Termites

It wasn't exactly the greatest show on Earth, but on Friday the big top came to Cal State Northridge. No sideshow or circus, it was actually a series of fumigation tents erected around the 19-year-old University Student Union in preparation for a chemical warfare assault on termites that have been nibbling on the roof.

Question: What steps should be taken during construction of our 800-square-foot wood-frame room addition to provide long-term termite protection? Also, what sort of precautions should be taken to make sure that the floor doesn't squeak after a few years--other than building on a slab? Answer: Being concerned about termites is a good idea in California, where termite infestation is a constant concern (along with earthquakes, fires and high tides--for some beach folks!

Question: My neighbors and I have termite problems in our homes, and after talking with termite companies, we're leaning toward having non-chemical eradication done. What are the pros and cons of the various non-chemical extermination methods? J. C. Huntington Beach Answer: "Unfortunately, there are no governmental agencies overseeing non-chemical methods of structural pest control," says Maureen Sharp of the California Structural Pest Control Board.

We are no longer tenting tonight. We are back in the house after having been away two days and one night while the termite crew draped a large orange-and-black tent over the house and about 2 feet of ground around it. We used to have a mint bed large enough to supply all the juleps served at Churchill Downs on Derby Day. Now we have just enough for one abstainer who might want a very small sprig of mint in his iced tea.

Dennis and Annie Reed's house, set among tall oak trees in a part of Glendale called Chevy Chase Canyon, floats almost 35 feet above a running stream. But what's most noteworthy about the 1,500-square-foot residence isn't what flows below but what rises above: The structure is supported by 10 ponderosa pine poles, a kit of parts based on a Japanese building technique from the 16th century. At a time when interest in contemporary prefab and kit housing continues to grow, the Reeds' 1979 home stands as an intriguing precursor.

By the time Jim Haddad inherited his family's Pasadena property in the mid-1980s, the garden was in a state of neglect. His parents had stopped maintenance on the nearly 2-acre Japanese-style garden a decade earlier, when Caltrans acquired about a third of an acre by eminent domain for extension of the 710 Freeway. Plants had died. The pond had gone dry. Garden ornaments had been sold or stolen. The teahouse, overgrown with moss and weeds, had burned to the ground. PHOTOS: Historic Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden revived in Pasadena "Every real estate agent around wanted to sell off the lot in parts.

TEN days, one wallaby, no kangaroos. My fantasy -- adorable 'roos galumphing around every bush in the Outback -- was just that. Camels -- wild ones, at that -- were another matter. About 60,000 of the feral beasts roam the Outback that unfolded outside the picture window of my train compartment. I had come to Australia to ride the Ghan, the legendary train that bisects the country, traveling from Adelaide in the south to Darwin in the north.

Under emergency rules imposed by the state Environmental Protection Agency, California homeowners will pay more to have their houses fumigated for termites and will have to stay out longer after the treatment to avoid potentially harmful levels of toxic gas. The new rules were imposed last month, after two studies showed that both types of gas used in California's 150,000 annual fumigations for drywood termites remain in structures longer than previously believed.

QUESTION: I have been living in a West Los Angeles apartment for the last 20 years. About 10 years ago, termites suddenly appeared in my dining area near the terrace door. I informed the manager and he called an exterminator, who sprayed the area. The next year termites invaded my bedroom. Again, the exterminator came out and sprayed the area. At my insistence he went a step further and drilled some holes, which he filled with some kind of pest control substance.

A colony of Formosan termites has been discovered at a La Mesa home, the first major infestation of the feared "super termite" in California. "It's here," said Dr. Michael Rust, a professor of entomology at UC Riverside. "Now the question is: How extensive is it? and is it able to find other micro-niches in the environment? I think it's too early to pass it off." The colony of highly aggressive termites was discovered by a professional exterminator.