Thursday, January 17, 2008

This Time I Can't Blame The Teenager


I am literally being eaten out of house and home. And quite frankly, its freaking me out.

That beautifully contstructed tunnel over there..... TERMITES.

Ew.

I have no idea how bad they actually are. I mean, how fast do those little tunnels grow? How long does it take them to build them? Should I go around knocking on all of my walls now to see if they are hollow?

That wall is at the bottom of my closet. There has been a couple of boxes in front of that area since we moved in. Coach was looking for something tonight, and so he moved the box. And discovered THAT. He had no idea what it was. If my job didn't require me to spend so much time in distressed houses, I wouldn't have known what it was. From top to bottom, that tube stretches about three feet or so, give or take a couple of inches.

Again...... Ew.

So now what? I'm obviously going to call the bug guy in the morning. Which means that I naturally am going to be cleaning out my closet tomorrow evening. But someone reassure me here.... this is fixable, right? After a fairly thorough inspection, that is the only wall where we can see anything. I'm still hopeful that means that it will all just go away. (With a little help from the really cool guy with all the poison, of course!)

Bug is obsessing over this. I can't even begin to estimate how many questions on termites we fielded after showing this to him. And we waited to show him until 15 minutes before bedtime!
Jock is acting like he couldn't really care any less. After all, he's not the one being blamed!

Coach is gifted with the "out of sight, out of mind" talent. He moved the box so its somewhat in front of it again (keeping the dogs away from it), and will probably not think of it again until I tell him when the bug guy is coming.

But me? I'm sitting here feeling like I've got a million tiny little things crawling all over me. I couldn't stay in my closet for very long when I was changing after work.....it just felt creepy. I will probably have nightmares about stupid termites all night tonight. Combine this with the cockroach infestation I discovered during a property inspection today on a new property I just picked up.......


Oh yeah. The bug guy is going to become my new Best Friend.


14 comments:

Flea said...

Oh my freaking heck is right!!! I can't imagine! That was always my worst nightmare when we lived in Florida, but it never happened.

See, the upside of that is that you have the beginnings of a very pretty picture if you wanted to branch out from the tunnel with a little paint. Some leaves, a flower or two, butterflies. Quite pretty.

Karen said...

Ah! Ew! Ew! I'm with you on the freaking. We could be freaking partners. I hope that nice bug guy comes quickly and leaves death and carnage in his wake.

Burgh Baby said...

Just looking at that photo is making my all itchy and creepy-crawly and EW! I'm so sorry you have to deal with that. God bless the bug guy.

LunaNik said...

Ummm, I don't want to freak you out or anything...but I was always under the impression that once you saw them, they were already pretty out of control.

I hope I'm wrong.

The Creeper said...

Ok, while termite infestation sucks, it isn't nasty like roaches. *shudder*

Termites don't want into your food, they want to eat your house. Roaches on the other hand...*shudder*

I'm kind of with Luna. Every time I've seen termite infestation covered on those home improvement shows, it's horrible and there is no exterior signs of it. So you are either going to be really lucky and that is the first place they've chosen to invade, or not.

If it's bad, check your homeowner's insurance policy and see if extensive pest damage is covered.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go shower because you talked about roaches and...

...I hate roaches! *shudder*

The Sports Mama said...

Flea, while I appreciate the artistic encouragement.... I do not want to go there. I just want it all GONE!

Karen, YES!! Death and carnage! :)

Burgh, that is an excellent title for a follow up post: God Bless The Bug Guy.

Lunanik, I know. That is my biggest worry, that I won't be able to stop them.

Sue, I am so with you on the roaches! Ew Ew Ew!! And as for the house.... I actually rent it, so I have to get the owner to call me back to let me know all the specifics of purchase date and termite inspection (which is apparently a big thing out here in AZ). I'll have to ask her about her homeowner's policy, though.

The Creeper said...

Ok, you rent. Well, repairs are all on her. As is the exterminator fee. Or they should be, anyway.

The Sports Mama said...

Oh, she'll be footing the bill. :) Just sucks that I'm the one who has to deal with it.

Amy said...

That would give me the creepy crawlies too!

Unknown said...

Oh, hell. I have boxes like that I know must move. The bug man will become your new best friend is right. Good luck & keep us posted.

The Sports Mama said...

Amy, everytime I look at that picture today it creeps me out. And I am dreading going home to it again.

AFF, I hope you don't find anything! :)

Flea said...

SOOOO glad to hear you rent! I was dreading that nightmare for you.

Unknown said...

SO glad you rent! But still...YUCK!!
Maybe the bug guy will be hot! Like Trace Adkins hot....

Shellie said...

Oh yuck! I"m so sorry! I hope the bug guy takes care of it all.