Termite control in Grenada
Termites eat wood from the inside. The surface looks fine while the timber behind it is being hollowed out, so most people find out when something gives way. The main problem in Grenada is the drywood termite, which lives inside the wood and needs no contact with soil.
Why timber has a hard time here
- The West Indian drywood termite lives inside the wood it eats. It needs no soil and no water source, so roof timbers, door frames, joinery and furniture are all at risk.
- Colonies spread by flying. A swarm from a roof nearby, or a piece of second-hand furniture, is enough to start a colony in your timber.
- High humidity keeps timber damp, which suits the soil-dwelling species and speeds up rot generally.
- The damage builds up quietly over years. By the time a floor feels soft or a frame gives way, it is a building repair rather than a pest treatment.
Termites are not a health risk. The problem is the cost. We push inspections because catching an infestation early is far cheaper than catching it late, and nothing about the early stage is visible from across the room.
How to tell you have a problem
- Small gritty pellets, like coarse sand, collecting in a little pile under timber. This is the clearest sign of drywood termites.
- Timber that sounds hollow when you tap along it.
- Paint on a door frame, skirting or window reveal that has blistered or rippled.
- Thin mud tubes running up a foundation wall, a pier or a column.
- Discarded wings on windowsills or near outside lights after a swarm.
- A door, frame, floorboard or shelf that has started to sag or flex.
Common species here
The main structural termite in the Caribbean. Lives inside dry timber with no soil contact. Pushes out gritty pellets, which is how you spot it.
Nest in the soil and reach timber through mud tubes over foundations and piers. A risk where wood meets the ground or where a slab has cracked.
How we treat it
We check the timber throughout: roof space, frames, joinery, under the floor, piers and anywhere wood meets the ground. We map where the activity is and how far it has spread, and we will tell you if what you have is old damage rather than a live colony.
Drywood infestations are treated where the termites are, by injecting into the galleries and treating the timber around them. Soil-dwelling termites are treated at ground level, to break the route between the soil and the building.
Soil treatment before the slab goes down on a new build, treatment of structural timber during construction, and inspections afterwards. This is the cheapest point at which to spend money on termites.
What you can do yourself
None of this replaces a treatment, but it makes the treatment work better and last longer.
- Do not paint or fill over pellet holes before an inspection. It hides the evidence and does not stop the colony.
- Sweep up any pellet pile and note where it was, then check the same spot in a few days. If it comes back there is live activity directly above.
- Keep timber out of direct contact with the ground, and keep soil and mulch away from the base of walls and piers.
- Fix roof leaks and blocked gutters quickly. Damp timber attracts more than termites.
- Check second-hand timber furniture before you bring it in. This is a common way drywood termites arrive in a house that never had them.
Common questions
Not covered here? Call us on (473) 403-7251 and we'll talk it through.
Rot is damp, dark and crumbly, and there is usually a water source nearby. Drywood termite damage is dry, the timber sounds hollow, and there are pellets. If you are not sure, that is what the free inspection is for.
Yes. We treat the soil before the slab is poured and treat the structural timber during the build. It is the cheapest termite protection there is, and it is very hard to do once the building is finished. Talk to us at the foundation stage rather than at handover.
For the localised treatments that cover most drywood cases, no. You may need to keep certain rooms clear for a few hours. If a case needs something more involved than that, we will explain what it means before you commit to anything.
Once a year suits most properties here. More often is worth it for older timber framed buildings, for properties near a known infestation, and for anything close to the coast, where salt and humidity wear timber down faster.