How to get rid of Carcoma (termites?) in The DR

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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Does anyone know how to get rid of Carcoma? This is a parasite that "eats" wood in your house. It just destroys any wood...I have a house that's infested with it. It's slowly eating away my doors...
I know here in the US there are things you can spray or services you can pay for to exterminate them out of your dwelling, which brings me to anothe question. Is Dominican Carcoma the same thing as US termite? I've never actually seen termites here in the US, so I'm not sure. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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Had my mom's apartment sprayed by Killers (contact Boni Elmudesi, company president). Cost RD$10,000. They sealed the place and it had to be closed for two days, but that was it. Haven't seen another termite again. If you are being invaded, you may consider purchasing this service. Contact him at killers@tricom.net
 

Pib

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Killers? Hmm... what other type of 'services' do they offer? ;)

Is it true that mahogany is not attacked by termites?

Also be aware that Dolores paid 10000 pesos, but what you will pay probably depends on the size of the place to be fumigated. Dolores' mom's apartment is not very big (from what I can see from outside). A house will probably cost much more.
 

suarezn

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So, is Carcoma the same thing as termites? The reason I'm confused is because I always thought termites are actually little live bugs (worm like)...Carcoma on the other hand is just like a bunch of tiny little pellets...
 

Mirador

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I had it in my closet, and my clothes were always getting covered with mounds of wood particles. It was more a nuisance than an inconvience, and since I rented the place, my procastination took hold. Until one day I bought a lot of different packets of incense (from a place called El Baul in Plaza Central), and left them in a drawer. Low and behold! several weeks later I noticed that the comej?n was gone, not a trace of it! I suspect the incense had to do a lot with it...

Mirador
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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My mom's apartment is about 130 square meters. Think the price would be stretched to an apartment of 150 square meters because they offered this price for anyone in the building and there are some of 150 square meters.

When I was doing woodwork for the office/house was a pro on which wood was more resistant to termites. But all that knowledge is no longer on hand or readily accessible in my brain. I do remember I learned what I knew from consulting Google.

At Valiente wood shop they will sell you a type of Latin American mahogany that is cheaper and supposedly termite resistant. I remember because I bought that wood.

Pine (pino tratado) when treated is also resistant to termites. Know because the stairways of our building had to have the pine wood removed because the builders had not used "treated pine". We are replacing it with treated pine.

I think the Killer service eliminates comejen and termitas (carcoma). Elmudesi did tell us that one has to look outside to make sure there are not trees in the environs that are affected by the bugs.
 

Jerry K

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Jan 1, 2002
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termites

Not recommended as a household cure but diesel does wonders in big long term applications when treated wood isn't an option.
 

MommC

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Deisel is what they use in Guayacanes and Juan Dolio!

It's messy and it smells and you have to leave the house for a day but it does work........
Mahogany (caoba) is termite proof and treated wood (pine or any other for that matter) is resistant. Solid mahogany is expensive so a lot of things are made with treated wood with a mahogan veneer or solid mahogany fronts! (ask me....just had my kitchen done in mahogany!!)
If there ae trees in the outside area nearby that are infested, they too need to be dealt with. :nervous: -hate those big mounds of termite nests sitting in the crooks of trees!!
 

jerryme

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I think termites or something similar are eating my new rattan furnture. Every time we move around the furniture, a little sawdust falls out. Any ideas what to do?
 

Ken

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jerryme said:
I think termites or something similar are eating my new rattan furnture. Every time we move around the furniture, a little sawdust falls out. Any ideas what to do?

Where did you get your rattan furniture. We bought ours from the factory in santiago and if we see sawdust, they pick it up a run it through their gas chamber free of charge, including pickup and delivery.

I don't think it is termites but an insect that sometimes attacks rattan furniture.
 

Ken

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What I do for doors is to inject them with carbasota (sp?). I get a big hypodermic needle from the drugstore and inject the chemical into any place I can stick a needle in. I do it until the stuff I inject in the top edge of teh door runs out the bottom. Then I'm sure it has gone through the tunnels. If I find places close tosurface where only the paint covers the tunnel, I open up the tunnel and shoot the chemical in there.

When done, I use a two part auto body filler to fill in the tunnels and repaint.

Not a permanent fix, but adds a couple of years life. when I see dust on floor again, I repeat.
 

suarezn

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jerryme said:
I think termites or something similar are eating my new rattan furnture. Every time we move around the furniture, a little sawdust falls out. Any ideas what to do?

Jerryme: That sounds like Carcoma to me. The same thing I have on my doors. It appears to me that termites are quite different from Carcoma.
 

jerryme

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How do I get rid of them? I just had this furniture made about 8 months ago. I bought it from a place on the road to Santiago from POP.
 

Ken

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jerryme said:
How do I get rid of them? I just had this furniture made about 8 months ago. I bought it from a place on the road to Santiago from POP.

If you bought it from same place on the highway, then you will get no help from them. In fact, it probably came to you with bugs in the wood.

We buy ours from the manufacturer in Santiago. As part of the process, all furniture spends time in their gas chamber before it is deliverered. Then afterwards, if there are bugs, they pick it up, gas it, repair damage done by the bugs and return it free of charge.
 

Buzzard

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Feb 28, 2004
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Baygon to the rescue

jerryme said:
How do I get rid of them? I just had this furniture made about 8 months ago. I bought it from a place on the road to Santiago from POP.
Over the years, I too have bought a lot of furniture from the first store coming from POP. Also, I've purchased stuff from stores in POP. Whenever I saw sawdust, I sprayed large amounts of BAYGON into the furniture, and ran for the door! While I can't saw why it has worked, it always has.
 

jerryme

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Thanks, I'll try that. I have been away for 6 months and won't be back until Dec. Hopefully I won't have a big pile of sawdust where my furniture was.