Fucking termites

[QLD guy]

So I noticed a couple of inground plants with some yellowing leaves and one was looking a bit unstable so I had a bit of a dig at the base and yep fucking termites chomping away at the roots and stem.....a couple of other plants further along seem to been unaffected so far so I think I can right 2 plants off but am wondering what soil drench I can use that might save the nearby plants but wont get picked up in the buds..

 

[Pikey]

I'd say a neem meal tea would do the job. If not kill them (which I think it would) it would certainly make them pack up and move house. (hopefully not into your house)

Added bonus being it will also feed your plants.

 

[outdoor]

So I noticed a couple of inground plants with some yellowing leaves and one was looking a bit unstable so I had a bit of a dig at the base and yep fucking termites chomping away at the roots and stem.....a couple of other plants further along seem to been unaffected so far so I think I can right 2 plants off but am wondering what soil drench I can use that might save the nearby plants but wont get picked up in the buds..

Dig a trench, 100mm deep around the pots, buy some Biflex, or Termidor, mix 15 ml / ltr with water and fill the trench, when it drains away, fill the trench in carefully, that will form a termite barrier around the pots, preventing the buggers from returning to their nest, one sniff of it, they will go belly up, same goes for any others coming from the nest, so long as the barrier is not disturbed, your pot will be save for 2 years.
I have mine in 1/2 wine barrels (termites favorite food) which I treated 5 years ago , plus placed the barrel on top of a steel pallet, so far so good,,,,,,,

 

[Sedge]

Careful with termidor ,,a mate lost his bee hive cos he left a little out in the open ,,

 

[Billygoat]

Round up?

 

[Indy]

It doesn't sound good. Yellowing leaves, termites into the roots and stems.

Not from personal experience, but I've heard from a couple of Territory (NT) growers saying that termites up that way can decimate plants in the space of a week.

 

[Yamumzbum]

I would never have known termites would make a meal out of roots if not for reading this.. or am I thinking of white ants.

Which ones eat your house off it's foundations?

 

[Sedge]

They are the same thing.

 

[Yamumzbum]

Well I'll be damned sedge

 

[QLD guy]

I would never have known termites would make a meal out of roots if not for reading this.. or am I thinking of white ants.

Which ones eat your house off it's foundations?

 

[QLD guy]

I'm going to have a crack at killing Clint and all his good buddies tomorrow..2 out of 4 plants are goners but I'll update on whether the other 2 will survive...

 

[Yamumzbum]

I'm going to have a crack at killing Clint and all his good buddies tomorrow..2 out of 4 plants are goners but I'll update on whether the other 2 will survive...

Best wishes for a successful extermination mate I'm glad I'm not Mr Eatswood or any of his extended family

 

[Billygoat]

Can’t remember who it was but someone got them on OSA and hammered some really big plants. If it’s really dry in your area the moisture must draw them in.

You can buy traps to put in the ground…. Too late this year but maybe for next season..

 

[itchybro]

Can’t remember who it was but someone got them on OSA and hammered some really big plants. If it’s really dry in your area the moisture must draw them in.

You can buy traps to put in the ground…. Too late this year but maybe for next season..

yep i think i know exactly who your talking about bill cos we were pm'ing each other allot on the problem which he never over came , he did harvest something but lost most of his crop

they "were" attracted to the moisture it seemed & it didn't help that he was gorilla growing in an area that was previously a sawmill or some sort of wood processing plant

he tried everything we could think of including using those traps you mentioned , as well as neem oil , neem meal , even finding the nest & attacking that , can't remember all the things he tried none of which really worked , it seemed once they were in play on mass he was fucked

just as a side note , I'm still in contact with him & the last time we spoke a couple of months back he was heading over to Thailand to be head grower at a legal cannabis facility , I've been meaning to drop him a text to see how he's doing

good luck @QLD guy i hope you have some better luck than the efforts of this particular gentlemen

might be a predatory nematode that controls termites from memory , can't really remember if it was a garden control thing or just a house controlling thing , might work for both , Maybe !

 

[itchybro]

@QLD guy you could try caontacting these guys & asking some questions on using these in the garden
https://goodbugshop.com.au/wordpress/product/nemassist-termite-treatment-15-million-x-3/

 

[Mellow oldfark]

Hey Qg do u have chooks or use chook ferts?
I reckon chook poo attracts termites.

 

[Sticky67]

@QLD guy hey bud did you happen to put compost or mulch through the soil before you planted there? I've had the same problem before and the one thing in common with all mine is the compost or mulch that I've turned into the soil, it really attracts them or they've come in with whatever compost I've used, it's just like a dinner table for them so now I try not to till that stuff in , instead I use fertiliser pellets and a bit of gypsum turned in and lay a layer of compost on top and mulch/sugar cane on top of that and so far so good. It's also helped with the soil bug we have up here, it also attacks the root system and leaves white sticky crap all over the roots with big knobs on the roots. And I also do a monthly neem all over the garden..

 

[QLD guy]

Yeah guys in an effort to enrich crappy hilltop soil and also defend against root knot nematodes..I added humus rich garden soil, broken down tip mulch, flood wash debris, bamboo leaves and chook shit based pellets...

So in essence I created not only some great soil but also a Termite oasis.....basically a fucking Sheriton Grand Mirage Resort for Termites......and the little fucker repayed my kindness by chewing the fuck outta my plants...

So I had enough of the little freeloading bastards and gave them a soil drench of Neem oil and another spray thats used for termites and for vegetable pests..see how that goes and I might repeat in a couple of days to kill any survivors..

Sad to chop down a 10 footer that was starting to bud and another half budded one I will leave as long as I can..

2 others on the end look unaffected so far but with some warm weather predicted any root damage will soon be evident..fingers crossed..

and Billygoat and itchybro its currently wet season so I think like sticky mentions above,its the organic matter rather then moisture that attracted them in this instance ....dunno maybe they can smell it or something...maybe they send out scouts...buggered if I know ...