Termites can be a real problem in the southern and western states. According to Choice Pest Management, “They live in huge colonies, and they predominately survive by eating wood. These insects can get into the foundation and structure of your home and cause extensive damage in just a short time. If you see swarming termites or notice the telltale signs of mud tubes around your home, you may be interested in effective termite treatments.”
Liquid Termiticides
Termiticides can be used to treat termite infestations by two methods. It comes in a repellent liquid or a non-repellent liquid. Both types of liquids are applied by drilling holes in the foundation, crawl spaces and structure in addition trenching the soil around your home’s foundation.
As the name suggests, repellent termiticides repel or force termites to leave your home. It is one of the less costly treatments and can be very effective for five years. Protection is immediate. However, on the downside, termites are only repelled and may return after finding gaps in untreated areas.
Non-repellent termiticide isn’t designed to repel termites. Instead, termites are exposed to toxins that stick to their bodies as they forage for food. The infected termite survives to go back to the colony nest where it exposes more termites to the toxins and they all die. This type of termiticide also lasts for an average of five years, but it does cost more. However, it’s a more effective termite treatment because it kills the termites.
Both types of termiticides are long lasting and do a reasonably good job of getting rid of termites. However, some care should be used to prevent contamination to wells, water or cisterns.
Bait Systems
Bait systems use toxicants to eliminate termites living in soil near your home. Essentially, plastic stations containing wood are inserted in the soil around your home or structure. These are checked monthly for signs of termite activity. When termites are spotted, toxic bait is placed into the stations. The termites eat this slow acting toxicant and go back to the colony to feed other workers.
On the upside, bait systems can be effective at killing a large number of termites. Typically, most baits do not present a risk to pets or people. However, it’s a continual process, requires a great deal of labor and is an expensive treatment.
Borates
Borates are pesticides, which can be inserted into holes drilled into the wood of a structure. However, this has a limited effect. The most successful method is to treat all the lumber used when building a new home while it’s still in the framing stages.
Liquid termiticide treatments work well and are fairly economical. Bait systems can also be effective, but take longer to produce results, and borates work best for homes still under construction.
