Termite Shields for Foam Board Insulated Buildings InspectAPedia® -
Use of Termiticide (termite poison) vs. Termite Shields on Styrofoam™ board insulated buildings
How to prevent termite attack where foam or foam insulating board is installed on buildings
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This article discusses methods to avoid termite attack on buildings insulated with Styrofoam™ or similar insulating board products. Accompanying text is reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Our page top photos shows an insulated building slab during construction, leaving styrofoam exposed on the outside of the slab perimeter. Unless protective steps are taken foam insulation board in this location is a potential path for termites or other wood destroying insects to attack the building framing.
Readers concerned about termite damage associated with foam, fiberglass, or other building insulation materials should also see Insects & Foam Insulation and our list of termite and insect damage articles at also see ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES. Also see SLAB INSULATION, PASSIVE SOLAR. Because insect damage on buildings is very often related to locations of water leaks or moisture traps, readers should also see WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.
The question-and-answer article about avoiding termite damage on buildings where foam board insulation is installed, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article, (see links just above) from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss. Our sketch (left) shows some identifying characteristics of termites when seen in the "flying ants" or swarming stage.
Question: Several articles in your magazine have mentioned using polystyrene board as perimeter insulation on a slab and covering it with stucco or millboard to protect it.
Building officials in my area won't let me stucco over Styrofoam™ insulating board [POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION] nor can I cover it with anything else for fear that termites will come up between the insulation and the stucco or through the foam board insulation itself, attacking the building framing. Any suggestions?
Answer: a DOW expert recommends chemical termiticide as an insect attack barrier around foam board insulated buildings
What is a Termiticide ?
Termiticide, not a termite shield, is the solution recommended by Jerry Severson. Severson heads research into foundation insulation at Dow Chemical Company's Granville Research Center, in Granville, Ohio.
Termiticides are chemicals that are applied in soils around a building foundation in order to form a chemical barrier to termites that might otherwise attack the building. Properly placed, a traditional termiticide chemical binds with the soil and remains in place. At least some modern termiticides, having been chemically adjusted to reduce the risk of environmental contamination by escaping toxic chemicals, may be less durable than older, more toxic chemicals used for that purpose. -- DJF
Termites can burrow through many building materials, including all forms of insulation, and no mechanical guard offers complete protection from termites indicated Mr. Severson.
Termite poisons improperly applied to the soil under a building can give off fumes that enter the home, its heating or air conditioning systems (duct work), and can make occupants sick. To avoid contaminating a building through improperly-applied termite chemicals, hire a reputable local pest control expert who is fully aware of the building's HVAC system design and the location of its components, and if the house is served by a private well, make sure that the well is adequately distant from any location where termiticides are to be applied. See Pesticides Contaminate House [PDF].
Termiticides are not normally applied to soils outside of a foundation surrounding a dirt crawl space, also because of the possible surprise entry of chemicals or fumes into the building through the crawl space soils. However special (more costly) methods may be used such as the excavation of a trench around the building, mixing the termiticide directly with the soil (making certain thereby that no chemical is escaping to where it does not belong), and the soil is then replaced in the trench.
Also make sure that the termiticide chemical [and the solvent used to apply it] to be used in the soil is not one that can harm exposed insulation around the building's foundation.
What is a Termite Shield?
People who advocate using termite shields say that they slow down the pests so that the homeowner can spot their telltale air tubes (mud tubes) and take action against them. Our photo (left) shows a close-up of a termite mud tube climbing a poured concrete foundation exterior wall in New Jersey. The building had no termite shield, and its sills were termite-damaged.
A termite shield is simply a metal barrier placed atop the foundation wall and bent down over the walls to make termite passage difficult, forcing the termites to construct a mud tube around the edges of the shield, thus either making building attack more difficult for the termites, or forcing them to construct the mud tube in a location that is more easily visible to the homeowner. -- DJF
Other Approaches to Avoiding Termite Damage
[The following has been added to the original Q&A, by DJF]
Termite bait traps (photo at left) are a different approach to handling a termite problem: containers holding wood sticks are buried at intervals around the building and inspected regularly by the pest control operator (PCO).
When the PCO detects that termites have begun attacking one or more of the wood baits, the operator exchanges the tasty wood for one that has been treated with a poison.
Foam perimeter insulation encasement: At a building slab perimeter, another approach to reducing the attack path for termites where foam insulating board is used at the slab perimeter is shown in our photo of a home being built in Minneapolis, MN.
The builder has encased the foundation perimeter insulation in poured concrete, leaving about a 1/2" of solid concrete around the insulation.
Cracks in poured concrete slabs, even very tiny cracks, can form an entry path for termites into the building.
Quality of slab construction and other details can minimize this risk of insect attack, but it's also important to keep water away from the building - wet wood attacks insects.
Construction details to reduce the risk of termite damage: include avoiding placing wood within 8" of the top of any soil, using caulking and flashing to be sure that building leaks do not wet framing lumber (making it attractive to termites), use of insect-resistant treated lumber for building wall sill plates, and similar measures. Good design and construction practices, combined with keeping water away from building wood, can make a significant difference in the risk of termite attack on a building.
Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.
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Solar Age Magazine was the official publication of the American Solar Energy Society. The contemporary solar energy magazine associated with the Society is Solar Today. "Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. We advance education, research and policy. Leading for more than 50 years.
ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. We publish the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, organize and present the ASES National Solar Conference and lead the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world."
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
Excerpts with updates and annotations expanding the original Best Practices Guide text can be found in the online review and book summary at BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE and also at DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION, at INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE, and in other articles found at InspectAPedia.com such as HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS, SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS, and other topics.
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TERMITE SHIELDS vs TERMITICIDE - Use of Termiticide (termite poison) vs. Termite Shields on Styrofoam™ board insulated buildings
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