Termites at several places in the fascia board

Q: I live in Southern California where the fires are. Last week while having the fascia board and under-eaves painted, I discovered there are termites at several places in the fascia board and in the rafters. I had 2 different POCs inspect the house and they both concluded that the house has termite problem.

The 1st one suggests Fumigation ($1600), but didn’t find any thing wrong in the attic or crawl space, though he said there are sign of dead termites (last fumigation was on 1996).

The 2nd PCO suggests patching the fascia boards and treatment under 1 bathroom and a wall in the house for $1200; when I asked how much it costs for Fumigation, the answer was $1500 flat. The damage is not that bad since the structure is still sound. I decided to have the house fumigated, but have 2 questions on what to do:

(1) Should I patch the damage in fascia board and under-eaves BEFORE or AFTER the fumigation? The painter told me it’s better to patch all the damage AFTER the fumigation so that some of the poison can seep better into the woods, and he will paint the house about 1 week later. He already put a water-based prime-coat in it, except for the damage area. After the fumigation he will patch all the holes, prime these damage holes, then apply the finished coat (using Behr’s nanoguard paint).

(2) To patch these damage holes, I found 2 products:

A – Use Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty which is easy to apply and would last for a long time (as Durham’s claim it would be).

B – A person works at Home Depot and an exterminator (a retired PCO who fumigated my house in ’96) suggest using Epoxy, which requires mixing, and applying it over the damage area. They said this to prevent termite re-infestation after the fumigation because somehow Termites won’t like the taste of Epoxy if they ever try to get in the boards and under-eaves again, but unfortunately, they don’t remember the brand name of the epoxy they used a long time ago.

Thus, WHICH ONE SHOULD I USE?

For now, I bought the Terminate from Lowe’s and am trying to spray the liquid (not much foam as the label claimed, but only bubbles) into the damaged area. It’s extremely difficult, since all the liquid just spills to the floor (and my wife complains that she can’t stand the smell).

A: I would suggest you follow the advice of the company doing the fumigation. They should be the experts on the procedure / treating termites. It is my understanding that in treating termite problems a chemical is applied around and into the foundation of the building, preventing the termites from getting outside to the nest. Hence they die.