# Termites eating PVC pipe and PEX tubing..



## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

I talked to (2) different exterminators this past week and both confirmed termites are eating the PVC most of us have run for swimming pools.

Only one of the guys has seen damage to PEX tubing..

Anyone hear about this??


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## gold (Feb 15, 2008)

I dont think just any termite can. There supertermites. I heard stories of them eating through the liners in pools even through concrete and some metals to get to water.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Black4Truck said:


> I talked to (2) different exterminators this past week and both confirmed termites are eating the PVC most of us have run for swimming pools.
> 
> Only one of the guys has seen damage to PEX tubing..
> 
> Anyone hear about this??


 


Found this :


Moderately aggressive; a typical colony will consume about 7 pounds of wood per year. Termite shields (properly installed) are reasonably effective in helping to control. Percentage of soldiers in a typical colony is less than 2%, making them somewhat vulnerable to outside predators like ants.Extremely aggressive; a typical colony will consume over 1,000 pounds of wood per year. Termite shields are less effective. Formosan subterranean termites will go through thin sheets of metal, mortar, PVC pipe, electric power lines and telecommuni-cations lines to get to wood or cellulosic material. This termite will eat wood, paper, books, furniture — anything cellulosic. A typical colony has 10% to 20% soldiers and therefore is much less vulnerable to outside natural predators.


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## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

I've seen termites eat through romex...We have them pretty bad here.


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## gold (Feb 15, 2008)

These aren't very common on LI though.

http://www.termitesurvey.com/distribution/images/CoptotermesFormosanos_600x295.jpghttp://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...&ndsp=18&tbs=isch:1&ei=Plx5TP2OGYH88Abo9YD7BQ


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

Job security.


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

I think I'd be scared of a termite that could eat through metal.


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## jwjrw (Jan 14, 2010)

Never heard of termites eating thru pvc. Gonna have to look into that. Seems like they would not like pvc as Im sure it does not break down like wood does.


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## Bkessler (Feb 14, 2007)

This post reminded me of the old popeye cartoon.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

mcclary's electrical said:


> Found this :
> 
> 
> Moderately aggressive; a typical colony will consume about 7 pounds of wood per year. Termite shields (properly installed) are reasonably effective in helping to control. Percentage of soldiers in a typical colony is less than 2%, making them somewhat vulnerable to outside predators like ants.Extremely aggressive; a typical colony will consume over 1,000 pounds of wood per year. Termite shields are less effective. Formosan subterranean termites will go through thin sheets of metal, mortar, PVC pipe, electric power lines and telecommuni-cations lines to get to wood or cellulosic material. This termite will eat wood, paper, books, furniture — anything cellulosic. A typical colony has 10% to 20% soldiers and therefore is much less vulnerable to outside natural predators.



I call em Samoan termites cause they can eat and eat. Hawaii has been hit hard for decades by them. They cause more damage than hurricanes, floods, and Pele combined. I made a really good score once when they ate thru underground pvc conduits and into the 750's for a sewer plant feeder. Shorted out a parallel run to the MDP. Public Works crews broke their come along winch trying to pull out the old ones, so they called me on referral. What they didn't notice I guess was an overhead crane in that plant. I used it. I got them out just likety split fine. Out came a giant pile of live Formosan termites and all their dirt/nest. I have worked on many brand new houses that had large beams ate to popcorn strength from them in less than two years from install.


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## eric7379 (Jan 5, 2010)

Black4Truck said:


> I talked to (2) different exterminators this past week and both confirmed termites are eating the PVC most of us have run for swimming pools.
> 
> Only one of the guys has seen damage to PEX tubing..
> 
> Anyone hear about this??


I'm surprised nobody else picked up on this quicker. I post infrequently, but rarely a day goes by that I don't read through some threads.

Apply more Scotchkote. That should keep the termites at bay! You can also use it as a sales pitch. "Not only does Scotchkote make a good seal, it also keeps out termites!" 

On a serious note, I've never came across this problem. I've only encountered the traditional subterranean termites. They cause enough damage by themselves.


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## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

jwjrw said:


> Never heard of termites eating thru pvc. Gonna have to look into that. Seems like they would not like pvc as Im sure it does not break down like wood does.


They may not eat it at all. I would suspect they would simply remove it.

Carpenter bees, for example, do not eat wood, they just drill it out and displace, it or use it for their nest.


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## Bkessler (Feb 14, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> I call em Samoan termites cause they can eat and eat. Hawaii has been hit hard for decades by them. They cause more damage than hurricanes, floods, and Pele combined. I made a really good score once when they ate thru underground pvc conduits and into the 750's for a sewer plant feeder. Shorted out a parallel run to the MDP. Public Works crews broke their come along winch trying to pull out the old ones, so they called me on referral. What they didn't notice I guess was an overhead crane in that plant. I used it. I got them out just likety split fine. Out came a giant pile of live Formosan termites and all their dirt/nest. I have worked on many brand new houses that had large beams ate to popcorn strength from them in less than two years from install.


What do people do? Have terminex come monthly? I lived in the Virgin Islands for a year and termites were bad there too. Most homes only had wood roofs and everything else was concrete.


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

Bkessler said:


> This post reminded me of the old popeye cartoon.



That was great. :thumbsup:


Popeye should have drown the termites in the 55 gallon drum of Skotchkote. :laughing:


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Bkessler said:


> What do people do? Have terminex come monthly? I lived in the Virgin Islands for a year and termites were bad there too. Most homes only had wood roofs and everything else was concrete.


Termidor and Sentricon are popular. Pressure treating lumber with borate solutions is also the norm nowadays, and of course, metal studs are used by most of the trac house developers.
I get the termidor treatment every few years.


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

I will go out on a limb and say that termites do not eat Polyvinyl Chloride.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

RIVETER said:


> I will go out on a limb and say that termites do not eat Polyvinyl Chloride.


Do some research reading. The will sacrifice workers to get thru to something thru the pvc, or mostly thru a 1/16" inch gap in the glue joint of the couplings. Usually an entry path into a building or to a water source such as is found inside buried conduit. Same goes for the 1/8" deep older style pressure treatment chemicals before the borate treated wood system got popular. Like establishing a beachhead at Normandy, some get sacrificed to open up a path thru the poisoned wood to the untreated inner heart of the lumber. They will go thru the mortar joints in concrete retaining walls the same way. Formosan nests can get into the billions, and that is where the crux of the problem lays, they are tiny buggers, but a billion of them can eat a lot of wood.


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