It was 2010 when Tammy Rutherford first discovered termites in the Fergus home she had owned for 12 years.
“I had a stack of books in the windowsill and I picked up the stack and termites had not only come through the wood, they started to devour the bottom of the book,” Rutherford said. “That was my introduction to termites.”
The discovery led to five full and several spot treatments over a decade as the problem keeps returning.
“I’ve spent nearly $18,000 on treatments alone since 2010 and that doesn’t include repairs,” Rutherford said, adding repairs depend on the extent of infestation. In one case for her, this meant replacing a door frame, the door itself and the wood trim.
Rutherford has moved from this property, stressing she made sure realtors were informed of the property’s history of termites and location in an identified termite zone.
Although no longer dealing with them at home, Rutherford still thinks about termites a lot.
Her experience inspired her to spread awareness of the problem by creating the CW Termites Facebook and Instagram pages to connect to stand as a united voice in advocating for the township to address this problem.
She has found she is far from the only one in Centre Wellington who has faced the frustrating battle of dealing with termites time and time again.
A recent report by entomologist Timothy Myles found termite activity was worse than anticipated in Centre Wellington.
His survey of historic termite zones found 150 homes with up to 500 at risk due to their proximity to confirmed properties.
Rutherford said she thinks this still may be understated as inspections were very brief. She noted when her old house was inspected, it was labelled as at-risk but not active.
Abigale Miller’s property was one that was labelled as having confirmed activity.
Miller bought a house in Fergus in 2018 aware that there was a history of termites at the property but was under the impression it is a manageable issue.
“You can treat it and then they go away and then you just keep an eye out for them and they might come back but you just do a treatment again,” Miller said. “Our experience has been that they don’t really stay away.”
Miller said they have had three treatments: one soon after moving in, another spot treatment months later and a few weeks after that. But the treatment is beginning to feel futile as they just keep coming back.
“It seems like continuing to do these really expensive treatments every year basically is pointless,” Miller said.
Miller is incurring high expenses from these treatments, with a recent recommendation was to do chemical treatment through the floor of her basement which would mean having to lift up the whole subfloor.
Pat Ellis, who lives on the south side of the Grand River in Elora, has also had a lot of experience dealing with termites.
After a home on her street had to be torn down due to an extensive infestation, Ellis had her home inspected and found termites in the cedar chips surrounding her house and in her garage. A future inspection found them in her roof.
Treatment, repairs and stump removals begin to add up for her and other seniors who live on fixed incomes. Ellis said she has been unable to go on holidays or do other renovations as her money gets tied up in regular inspections and treatment.
“You’ve got nothing to show for it except that you know in the ground your house has liquid surrounding it and protecting it,” Ellis said.
All three said they believe council and the township are taking this seriously based on the reaction to the extent of the problem at the meeting but new challenges are developing.
Council had approved a budget for engaging Myles’ services at $60,000 per year but the entomologist noted this would likely need to be increased to $200,000 per year over five years.
Myles’ area-wide treatment method has proven successful previously in Guelph but he told council at a May meeting that he didn’t think he could take on this project alongside his work in Guelph and Elmira.
CAO Andrew Goldie said in an email Centre Wellington staff are currently investigating other options and experts but will be reporting back to council later this year.
Rutherford said she is hopeful the township will overcome the challenge of finding an expert as the treatment she and others have gone through seem to just be temporary solutions.
“I don’t want anyone to be afraid, I just want people to be aware that it is a serious issue,” Rutherford said. “The longer it’s left untreated the worse it’s going to get.”
