Can I insure against that happening?
Now that would be a désastre complet
Except if the roof caves in and breaks a decent bottle of wine! ;-D
Thank goodness for that, so can we all stop worrying now? :-)
If they were capricorns, which seems to be the case, not much to worry about unless I see them nicking the telly?
Don't forget that if you ever wish to sell you may need to produce evidence that it has been properly treated. In the UK registered firms give bonded 20 year insurances against re-infestation which are transferable to any future owner. These cover the usual risks encountered in the UK such as rising damp, dry rot, wet rot, longhorn beetle, woodworm etc. You need to check the french system and availability if any of such insurances.
Anyway Catharine & James, here's hoping that it isn't too serious and costly and we have all panicked for nothing, Bonne Chance
let us know how you get on x
Don't forget to give him one of the left over Halloween masks! If it doesn't protect him, at least it might frighten those there bugs ;-)
"get a bloke in to do it toute suite."
Are you mad?
"Why keep a dog and bark yourself?" is what I say in these situations.
Mr. H is being equipped with Agent Orange as I type!
Roz, your friends were lucky. Somebody nearby had to have several hectares of field treated because of the size of the network of colonies. Termites are horrendous. But as Catharine says, she does not want to hear any of this, so she should scream and get a bloke in to do it toute suite.
David, that is useful. I have not seen as site as useful as that and the links are really useful as well.
This may be useful
http://brittany.angloinfo.com/information/housing/maintenance-diy/insect-pests/
Check the grant availability- have no personal knowledge
That is a picture of a Capricorn grub. Termites are like large ants and are more transparent. They are quite quiet. The Capricorn worms click-click a lot. Either way, be worried. What happens is that the Capricorn (longhorn beetles also known incorrectly as deathwatch beetles sometimes, although the grubs look similar) arrive, lay eggs on wood. Tiny little worms eat and eat for the whole of their gestation until metamorphosis into the beetles. Hundreds of eggs mean hundreds of the buggers. The bigger problem is that like many creatures, the surviving adults who breed come back to where they were hatched to lay their eggs. Second round, worse than the first, third, etc...
I have chucked in a picture of a deathwatch beetle larva which is similar and caption for you to compare below. It is the same in principle, they do the same damage. If you have only a small area of infestation you can treat it yourself. If it is moderate buy the plugs and get the chemical killer to put in them. This came up in a post some moths back and somebody left the web address of where they can be ordered. If it is extensive then a professional company is necessary. When we arrived and consulted a company, we were warned that furniture is usually not usually rescued since chair and table legs crumble and larger units like cupboards eaten away from the bottom collapse.
If it was termites then you have to report it to your commune and call in professionals and the whole area around you would need to be checked and cleared. I have a leaflet open by me and see that a network of termite tunnels is rather like a honeycomb of tunnels and far more damage is done than in your shots. Take a look at some of the websites on both and you'll see the difference. Termites have legs to begin with, so take a deep breath...
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Deathwatch beetle populations flourish where there is water penetration and decline when the building is dry and well maintained. By the time a deathwatch colony is well established the beetles no longer lay eggs on the surface. Female beetles go back into the timber to deposit their offspring, whereupon the eggs and young larvae are inaccessible to insecticides. |
This is a picture of death watch beetle larvae
I agree with Roz. They look more like Capricornes to me - still serious. Good luck.
I would take them in a jar to the Maire and get it confirmed as I am not sure what I see is a termite.
That is not what I wanted to hear!
*goes away and puts hands over ears*
It's quite serious finding termites. You have to make a declaration.
Definitely YES!
We had friends here who found termites and they had to have the whole house treated, this site might help
ww.pestking.com/Ready_to_go/termites_photos.htm
For a full insight into Death-Watch Beetles see the womderful
book by Dave Goulson --
A BUZZ IN THE MEADOW, The Natural History of a French Farm, now out in paperback by Picador.