Eek! Fumigated

We (my small cluster of townhouse condos) need to get fumigated for termites! Thank God my wine collection is in glass bottles and thus safe (all the food in paper or plastic has to be removed). They merely suggested turning the bottles on the side just in case.

Oh well. At least we are having a serious cool spell, which means having the air conditioner off for two days won't be a problem.

Termites are nasty little critters.

[James Roscoe]

Those bottles are toast. The fumigation will kill the wine. I don't know who you were talking to, but you need to get rid of that wine or store it some place safe. Just send it to Maryland, 3803 Poe Ct.

Don't trust him, Brian! He has also recently offered to "store" wine for another Forumite who will be traveling to the States in a few months. I am pretty sure that several bottles would be "broken in shipping"!

Seriously, Cynthia, will I have a problem?

Brian, I would of course take a damp cloth to the bottle before and after opening, but there is no danger from the stuff they are using to kill the little buggers off with. In fact this stuff should be put into the ground, and not sprayed into the air. so no problem. About the treatment, they should treat the perimeter of the house inside and out.

Brian, I'm not 100% sure, so maybe you should direct your question at Herr Professor Doktor Yaniger, our resident synthocorkologist, but corks do breathe and, at times, are not always completely sealed. In addition, there will be residue on the bottles. Being the worry wart that I am, I'd get my stash to less toxic pastures.

When I lived in married student housing at Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ, they'd spray for cockroaches every couple of months. Anything I couldn't get into an airtight bags was dumped. Even then I tossed anything that might absorb the gases, e.g. flour etc.

Addendum: Per Bob, are they spraying or squirting the stuff into the walls and foundations? You did say fumigate which to me means gas mask time.

They are tenting us. Meaning myself and my three dogs will be decamping for two days. I was told a couple of weeks ago that it would be ok, this was confirmed by a telephone call to the fumigator (and confirmed in the instructions sheet) but as the time approaches (7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning), I wonder. This would be a very bad evening, as I have about 150+ bottles that would need to be moved.


"Never prepared" is my life motto.

[James Roscoe]

I was just kidding. Although I do agree with the advice about cleaning the bottles. I am no expert though.

(Cynthia, I can't believe you called me out like that?!!!!!! I thought we were friends? Don't you want some "broken" bottles?)

They are tenting us. Meaning myself and my three dogs will be decamping for two days. I was told a couple of weeks ago that it would be ok, this was confirmed by a telephone call to the fumigator (and confirmed in the instructions sheet) but as the time approaches (7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning), I wonder. This would be a very bad evening, as I have about 150+ bottles that would need to be moved.


"Never prepared" is my life motto.

Any chance you could put them in cases and the cases into large plastic garbage bags?

I hoped such, James. Just some last minute jitters.

I hate pest control chemicals. To be honest, I would rather replace plants in my mini-garden than use pesticides. Ants, I tolerate in my kitchen, even .

Termites, though....gotta do it.

Any chance you could put them in cases and the cases into large plastic garbage bags?

I'm putting them in the closet. I might be able to at least cover them.

Are the bottles just on racks, in refrigeration unit, or what? Just to be absolutely on the safe side, without having to move 150 bottles out of condo, how about this compromise? If just on racks or in cases, I'd try to wrap them up. For loose/racked bottles, go to wine store and get cardboard cases. Put cases in plastic garbage bags, roll, tape securely. Is this absolutely airtight? No, but would ensure much lessened contact with the cork.

Gary's quicker than I am!!!

Gary, I have never heard of fumigating for termites. Termites are ground dwellers, except when they swarm to form a new colony. At that time they do grow wings and look like flying ants without the pinched waist. When they swarm, there should be lots and lots of them in one location, but fumigating should not be the method of killing them. a normal can of bug spray should do the trick. At least it did for me some years ago when I had a swarm.

I have often seen houses tented for termites in the deep South. Yes they are ground-dwellers, but when they move upwards into the wood of a house or other building, then simply treating the ground and not the structure is inadequate to kill the infestation.

Gary, I have never heard of fumigating for termites. Termites are ground dwellers, except when they swarm to form a new colony. At that time they do grow wings and look like flying ants without the pinched waist. When they swarm, there should be lots and lots of them in one location, but fumigating should not be the method of killing them. a normal can of bug spray should do the trick. At least it did for me some years ago when I had a swarm.

Beats the heck out of me. I'm just going with what Brian is saying. He indicates that they are tenting and fumigating. Now, there were folks here who offered to do the same for me. Maybe it's a California thing (scam)?

Robert, treating the perimeter lays down a barrier that the termite has to travel through to return to the colony. The Termite has no defense against dessication and therefore can not stay away from the colony where there is sufficient moisture to let it live. They come and go from the soil into the house to feed and return. when they pass through the barrier and carry it back to the colony they die and kill others too. Or so I am under the impression of.

I'm just sayin' that I have seen quite a few tented homes in my years in Georgia and Florida, and they don't tent for the massive roaches!

Not disputing you Robert, but wonder why they do it that way. Maybe southern termites are different than Ky termites.

I think they are just more prolific down South.

I think they are just more prolific down South.

Termites, poisonous snakes and cockroaches don't live around here.

[Jenise]

Gary, I have never heard of fumigating for termites. Termites are ground dwellers, except when they swarm to form a new colony. At that time they do grow wings and look like flying ants without the pinched waist. When they swarm, there should be lots and lots of them in one location, but fumigating should not be the method of killing them. a normal can of bug spray should do the trick. At least it did for me some years ago when I had a swarm.

There's more than one type of termite, Bob. From what I understand, one is the subterranean type you refer to, another is airborne and looks for decaying wood to live in. California is heavily affected with the latter and in areas that don't get winter freezes which is much of California, termite fumigation is routine preventative maintenance. In So Cal beach areas like where I used to live, nearly every time a home is sold it's fumigated before being turned over to the new owner.

HPD Yaniger isn't around right now, but I do recall that he said once that a sound cork has one headspace's worth of gas exchange per decade. Let's make an estimate, shall we?

5mL headspace / 3650 days = 1.4 microliters of gas exchange per day. Even if the bottles were swimming in lethal poison the amount would be almost undetectable. Of course, the concentration of the insecticide is probably on the order of 1%, so you're really getting into the nanoliters in terms of actual exposure. You're almost certainly getting more than that from leftover vapor in the house, or pesticides on produce, or any of a number of other sources. Maybe if you had a severely leaking bottle, you might be concerned, but in practice there are so many other sources of poison that are more likely.

Walt

5mL headspace / 3650 days = 1.4 microliters of gas exchange per day. Even if the bottles were swimming in lethal poison the amount would be almost undetectable. Of course, the concentration of the insecticide is probably on the order of 1%, so you're really getting into the nanoliters in terms of actual exposure.

Good post. Only believers in homeopathy need fear (but then they would think it cured poisoning, right?). But of course we all know some corks are less sound. For my peace of mind I'd do the plastic garbage bag method, its virtually no effort if you're moving bottles anyway.