rats!  That would scare me.  I've had a mouse or two before but never rats.  Glad they were outside.

[fortune]

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@NickNackwrote:

Thanks @fortune.  I wouldn't have wanted to have your problems either.  I hope you were able to get rid of the rats!  That would scare me.  I've had a mouse or two before but never rats.  Glad they were outside.

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@NickNack

I had been feeding the birds for quite a while and really enjoyed watching them.  One day, I saw a mama rat and 12 (yes, TWELVE) baby rats cavorting near the bird feeder.  Now, I'm no longer feeding the birds!!

[NickNack]

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@fortunewrote:

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@NickNackwrote:

Thanks @fortune.  I wouldn't have wanted to have your problems either.  I hope you were able to get rid of the rats!  That would scare me.  I've had a mouse or two before but never rats.  Glad they were outside.

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@NickNack

I had been feeding the birds for quite a while and really enjoyed watching them.  One day, I saw a mama rat and 12 (yes, TWELVE) baby rats cavorting near the bird feeder.  Now, I'm no longer feeding the birds!!

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@fortune  Wow!  I guess not!  I have a bird feeder outside a window where I have a window seat for my kitten.  I love watching the birds, too.  I used to have feeders in the back of my house, too but don't anymore.  If I ever saw rats or even mice around the feeder that would be the end of my bird feeding, too.

[Meowingkitty]

As we say in Arizona there are only two types of houses. Those with termites and those who will have them. We had them a few months ago and they came out and treated the foundation. Cost was about $1100.00 and took less than 2 hours. If we ever see them again they will treat again for free. There was no damage to our house. 

[50Mickey]

I don't know what part og the country that you live in but I lived in the South along the east coast. Termintes were a given. We had a termite bond that we paid every year. around $200. This was a treat and repair insurance policy.  If you don't have this get a pest control company ASAP that wil come out and see if in fact you have termites. if so  they will  dig trenches around the area of your hour whee you noticed the damage and then they will treat the soil. Don't panic. This shouldn't be too expensive. Then I would strongly recommend that you get a termite bond and renew it yearly. I also noticed damage on one of the baseboards in my home and yes it was termite damage. After the soil is treated just replace the baseboards. It sounds like you are having a tought time with home repairs. I have been there too. The trick here is that you have caught it before they chewed up too much.  Good Luck!

[Kachina624]

@NickNack.  Sorry about your termites but that's one of the joys of home ownership.  My particular burden to bear is the polybutylene pipe which was used for all the pipes in my house.  It leaks so I had the entire house re-plumbed and then had to have a lot of sheetrock replaced and painted.  Then there was a leak in the front yard so they dug that up and replaced everything to the meter.  Then there was a leak right where the line comes into the house which should have been fixed by the first plumber who has disappeared.  Had to take everything out of my big walk-in closet.

I've paid well over $20,000 to plumbers, about $1,000 for sheetrock, and almost $5,000 for excess water charges, which I negotiated down.

It's always something isn't it?

[Dawnie]

@NickNack

Here in SW FL we thought we had termites.  I kept a few to show to a termite guy.  Ours proved to be flying ants.  They look very much alike, one had a waist, forgot which one.  Get one in a baggie take photo and start researching. JMO. 

[RedTop]

@NickNack,

My thoughts are with you in this problem, as I was devastated when we found termites in our house about 7 years after we built it.   My husband found them in our crawl space; the termites were actually just getting started, and had not done any damage to the floor joists of the house.   

We contacted Dodson immediately and had the house treated; crawl space, basement, and the perimeter, for under $1,000.   We pay under $100 yearly to maintain our lifetime termite protection, and also have a yearly inspection.   About 10 years ago, my husband found termites outside the house, within the perimeter that was treated, and all it took was a call to Dodson for them to come out and treat that area—-no charge.

I am very surprised to hear termites are behind your baseboards, as I would have expected them to have been found during the siding installation, foundation repair, or when your water problem in the crawl space was repaired.  Hoping this is a simple fix for you.