Rats vs. Termites

A lovely spring hot spell we're having, with the termites buzzing and the rats chirping... Some of you may be noticing an uptick right now in pest activity. I certainly have noticed more rats scurrying from one ivy island to another while I'm out walking my dogs. As for the termites, well, I've been dreading the prospect of swarms caused by warm weather.

Termites are everywhere in Los Angeles. So are rats. And both are especially into hanging out in my garage and leaving their poops. I'll be dealing with rats later, but the Western Exterminator guy came out recently to spray termite foam in a few spots for me. While he worked, I peppered him with questions. Here's a few factoids I learned...

-Termite poops are tiny little brown spheres. They shove their poop out of "kick-out holes" leaving tiny little mounds underneath. So, "kick-out hole" = termite outhouse.
-Much like the Terminator, termites most definitely will be back. Exterminators recommend tenting your house at least once every ten years. That seems like a lot to me. But that was their recommendation. So, termites = sequels.
-Ants eat termites. Really?! Yes, ants eat termites. I suggested releasing ants into my garage as a solution, but the exterminator looked at me like I was crazy. So, ants = Australian cane toads.
-Termites have wood preferences. They'll eat anything if they have to, but there are certain woods they like better than others. So, termites = gourmands.
-Termites swarm when the weather gets really hot or if their colony is overcrowded. So, swarming termites = heat wave or suburban migration.
I hate termites. I especially hate that because of them, it cost me a lot of money for someone to come out, drill holes in my walls, and spray poisonous foam into the holes. And this probably won't be enough. I'll probably have to start pulling the walls off the garage to look for more infested wood and replace it. Uuuuugh. Personally, I'm still thinking about ants as a solution.
-J