kyphysics said:
Do you all not do preventative termite treatments and try to deter them in other ways?
Yes, there is a lot of stucco, also a lot of 'conventional' wood siding.
I suspect many of the termites initially enter thru a leaky roof. Another entry route is poor seals around the window and door frames, it doesn't take much settling or aging of a building to open those cracks. I've also seen them enter thru a nail hole in the stucco.
Once there is moisture inside the walls, you soon have a colony.
From a heavily invested building I have seen them swarm after some decent rain followed by a few days of warm, sunny weather. The moisture and warmth triggers the eggs to hatch and they go off looking for a less crowded home.
Of course they leave behind the egg shells, which often fall out of the indoor cracks around windows and doors. (white, roughly the size of the head of a pin)
Since infestations are within the walls, floors, ceilings, and roof, any preventative treatment would be 'tent and fumigate.'
There is 'pressure treated' lumber available... would you be comfortable living in a poison-saturated box for the rest of you life?
So, we put up with the local wildlife and fumigate when we are overrun, or selling.
Cheers,
Tom
p.s. The roofers get a fair amount of business ripping of complete roofs and replacing rafters that have been eaten by the critters.