[Termite Management]

St. James-Santee Episcopal Church benefits from local pest management company donation.
 

Completed in 1768, the St. James-Santee Episcopal Brick Church has stood for more than 240 years, withstanding two wars and surviving the congregations of the past. What this historical South Carolina icon cannot withstand are termites, and for this reason, Henry Moore, owner of Moore’s Premium Termite and Pest Control, offered his services to ensure the Brick Church survives another several hundred years.

"It’s a small piece that remains of the area’s original settlers and represents what this area was back in South Carolina’s early days," Moore said.

Services are normally held in the Chapel of Ease, located in the old village of McClellanville, but each year one special service is held at Brick Church.

"We hold one service a year — always the Sunday after Easter," said Rick Kay, treasurer of the Brick Church Preservation and Restoration Committee. "It’s a very special time of year for us as we celebrate the history of this structure with our congregation and guests. After our service we host a picnic on the lawn. The flowers are in bloom, the weather is turning warmer and it’s a time for folks who haven’t seen each other in a while to catch up."

"Our efforts to protect this structure came when our caretaker, Ben Chapman, noticed some termite activity in the cottage he lives in onsite," Kay said. "Once we discovered this, we called Henry Moore right away. His company has been doing our pest control work at the Chapel of Ease for some time now so we knew we could count on his crew to help us protect Brick Church."

While the church’s primary building material is hand-made English brick, it’s the floor joists beneath the structure that are susceptible to termites. Moore donated product, Termidor termiticide/insecticide, and his company’s time to complete the treatment. One of the benefits to treating the church with Termidor is how it’s applied. Treating the perimeter of the church with a PerimeterPLUS treatment allowed Moore’s crew to apply product without drilling into the historic brick façade or disrupting the nearby graveyard and flower beds.

"Our efforts were 100 percent preventive as we don’t want to see such a historic landmark fall victim to termites," Moore said. "We were more than happy to donate our services to protect Brick Church from any termite infestation."

"Brick Church is still standing today because of companies like Henry’s," Kay said. "If we were unable to host our yearly service and picnic because we had no structure, we’d miss many of the monetary contributions that are made immediately following this once-a-year event. These local and nationwide donations are what keep this building standing. We are so thankful to those who donate to Brick Church, including our friend Henry Moore," Kay said.

Editor’s note: This case study was supplied by BASF Professional Pest Control Solutions (www.pestcontrol.basf.us).