Termites?

September 11, 2015 at 03:27 PM · Termites (like ants) live in colonies. They consume wood that is suited to their biology (ex. some like drier woods, some like wetter woods). You would need to know what species of termites are in your apartment.

You are unlikely to transfer termites to your new place that would do damage...you would have to take along a mated queen...and that just won't happen. If you packed up a lone termite...just like if you packed up a lone ant...it would no longer have a colony to return to. And one lost, distraught, termite won't do any damage...

Regardless...termites are unlikely to seek out your violin if it stored away from the heart of the colony and is regularly used and looked after.

You shouldn't need a luthier at all.

Keep your violins off the floor as an added safeguard. Store them in a light airy place (not in the back of a dank, dark closet for example).

September 12, 2015 at 10:36 AM · I've been told that termites don't attack violins in service as they don't like the vibrations.

September 12, 2015 at 01:59 PM · Termites are everywhere, especially in the warmer climates. (see http://www.termiteswichitaks.com/images/Termite-Pressure-Map.gif)

Usually they arrive from the outside, and eat their way in, very slowly over a period of years.

I make violins, have a dozen or so hanging about in the open, and have a large stash of bare wood. Our house has several areas of termite activity; not a lot, since it is only 10 years old, but they are there. I am not worried about my good wood, and I wouldn't worry about violins, especially if kept in a case most of the time, and taken out and played occasionally. If I was going to store a violin in an attic for a few decades, that might be asking for trouble.

September 13, 2015 at 12:29 PM · This is funny that you are so afraid they would reach to your violin. In my house i never saw any termite but suddenly discovered one day in rainy season, checking it out after a month, there were about 20-30 or more mites on the fingerboard and tailpeace.

yes it takes just few days for mites to come and start attacking your violin not decades. After that even after i started playing it, they were coming on it again and again in small quantity. I had to keep it in open to give it some dryness and air; but again, I kept finding couple of them on the fingerboard (ebony) . There is no cure for it except you spray anti-termite in your violin and case. I did not buy that spray that time and still havent used it. I started keeping the violin in sunlight at about 9-10am time to give it dryness, but actually nothing helps. They were gone automatically as the season ended. Now this year i am living in another city. and when I stopped playing it for just few days in this rainy season i again found 1-2 termites. I will go back and spray that pesticide spray on it, hoping that it doesnt cause me harm. I wonder what the hell they want from ebony! Thankfully there isnt any visible damage that i can see so far.

my violin is a cheap one and perhaps there are some bad about it that it attracts termites. But i cant think of anything since other violins dont have varnish or paint on the ebony to protect it as far as i know.

September 13, 2015 at 02:31 PM · Where do you live? And are your talking about mites or termites?

Two totally different animals...

September 22, 2015 at 11:04 AM · N. A

are you referring to me? you should specify. I am talking about termites only. I thought "mites" was nickname of termites, my mistake. I have termites, i live in india, where we dont have homes of wood but they even destroy cemented foundation sometimes. I think we should not undermine their existence anywhere. I have no idea why they love ebony. Perhaps so much moisture attracts them.

September 22, 2015 at 03:37 PM · I'm sure there are many species of termites - but in my experience, here in the USA, they are usually distinguished as "sub-terranian" and the "others." People often first discover their termite invasion by the sawdust-like debris they leave around their eating sites. Often they start by eating the paper on sheetrock wallboard (unless your house has real old-fashioned plaster walls.

The sub-terranian termites live in the ground and feast on your wood, building little tunnels upward from the ground to the closest wood of the house. The "others" live in the house itself.

The subterranian termites are eliminated by injecting poisons into the ground around the affect area (often around the entire house). This treatment process does not affect your continued residence in the house. The subterranian termites try to avoid light, and thus are usually detected by their debris.

Treatment of the other kinds of termites involves "tenting" - covering the entire structure with an air-tight enclosure and releasing a poisonous gas to kill the termites. I think the tent is kept on for a week or so. If any of you watched the TV series "Breaking Bad," they used "tenting."

If you have subterranean termites, I think it should not be difficult to protect your instruments. But you should find out what variety infests your home - and if it is only a single variety.

Andy