Termite Control & Elimination Systems

Termite Control & Elimination Systems

Nothing strikes fear into homeowners like the word termites. Why? Because most people have visions of their house being devoured before their eyes. They see walls crashing down and total destruction. It usually is never that bad. However, if not detected early, termites can easily cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to a house. It takes a lot of time to replace floor joists, wall studs, and wood siding that has been munched on for years.

The fear is also based upon the fact that termites work silently and with great stealth. They know how to disguise their activity and to stay hidden within the wood framework. They loathe daylight just like vampires. Because of this, they travel to and from their nests in mud tunnels or within the wood itself. This makes it tough for us to see them. Generally you don't know they are in your house until you go to paint a piece of wood work and find out that the paint film is all that is there - the wood behind is paper thin or non-existent! You may also discover termite activity if you look in your basement storage areas. It is not uncommon for them to attack cardboard boxes or any other paper product you have in contact with masonry surfaces.

Prevention & Elimination

In April of 1995. the war against termites took a major turn. Up until that time termites were not seriously in danger of losing the war. All attacks made against them were defensive in nature. In other words we were using powerful chemicals to create defensive barriers around structures we wanted to protect. The chemicals did little to actually kill the termite populations. The attacking termites were repelled by the barrier chemicals and simply foraged for food in another location.

Within the past 15 years scientists have discovered how toxic and long-lasting some of these chemicals were. Chlordane was a very popular barrier chemical in widespread use prior to 1987 or so. This chemical was virtually unaffected by water. It would stay in soil for long periods of time. Water would not breakdown the chlordane but would transport it to other locations and into the food chain where it would cause harm to things other than termites. For this reason it was banned from widespread use by the EPA about 10 years ago.

Lower powered chemicals like Dursban took its place. Dursban works like the older more powerful chemicals, however it breaks down. So, if you have had your house treated with the weaker chemicals, you will eventually have to re-treat.

Mounting an Offensive

Two years ago, we humans began a campaign to kill off entire colonies of termites. This major offensive had only one participant at that time. We now have 3 major chemical companies that are marketing total colony elimination systems.

These new termite control measures go after termites by stopping the source of food being delivered to the colony. Scientists have discovered that only the worker termites are responsible for providing food for all of the colony members. If you kill the workers who visit your house, you can then effectively kill the colony.

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Since this battle is now only two years old, it is too early to tell if we will win the war. However, the outlook is promising. Up until this time, we did not possess an effective weapon to kill vast numbers of termites. Now we do. It is a simple matter of perfecting the delivery and intensity of the poison.

Counterattack Options

There is a third termite weapon in our arsenal. It is a time tested group of chemicals called borates. These are relatively safe chemicals for humans but are quite deadly when used against termites.

Borates can be sprayed on lumber in new construction or on existing in-place lumber. In New Zealand, you have to use borate treated lumber when building a new home. They have had great success with this preventative measure since the mid-1950's.

If you are currently framing a new house, it would be in your best interest to explore spraying all of the lumber that is near the soil line or in contact with masonry surfaces with at least two coats of the borate chemicals. This is a potential DIY project. All that you must do is make sure you have the proper concentration and that the wood surfaces do not get wet after the chemicals are applied.

Termite elimination is not guaranteed in any respect. If you currently have a problem or anticipate one, I suggest that you investigate all of the control methods. Do not necessarily rely on just one system to solve your problem. You will have to monitor for future infestation. If you think that the termites will be easily conquered, you are dreaming. Our war with termites will rage well into the next century. Be prepared to fight them!

Author's Note: We've received other emails with similar problems or questions. Here's one from Aaron S. of Los Angeles, CA, regarding termite fumigation.

"My house was fumigated for termites covered with a tent etc. After removing the tent two days later, we entered our house but there was no odor of gas at all.  A while later, we saw insects, spiders, roaches etc. moving around. The fumigation company claims that they mix a substance with the gas so that it will not have an odor. My question: Shouldn't there be a gas odor and dead insects? We can't see the termites inside the wall, but we feel that if all the insects are still alive, probably the termites are not dead either. Please, let us hear you opinion. Thank you very much!"

Doing a little online checking, the chemical used during termite fumigation is targeting only termites. It will not kill spiders, ants, bed bugs or cockroaches. So Aaron, you may still see other insects moving around.

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