g'day kathy,

tenting? are they are a specific termite? usually for normal termites they create barriers around the house. tenting sounds like decades ago when they pumped a fog into the house, then as i recall there was a strong odour of the chemical when they lifted the tent.

maybe ask them about that but it should not dramatically affect you i would think.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

Len - No idea!! My neighbor is one of those who is NOT on good terms with most of the neighbors, hence my surprise to day when I saw the tent going up! I believe they do release a gas - Methyl Bromide, I think - in the house. They leave it in the house, and according to the guy I spoke with, they "get a hose and pull it back out". When they did my friends' house, it was tented for 2 days. Then all windows open, and fans going which aired out the house. That is my issue - how toxic is that gas when diluted with air? My plants are within 4 feet of her house, and our windows about 8 ft away. Scary!!

Tenting a structure to aid in retaining the fumigant is alleged to be the only way to eliminate the Dry wood Termites and a couple very toxic gases are used to do this. However these very toxic gases dissipate into the atmosphere fairly quickly and appear, according to what I have seen over the years, to adversly affect the landscape for only a few feet near the building fumigated.
Possibly you may need to erect impervious barriers between that house and your landscape, plastic sheeting.

g'day kathy,

for me i would think they can't pump it all out, and your neighbours might be careful not to close all windows while they are in the house for quiet sometime after fumigation. if as kim says the termites are already infested the house then your neighbour might need to carry out repairs? my guess is they are going overboard a bit, there are lots of homes out there protected by a simple chemical barrier in the ground or on cement slab where it can be noted if termites try to enter (in our case) then no chemicals at all required.

for you hope the wind blows in another direction the day they left the tent, though it may not do much against you the smell might be bad enough.

when we have needed to we tend to look for pest control blokes who exercise common sense not the ones that run around in fancy painted vehicles, wearing eco' green/khaki clothes sprouting big talk.

len

It depends on how snug or tight the tenting is - my sister just had a rental property in SoCal tented for termites and a lot of the foundation plantings were destroyed because the tent was either loose or actually covered the plants. Plants at a distance were unaffected.

This is such a common practice throughout the southwest or where dry wood termites are common that if neighboring properties had issues with the treatments it would be grounds for some serious lawsuits. kimmsr is correct - these are very toxic chemicals used and the potential liability is significant.