termites near my house

I have an area in my yard that for the life of me, no grass will grow. I raked it up today and put see down. When I came out tonight I noticed about 100 termites flying and crawling out of the ground in that area. Although it is away from the house, is this something I should be worried about? I had it inspected a year ago and have checked throughout the house with no sign of termites. I did notice though that in this area that they are, there is part of an exposed tree root. Any feedback would be appreciated. Also if anyone has any suggestions of what I can do without calling a exterm to get rid of them

 

Hi!...and yikes! Glad there are no signs of termites in your house! That's always the good thing

Thought this previous thread might help you:

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=271981&highlight=termites+house

This article too:

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/keeptermitesout

 

A termite swarm may be indicative of termites in the home. A call to the exterminator to inspect the home may be well worth it to protect your investment. Regular inspections are recommended. Collect samples for the exterminator for identification of the type of termite. The swarmers could also be ants.

 

A termite swarm means only that there are termites in the area, not necessarily in your home.

Termites are random foragers the nest attacking the stump could be coming from under the neighbor's house or even from under yours.

When was your home built?
What and when was the last termite treatment that you has on the home?

If you get an inspection call at least three companies and make it known that you are shopping, and do it in the winter.
Swarm season is no time to be shopping for termite service.

There is so much potential work that the salesman/inspector will not have to deal with you.
Also remember that the sales that he makes in October pays for Christmas and the November sales pays off the credit cards from Christmas

Go with price and guarantee
A retreat guarantee is worthless make sure it is a repair guarantee.

One good form of self inspection is to drive white pine stakes in the ground around your house

Drive them in about every ten feet or so and below the level of the foundation close to the house, up against it if possible
Once a month pull the stake up and inspect it.
If you find termites attacking the wood that is the time to get treatment.
That is the whole premise of the Sentricon system


Didn't even think about ants
Examine the insects if they have a pinch waist (three segmented body) they are ants.Termites wings will be iridescent and look like kinda like a rainbow