Tenant has informed me that a bathroom ceiling drywall hole that had been covered w/ plastic pending the addition of more drywall to cover it is infested w/ flying termites all over the bathroom. She (very much a fragile senior) can't safely shower w/ out getting attacked. Is there something (like a Raid spray), that can temporarily work to kill them while I make calls today to get tenting fumigation quotes & lay the tenting groundwork??

You can spray to kill the bugs that are right there. This is a temporary cure at best. You can't kill more than the queens make.

Go over with some flying insect spray, have a look at what you are dealing with and spray them down.

Sounds like you need to get the plastic secured better as well. Do what you can for a tenant that allows holes in the bathroom while living there.

Also as I mentioned in the other thread about housing during tenting you should put her up in a place, maybe now. Get the bugs taken care of then get the ceiling taken care of.

Lori,

A termite SWARM only lasts a few minutes, then it's done.

They are super delicate creatures that don't bite or sting, and usually die a few feet away.

DO NOT spray chemicals in an occupied home. Give her $20 to buy her own and spray it herself.

Have your exterminator treat the property with termidor.

Spraying is a waste of time. There is a chemical developed by BASF in Australia in the late 90's called Fipronil, the trade name is Termidor. It kills termites slowly by killing a microbe in the termites digestive system so they can't digest food. Termites ingest the Termidor, head back to the hive and barf it out for the hive workers to eat and it poisons the hive. Early on, I had to get the BASF license, but that's not required anymore....you can buy Fipronil on ebay and elsewhere. Fipronil is safe for humans and pets.

Have your exterminator treat the property with termidor.

Spraying is a waste of time. There is a chemical developed by BASF in Australia in the late 90's called Fipronil, the trade name is Termidor. It kills termites slowly by killing a microbe in the termites digestive system so they can't digest food. Termites ingest the Termidor, head back to the hive and barf it out for the hive workers to eat and it poisons the hive. Early on, I had to get the BASF license, but that's not required anymore....you can buy Fipronil on ebay and elsewhere. Fipronil is safe for humans and pets.

I’m with Tim on this one. I was a licensed termite inspector and yes…termites WILL eat the paper on the backside of drywall..they will eat anything with cellulose…which is in many things such as cardboard, drywall paper, wood, etc. Termidor is the best product. And yes, termites will fly during the swarm time….which is spring. I would bother with any spray products…have them use the other bathroom for 1-2 days and seal it off until the swarm stops.

Lori,

Go to bugspray.com and read up so you know what you are looking at.

Termites live in the ground up to 30 feet deep and can travel 60 feet horizontally (from your neighbor's house!). They come up in mud tubes they build to hide from predators and sunlight.

Pros saturate the ground where they live with poison.

Each State has different laws when spraying chemical in common areas in multi-family properties. Unless you give your tenants a MSDS (Material Sec Data Sheet) before you spray, you can be guilty of a serious crime with penalties.

I once got caught spraying weeds on the side of a large multi-family property. The neighbor had an over grown side strip of land that the plants grew over to my side. So with a pressurized 2 gallon tank, I sprayed the plants on my side. The tenants took a video and I was sent a $50,000 fine. In court I asked if they had the chemicals I used tested? And if they fined the neighbor for not attending to his plants. I use serious H20, tap water with city chlorine. My fine was reduced from 50K to 5 bucks.

The Termite Spray used to kill the entire nest is:

Premise Foam (18oz) - Provide Treatment for drywood and Subterranean termites, and Also Works as an ant Killer. Fast and Easy to use.

Or

Bayer 03780574 Premise Foam Termiticide, White 18_ounce

Read both labels, this is from memory. One is better than the other, a difference of .02% of an active ingredient.

When I was out in SoCal, during the 1990's, it was absolutely nothing for tenting to run the buyer/seller $4,000. Those are some expensive bugs, but the kick in the teeth was when three or four years later that they would have to tent again.