Termite control methods

Termites are the order of phytophagous insects. Although they look like ants and usually considered to be white ants by most people, they actually resemble cockroaches by their organisms.

These insects can be a real danger for people’s property and even lives. They usually destroy trees and wooden constructions as their main food is cellulose.

And if they have appeared at your place, it would be a real problem to get rid of them. In this article we are going to analyse some effective methods of termite control.

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• How to discover termites?
• How to fight termites?
• Principal methods of extermination
• How to choose the right method?
• Useful articles
• Effective fight against termites

How to discover termites?

When a person runs into termites, there will be definitely a fight.

However, it can be very difficult to find out them because they usually gnaw through the inside of wooden items and leave the outside untouched.

Advice: when you are looking for termite nests, pay special attention to wooden furniture, tools, books, windowsills, windows, banisters and adornment plants.

Here are some ways to find termites in your property:

1. Examine closely wooden things: small round holes can be a sign of termites living there.
2. You can find some piles of sawdust under wooden items.
3. Also there can be red, brown or black hills of termite excrements.
4. Try to tap slightly with a handle of a screwdriver at wooden furniture. If you hear a hollow sound, perhaps these awful insects have already built there a living place.
5. If you have a thermal imager, you can use it to identify termites.
6. Inspect the ground around your house. Termites always live in the soil and go inside houses to eat wooden things. Maybe you will find some tunnels in the ground.
7. Check if there are some damages of the foundation of your house, especially under the front door. If there are no obvious damages, try to tap as in the fourth step.

Attention: Termites cannot bear being in the light. That is why when you are seeking them, give your preference to darkened places at your house and look at them more closely.

Here you can learn more information about effective termite control remedies: Bora-Care, Boric acid, Borate, Fipronil, Chlorpyrifos, Chlordane, Borax, Timbor, Termidor, Terminator, Phantom, Lorsban, Biflex, Terro. You can choose different forms, such as – foam, liquid, powder.

How to fight termites?

In case of discovering termites in your property, it is better to address specialists to help you.

However, at first you can try some methods yourself. Doing this, you should initially define what kind of termites infested your place. There are two main types of these insects that are widespread enough in a lot of countries.

The first type is subterranean termites. As a rule, they exist in warm climate. They usually live in the ground and in wooden constructions as well.

Moreover, they can live in the stacks of firewood or in dunghills. Termites of this type do more harm to houses and they can be hardly exterminated.

The second type is arboreal termites that live only in wooden furniture. They are more widespread and you can see them almost in any place in the world.

When you define the type of termites, you can choose a method of extermination that seems more suitable for you.

Here you can learn more information about termite bait systems: Advance, Green, CSIRO, Nemesis, Exterra, Firstline, Terminate. Also find out how to make baits by yourself and how to refill them?

Principal methods of extermination

There are a lot of ways of fighting against these harmful insects. Let’s look at the most common methods.

Preconstruction. This method is used at the beginning of building a house to prevent termite invasions in the future.

For doing this, you can choose a termite-resistant wood that is impregnated by some chemicals that are deterrent insects. Also you can use a resinous kind of wood that is naturally protected from termites.

This way can protect your house from the beginning, but the effect will decline with time.

Bait system. One of the most popular methods of using baits is called a “cardboard trap”. To make this trap, take two sheets of cardboard, moisten them and put together one on the other.

Then lay it near the termite nest and wait for the insects to fill it. When it is full, just burn it out, do another cardboard trap and repeat the manipulations.

The main advantage of this method is that it is absolutely free and effective, and it does not need a lot of time. Although it cannot bring you a complete victory because insects can appear again.

You can also get rid of the terrible insects naturally. This method uses nematodes (worms-parasites that destroy other insects) that penetrate into the body of a termite and destroy it from the inside.

This method is relatively cheap (about eighteen dollars for a pack) and affordable (you can buy worms in the near garden shop). Although there is a possibility that nematodes would die without damaging termites.

Termite tenting is also called termite fumigation. Chemicals are really effective in the fight against any insects. You can find a lot of them in the near supermarket. Although you should remember that they are very poisonous.

That is why you should remove your and your pet’s food, house plants and other absorbing things from your house before doing fumigation.

Localized treatment is used in the spots infected by termites. It consists of applying aerosols, liquids and dust insecticides to get rid of termites. There are a lot of chemical and non-chemical treatments available.

Although this method also has to be performed by a professional. But it should be mentioned that the percentage of the effectiveness is very low – about thirteen from a hundred.

The method of drilling implies the process of insertion chemical substances (termiticides) into the small holes made by termites. It is used when the damaged surface is not so big to do a full fumigation.

Usually this way is applied to basement constructions when small holes are drilled into the basement floor and a specialist injects chemicals into a soil through them in order to prevent a termite invasion.

Microwave treatment is also a very effective method. You can heat your house with microwaves to a very high temperature that will kill insects.

However, this kind of treatment should be done by a specialist because the necessary equipment is not sold in shops. It is better to call several specialists to get to know whether this way suits you or not.

How to choose the right method?

Firstly, before choosing a way of extermination, ask yourself a number of questions to make the situation clearer.

1. To what extent is your house already damaged?
2. Can you recognize termites and distinguish them from other insects like ants or cockroaches?
3. Is it time to address a specialist or you can do it yourself?

After answering all these questions, decide what amount of money you can spend on the extermination. If you have decided to get rid of insects yourself, we recommend trying using the material available like cardboard. If you are not disgusted and the termites live outside your house (at your yard, for example), you can treat termites with nematodes.

Then, if the problem is not solved, you can buy some localized treatments. And only after that, when all the possible variants do not help, we recommend you to fumigate the whole house.

Here you can learn more information about effective treatment method called tenting (fumigation): dangers for termites, preparing for fumigation and cleaning after, how long does this procedure last?

Useful articles

If you interested in more information of termites we recommend you to read the following articles:

• All types of termites. Are they harmful to humans? Can they bite you? And what is the difference between drywood and subterranean ones?
• What does swarmers of different species look like: drywood, subterranean, formosan?
• Signs of infestation outside and in the house: in walls or furniture.
• How to treat them at home and in the yard: in wood or in fence. How long this process lasts and what is pre-construction and soil treatment?
• What does termite holes look like? What is droppings and is it toxic to humans? Do termites make noises?
• Posible termite damage, how does it look like? Examples of damage in walls and wood floors.
• All about flying termites: how do they look like, swarming season and what to do if there are swarmers in your house?
• How do they do nests and mounds? How to find it in your garden or inside the house?
• Termite life cycle – from egg to larvae. And social hierarchy: workers, soldiers, queen.
• Did you know that termites can infest living trees, for example a palm or a pine tree. They also like to live in stumps.
• You can prevent the infestation by using barriers, such as: HomeGuard, Physical systems, Safeguard, Stainless steel mesh, Kordon.
• If you want to get rid of termites naturally, learn more about such methods as: heat or cold treatment, orange oil, using nematodes.

Effective fight against termites

All in all, you should approach the problem of treating termites with a great responsibility. Firstly, it is because you would not be able to get rid of them if you do not do your best.

Secondly, your house is definitely one of the most precious things that you possess and it will be a pity for you to lose it because of some small insects. Try different methods, combine them and you will certainly succeed.