TERMITES EAT LIGHTHOUSE

TERMITES EAT LIGHTHOUSE

The Coast Guard nor Orkin neither one can tell how a wave of termites made it to the

Smith Point Lighthouse, off Sunnyland, Virginia, just a bit north of Reedsville, Virginia,

two and a half miles off shore in the Chesapeake Bay.

But they did and before being discovered had eaten a good bit of the third floor, the wall

s

and baseboards. At first it was thought dry rot was the culprit but an examination by Orkin

found the damage had been done by termites.

The Coast Guard and Orkin managed to defeat the termites on the first attempt.

How the termites got to the lighthouse, two and half mile out, remain a mystery. They

need water to survive but the Smith Point Lighthouse is in 17 feet of water, sits on a

concrete caisson sunk 40 feet in the bay bottom , 2-1/2 miles from shore, so tunneling

was out of the question. Orkin experts say the wind could have blown the wave out that far

but tend to believe they some how hitched a ride with Coast Guard deliveries of supplies.

Anyway, the sea going termites are gone now, knock on wood.

Abstract 08/16/18 by Harrison H., from the Cumberland News of Cumberland Maryland,

Tuesday 19 May, 1970 to www.iinni.blogspot.com