YORBA LINDA, CALIF. — It’s well-documented that our nation’s 37th
President, Richard Nixon, was a fastidious record-keeper. In fact, it
can be argued that Nixon’s propensity to record conversations was
instrumental in his demise (think Watergate). If Nixon were alive
today he probably would enjoy the collection of documents and
memorabilia on display at both his birthplace home in Yorba Linda,
Calif., and the adjacent Presidential Library on the same site. While
the Library is a relatively new building and thus well preserved, the
same can not be said for the home, which was built by Nixon’s father,
Frank Nixon, in 1912. It was facing a serious threat: termites.
After Mike Marquez, president of Pest Solutions, South Gate, Calif., discovered drywood termite fecal pellets in the attic, subcontractor Mega Fume,
Orange, Calif., was brought in to fumigate the historic site using
Vikane gas fumigant. A team of four licensed professionals from Mega
Fume, led by president Dave Wadleigh, performed the work March 30-31.
Wadleigh said that the home sits on the original site because Nixon
did not want to have it turned since it was built by his father, so it
actually faces away from the library. Also, the Mega Fume team had to
park about 200 feet away, so getting equipment there was a challenge.
The Mega Fume team had to shoot (the fumigant) from about 150 feet
away. “Since everything is so old, we did not want to have a fog out,
and being so far away it eliminated that concern. The extra long lines
were used to slow down the gases that shoot in. That minimized any
chance out of a fog out. It’s always a little tense working in a
structure with items that can’t be replaced.”
Additionally, Wadleigh said security was tight and that Secret Service agents observed them during the entire fumigation.
Wadleigh said the structure was about 16,000 cubic feet (with the
home being about 1,200 square feet) and the Mega Fume team shot 10
pounds of gas. He was impressed by the overall structure, which has
been renovated throughout the years. “The main timbers are made from
Redwood trees and that is something you will see with older homes in
this area. Probably one of the reasons why the damage was minimal was
because the Redwoods do sort of resist termites, but eventually the
enzymes in the Redwoods will break down and the termites will infest
it.”
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| Mike Marquez (left), president of Pest Solutions, South Gate, Calif., and Dave Wadleigh (right) in front of the historic Nixon birthplace home, which Mega Fume fumigated in late March. |
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