Termite Attack!

One day, I was looking around the backyard when I noticed what looked like veins of mud sticking to the side walls of the house. It seems to be originating from the outer ceiling of the house (which is apparently called a soffit - thanks, Google). What made it more worrying is that it seems to have spread to the spare bedroom, which I'm currently using as a stockroom. This is not the first time we have been attacked by termites. I can still remember a particularly devastating infestation about 5 years ago, when the termites almost ruined everything in that room. The shelves, the cabinets, and even part of the door sustained some damage. I still mourn the loss of a lot of books and photo albums eaten by the hungry pests.

Mud tunnels made by termite activity on our exterior house wall.

We have gotten so used to having occasional termite attacks that we have a termite guy on call. I immediately messaged him to inspect the signs of termite activity. He has removed queen termites from mounds before. I am amazed at how adept he is at locating the queen. For one thing, the queen is typically much larger than the rest of the termites and can't really scurry away because of her size. There are also clues on where she is. She is almost always holed up in a central chamber made up of clay, with an inner void with a flat floor and a domed ceiling. It is interesting to note that he offers this service (termite mound demolition) for an extra fee. I think it's quite bold since most people in the Philippines would not dare touch these mounds due to deeply ingrained superstition. There is a belief that these mounds are inhabited by a form of guardian spirit called a "nuno sa punso," which roughly translates to "ancestral being (nuno) inhabiting a mound (punso)". In a lot of rural areas, it is even believed that pointing randomly is a bad practice since you can inadvertently point at one of those mounds. This is said to be more than enough to incur the wrath of these entities, which in turn can make you sick with some mysterious disease or cause bad luck.

Part of the dismantled mound. This was from a previous infestation in 2024. 

The queen termite in the queen's chamber. This was from a previous infestation in 2024.

The pest control guy made his home visit, inspected the mud trails caused by the termites, and squirted some white powder in a squeeze bottle on the trails. I think this is boric acid powder. He explained that the trails looked old and there was no active termite activity in those mud tunnels.

I have a sneaky feeling, though, that this method of termite infestation prevention is half-baked. He used to spray the grounds along the perimeter of the property, but he hasn't done that for a long time. I can't help but think that it is not in his best interest to fully get rid of the termites on the ground and just does the minimal action necessary to keep them away from the house, ensuring it remains a recurring problem and keeping his services in demand.