In this post, Ive reviewed the best termite treatments that you can use in- and around your house.
Luckily, the products are effective for both pre- and post-construction phases.Termite will bore tiny round holes on wooden furniture or walls as they feed on wood cellulose, cardboard and paper.
So, lets get started!
First, termites (damp wood, dry wood subterranean) are tiny white-bodied insects thatll bore wood and house foundation.
Nissus Bora-Care is great for both exterior and interior termite control.No weather delays and you wont have to leave your home during treatments. So, simply roll, brush or spray on the wood surfaces.
Bora-Care kills a wide range of insects including Formosan, dry wood, & subterranean termites, beetles, carpenter ants, and decay fungi.
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One gallon jug can treat untreated wood of about 200 to 500 square feet. Bora-Care will prevent dry rot and protect your wood against termites and other boring insects.
The 40% Borate mineral salt (Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate) is highly toxic to fungus and insects. However, the borate salts are
which has very low toxicity even compared to table salt. Therefore, this termite solution is safe for both pets and kids.
As noted above, this termite solution is effective for post-construction and even better for pre-construction.Luckily, this Boracare termite solution will dry clear and hence leaves the wood in the original natural form. Youll need to dilute the Boracare at a rate of 1:1 to about 1:5 ratio with water.
Nissus Bora-Care is great for homeowners who are building their wood or partly wooden house as a pre-treatment method against termites. In addition, you can pre-treat the wooden decks, sheds, and cellars for termites.
Before you lay down the physical infrastructure, its time to treat the wood using this Nissus Bora-Care.Control methods include baits andbarrier-form applicationof termiteinsecticides.For pre-treatment, use either in-soil barriers, lumber treatment, baits, or liquid termiticides.
Pros: Great for exterior and interior use, for rolling or spraying on wood, and will also kill the wood beetles.
Cons: Will need a 1 to 1 ratio of dilution.
Next up is the Harris Termite Treatmentis great for controlling massive termite infestations. It can wash down many termites that are in many bug nests you just need to mix the Harris powder with some sprayer.
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The Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate solution isNon-flammable, Odorless andwill kill fungi, mold,Wood Rot, and CarpenterAnts. It is safe for pets and kids. However, this powder acts a repellent for termites and hence theyll stay in areas youve sprayed.
I recommend that you get a reliable sprayer (with termiticide plus) while taking care not to spray on flowers, houseplants, and fruits as it can be harmful.
Thistermiticide can also help protect the wood that is in your porch, patio, and garage. Its active ingredient is based on boron oxyanions (borates) that extricate oxygen from the pieces of wood and hence makes the termites (and insects with no porous skin) suffocate.
Pros: Will protects the wood from rotting and getting molds, its non-toxic to pets and kids, inflammable, and its odorless.
Cons: May damage flowers, fruits, and other plants such as grass.
Spectracide Terminate comes in 15 stakes that will termite-treat room area of about 1,200 square foot. Equally, this roach termite solution (termite baiting) has a long residue effect going up to 1 year, while also killing other foraging bugs.
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The termites will contact with the Spectracide Terminate carrying the hexaflumuron back to their nests and thus cause a secondary kill effect. However, Spectracide Terminate stakes are not totally safe for both pets and kids in your household.
Its time to take action since termites might significantly destroy yourceilings,walls,basement, a big portion of your house and otherwooden structures. With a full instruction booklet anda digging tool, youll find this termite stakes solution easy to use.
The active ingredient in these termite stakes is aninsect growth regulator (IGR) exactlyHexaflumuron(0.50%), which damages the termiteschitin production.
TheSpectracide Terminate bait has the sulflurimid, which is cellulose food that termites will eat tothrow themselves to their death. In addition, the termites (remember they are foraging insects) will bring thesulflurimidback to their nests and poison the whole colony.
Pros: It has pop-up indicators and locator shields, it has pheromones for better performance, its easy to use, and it offers termite control and prevention.
Cons: Should be used with other termite control solutions.
With Taurus SC termiticide, you can easily undertake DIY termite control in your home or business premises. According to EPA, Taurus SC termiticide also has a secondary kill effect when they carry the formula back to their nests.
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Its active ingredient is Fipronil 9.1 %, which is great for post-treatment and pre-treatment for termites and various bugs that could be eating your wooden structures.
It has a quick knock-down effect where itll kill the termites on contact in 3 days. In addition to being odor-free, Taurus SC termiticide is non-repellant and thus will let the termites to be poisoned.
After you add the termite solution to your soil itll kill the bugs in addition to creating an impenetrable barrier with the chemical and hence preventing many insects from coming to your house. Itll control cockroaches, ants, and termites.
Spectracide Terminate Foam2 is described as a spray foam that will expand to get to the deepest areas where the termites are hiding in your home.
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The termite foam will expand filling the wood spaces in your structures and hence bars the termites from coming back alive. Its attachable nozzle enables one to spray both indoors and outdoors including deep inside termite nests and holes.
However, since the Spectracide Terminate Foam2 is considered mildly poisonous, you must not spray in hospitals, food areas or places within the reach of kids, livestock or kids. In addition, undertake thorough clean up or vacuuming when you spray in any of these places.
1. Liquid Termite Treatment:This method involves the use of a liquid termiticide which is sprayed in and around your home where an infestation is noticed.Anytermitewhich comes in contact with it (including the natural termite treatment) is either repelled or killed.
Nonrepellent liquids are also used which does not make their presence noticeable bytermitesand kills them effectively in their place.The soil surrounding your property should be treated with suchtermiticidefor effective eradication and also prevents them from entering your house from nearby soil. Also, check the top drain cleaners.
2. Termite Baits:This is one of the best termite treatment methods that help in eliminating the insect from your house. Liquid treatmentis done in entry points after thorough monitoring of the checkpoints in your house where there is a possibility of infestation.
The termites when ingesting this liquid spreads it to other mates in the nest and get controlled much effectively. Check the top bombs for fleas.
3. Borate Termite Treatment:Also known as wood treatment, it is basically done toeradicate the dry wood termites. A termiticide containing borate is directly applied to the wood surface infested withtermiteswhich dies immediately.
The treatment isodorlessand does not cause harm to humans. It also acts as a preventive measure for termite infestation when applied during new construction of home and furniture.
4. Fumigation:If your house is infested with multiple nests oftermiteswhich are hard to eradicate with a single treatment, fumigation of the entire structure is often recommended by experts. It is the best answer to how to treat termites completely and effectively.
The process involvesevacuating humansandanimalsfrom the house and covering it with a tent. Then the area is fumigated withtermiticidewhich reaches everycornerandcracksof the property and kills all thetermites.
Each of the above-mentioned methods ontermite treatmentmay involve a reasonable cost which is based on the following ground: Size of the building, Severity of the infestation, Foundation details, Soil type, and the Climate.
The foraging behavior of termites (the process of finding food) is a common source of misunderstanding by consumers and the source of folklore dispensed by unethical termite treatment salesmen.
There is fairly solid scientific evidencethat termites do not see, do not smell and do not sense the environment much beyond the boundary of their tunnel system.
The seam of gold for termites is a source of cellulose (wood or plant material) or water. This is a fairly random process. It may appear that they know where there is a source of food (i.e. your house) but they find your house by a random process.
If they knew about the presence of a house then every house would be infested every year; because suburban houses represent the most attractive source of food for termites in the surrounding environment.
While the process of foraging is generally random, termites do follow natural and manmade structures. For example, it is not uncommon for termites to follow pipes and conduits that run through the surrounding environment into buildings.
These pipes and conduits can unwittingly, but effectively, lead the termites to the side of the building or even into the building. Combine the presence of a pipe entering a building with a water leak from the pipe and you have an effective, irresistible invitation for termites to enter the building.
Equally, a piece of timber connecting the building to the ground is also an open invitation for termites to enter the house.Not only are termites foraging for food (wood) but they are also seeking reliable sources of water to ingest. This drinking usually means eating wet soil or under ideal circumstances wet wood.
Foraging for food and therefore the tunneling process of termites is relentless. The process continues day and night, winter and summer. Foraging and feeding do slow under dry and or cold conditions.In the suburban environment, there are often artificial supplies of water (leaking pipes, air-conditioner condensation, for termites to exploit even during prolonged periods of drought.
Soil temperature usually remains within a range suitable for optimum termite activityduring most of the year, although air temperature varies widely. It would only be during the depths of winter in the southern latitudes and the height of summer in the northern latitudes that soil temperature may become limiting to termite activity.
In the process of foraging for food, termites will eat through materials with no nutritional value. The soil is the major component of the material eaten in search of food.
However, termites have been known to tunnel (randomly eat) through seemly inedible materials such as lead sheathing on cables, rubber tires on tractors and hard plastics. In the building situation, termites can tunnel through plasterboard lining, carpet underlay, plastic sheeting, and the list go on.
Termites feed on cellulose (plant material). The main component of wood is cellulose. It is cellulose that the termites need for food.It not just the structure of the building that is in danger from termite attack but also much of the contents of the building.
It is not just the structural and building timbers on which termites feed but anything of plant material origin (e.g. paper, cardboard, ply-board, furniture, cotton cloth and timber musical instruments, etc).
Termites eat plant material (commonly wood) as a source of cellulose. Cellulose forms the structure of plant tissues. For example, cellulose comprises about 50% of wood and 90% of cotton fibers. Cellulose is a polymer (long chain) of thousands of glucose (sugar) molecules.
Termites cannot digest cellulose. Termites must rely on micro-organisms (bacteria and protozoa) in their intestines (gut) to actually digest the cellulose and release the sugars. In this respect, the digestion system of termites is similar to that of the cow.
Youll need to keep an eye on both the places to spot an infestation. You may find signs of damage caused due to termites as:
1. Discarded wings of termites in your house:Termites that are reproductive are called and fly to other places to find new homes.If you see a group of such insects flying around your home or trace some discarded wings, there is probably an infestation around you.
2. Tube-like structures made of mud:Such structures are easily visible on wooden objects of your home like wooden flooring and furniture and even on walls. It is nothing but a part of their nest which is damaging your property.
3. Wood which sounds hollow:Drywood termites feed on cellulose and create a hollow space in any wood. If you tap on such wood, it makes a hollow sound showing an infestation.How to get rid of termites:There are a number of options to choose from fortreating termites. The treatment depends upon the type oftermitepresent in your home and the degree of infestation.
Mature termite colonies:Mature termite colonies may number in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of individuals.
Each colony is composed of individuals belonging to defined castes. Each caste has specific jobs or responsibilities to perform within the colony. Once an individual termite forms into a worker or soldier the process cannot be reversed.
The Reproductive Caste:These are the Queen and King of the colony. The Queen termite, like the Queen Bee, is the only egg-laying individual.
The Alate Caste:Alates are fully formed adult insects with eyes, wings and reproductive organs. The purpose of alates is to form new colonies and sustain the species.
Alates must begin a colony in the ground. Alates cannot fly into your house and start a nest. Successful alates become the Queen and King of a new colony. One of the characteristics of the Alate caste is their ability to shed their wings after the swarming flight.
It is often the presence of these gossamer-like wings caught in spiders webs, littering the floor or floating on the top of the pool, that alert homeowners to an occurrence of a termite swarm in the previous night.
Swarming usually occurs in the late afternoon or early evening after a storm or heavy rain event, while the atmospheric humidity is high.
Supplementary Reproductive Caste:The Supplementary Reproductive caste, are produced by most species of termites and are potential alates. Supplementary are thought to be Queens and Kings in waiting.
For example, if the current Queen was to die and there was no replacement, the colony would soon die. A supplementary Queen takes the place of the dead Queen and the colony survives.
This replacement of reproductive castes members by supplementary caste members helps to explain how a termite colony can survive and grow for many decades.
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7 Best Termite Treatment in 2019 Reviewed - Pest Policy