International Pest Control (IPCO) Network

...there was this cute little house, Stacey's Dream House, nestled deep in the suburbs of Florida, in Winter Park, just outside of Orlando.

There was only one problem with Stacey's Dream House, it has the dreaded termite problem. In spite of an obvious baiting system, and other prior treatments, there was an obviously active infestation of subterranean termites.

How did she know this? Well, she had a swarm of termites, that's how! Then she noticed that her hardwood floor looked "funny." The finish had come off and she could see "mud" around the edges. Here's a close-up picture of the termite damage to the floor.

Well, there was only ONE SOLUTION for Stacey's problem, she jumped on the Internet. Fortunately, she found the IPCO Message Board right away and was able to ask questions and get some answers. Not only did she get answers, she got a real, live exterminator! Two of them, as a matter of fact.

Greg Amann and their in-house entomologist, Ric Gleason, showed up to do the job, here they are hamming it up with Stacey. Now we know why they dawdled along with this job... (Just kidding, everyone.)

Advance Tech, out of Clermont, Florida, took this job on and agreed to photograph, as much as they could, for the benefit of the IPCO Network. One of our own charter members, Advance Tech is part of the Rapid Response Team from the IPCO Network. You just can't get any better.

Stacey's termite job got started at around 9:30 in the morning.... And didn't get completed until 3:30 in the afternoon. No job for the faint of heart. Greg took some great pictures of the house, on the outside, he also got pictures of some of the crawl space conditions underneath the house. As you'll see, not the best of conditions for people, and some of the best conditions for termites. Greg claims he saw virtually every conducive condition for termites you can think of.

The dirt crawl could be better described as a "mud" crawl, with very damp mud from one end to the other. Due to the lack of space for ordinary work tools, Greg was reduced to working with a small garden trowel in some areas of the crawl. Fun down there, eh Greg?

Also in the crawl space, copious signs of termites, the usual suspects, in the usual places. Just take a tour through Stacey's crawl space yourself, without even getting dirty, and without having to do anything but click on these pictures!

These abandoned Sentricon termite baiting stations were found on the property from a previous (unsuccessful) attempt at control. Advance Tech, our experts on the job, had many options for which termiticide to use. Because of the recurring termite problem, it was decided that the only method should be soil treatment. Luckily, for all concerned, the weapon of choice, was TERMIDOR. Termidor is a new termiticide with an outstanding reputation for the effective control of termites. Most of us exterminators consider that an understatement.

Advance Tech rose to the occasion, and even though it was somewhat out of their normal service territory, Greg said he enjoyed the challenge of solving yet another termite problem. He also mentioned that it was also a nice opportunity to take on a special challenge that came to him via the IPCO Network. Greg just felt it was extremely important to make someone happy who had just about given up on getting the problem taken care of properly. Another satisfied customer.

Nice job, Greg, good pictures too. We know Stacey will be happy with the results. Keep us posted.