Change the Battle Plan!

  The "War on Termites" still rages at the Little Bayou House as it does at most homes on the Gulf Coast.  The critters invaded the area after Hurricane Katrina piled huge mounds of debris over the land and left them a regular smorgasbord of delights.  The effort to get back to normal took longer than expected and the piles of exposed lumber were an open invitation.  After the termites munched their way through the piles (and multiplied exponentially over the years), it was only natural that they would seek out other food sources.  Those just happened to be houses.  Reputable exterminators were hard to come by for several years after the storm so most folks took to doing it themselves.  Now, no exterminator will touch the places and no insurance covers the damage.  Most folks are just out of luck when it comes to fighting this war.  We have learned through experience not to expect any help.  It ain't happenin'.  So we do it ourselves.

  Last week, I found that termites had invaded the bookshelves that flank the fireplace in the dining room.  These shelves held hundreds of volumes of antique books.  The bugs had even infiltrated the books!  Well, there was nothing to do but clear the shelves and rip them out from the walls.  We did just that....all the way to the ground.  After another round of termite spray (which I think sometimes does not help), we started to rebuild.  Now the job is complete and I am sorting books to refill the new shelves.

  One small oddity popped up during this whole ordeal.  I found the termites quite by accident.  In an effort to help my brother, I needed a certain book on the shelf.  Knowing the general proximity of the book, I reached up and pulled six small volumes from the shelf.  Ugh!  What a disgusting thing to find termites in your books!  These six infested books were near the center of the shelf.  While ripping out the shelves, Son determined that the termites had started near the fireplace, tunneled up the wall and then made their way to the books.  The unusual thing was that the first four books against the affected wall were not harmed.  Not one termite chewed the pages.  The four books were skipped then the termites found and started munching the next few volumes.  The first four books in question?  Four bibles.  Now go figure!  That was a bit unusual!  What made it comical was when I told my oldest son of the incident, he laughed a bit and told me to tell his brother who was rebuilding the shelves to "throw out the termite spray. He needs to start using Holy Water!"  Maybe he has a point.  Holy Water and lots of prayers!  Perhaps that is what is needed to fight these little demons!