I know exactly what you are talking about, Frillylily, with the house being too low (same here. } I think you have a good plan now.
Yes, you HAVE to keep the water away from the house and keep the wood dry. They can only eat in a certain moisture range. (Which is why you can go to the national parks and still see log cabins from almost 200 years ago. ?)
(We removed big shrubs around the house. We dug out and laid one row of the 8 by 16? pavers, then stood up an edge of the same pavers. We used termite bait system for bunch of years, but have not kept it up. I dug out the flower bed that was too high, and made a way for gutter overflow to drain under it better. We worked on drainage all around the house for years. We haven't had any more major problems- but I think your location is worse than mine, warmer.).
