Termite Treatment Options for Your Home

There are many types of termite treatments available on the market. So, how do you decide which one is best suitable for you? 

Homes may vary in the level of termite infestation and need treatments tailored accordingly. For a termite treatment in your home, it is best to work closely with a termite specialist who can help devise an effective termite treatment program for your home specifically. Here are some of the most commonly used treatments:

Subterranean Termite Treatment Options

Liquid Application with Bait and Monitoring System
This service includes putting treatment liquid at entry points and in infested areas of the home to monitor termite activity. Once the activity areas are identified, the termite specialist will replace the liquid with bait. When the termites swallow the bait, they will transfer the effect to their mates which will help control the infestation of the termite colony in your home.

Liquid Application with Repellent or with Non-Repellent
This treatment can be used both inside and outside your home. Repellents can be directly injected or sprayed onto the infested area. This treatment doesn’t eliminate termites but makes them go away from the area. Another way of treatment is using non-repellent products.  These do not alert the termites of their presence. Therefore, termites easily come into contact with non-repellent.  The product or bait is ingested by the termites and then transferred onto other termites through interaction which effectively wipes out the termite colony in your home.

Drywood Termite Treatment Options

Wood Treatment shows instant effects; it not only controls termite colonies but also protects against further termite infestation. Whether the treatment solution is applied directly to the wood or injected into it, the results are equally effective both ways.
Entire Structure Treatment or Fumigation is an effective procedure for termite treatment in case of an extreme infestation in your home, i.e. if multiple colonies are found.  The fumigation process involves treating the entire structure of your home or business. The specialist pumps gas into your home that reaches the dark corners and cracks in your home that may be the hiding place for termites. treatment shows instant effects; it not only controls termite colonies but also protects against further termite infestation. Whether the treatment solution is applied directly to the wood or injected into it, the results are equally effective both ways.

Subterranean Termite Treatment & Control – How to Choose the Right One

Liquid Termiticides
Liquid termiticides are effective and widely used methods for termite control. There are basically two kinds; repellent and non-repellent termiticides used to get rid of termites from homes or business facilities. While both are effective in their own way, sometimes one is better than the other – depending on the situation.

Repellent Termiticides
Repellent termiticides have been around a long while and are very cost-effective. The process involves treating soil with liquid repellents. So, when termites come into contact with the treated soil, they either die or are repelled away rather than causing any damage. This treatment is effective but requires drilling for proper soil application throughout the corners, crevices, slabs, and other possible areas from where the termites may be able to enter.

The trouble with this kind of treatment is that there are hard-to-reach areas even with soil application; a loop-hole that allows termites to enter your home again. Also, this treatment doesn’t really have an effect on the colonies of the termites, unless the product comes into contact with termites.

Non-Repellent Termiticides
The relatively newer non-repellent termiticides work on an altogether different mechanism for termite control. The termites are unable to detect non-repellent termiticide-treated soil. Therefore, they easily penetrate into the treated area unknowingly. The active ingredient in the undetectable treated soil can be lethal for the termites if used in higher quantities. This creates a chain reaction; the non-repellent termiticide is transferred from one termite to the rest of the colony which leads to the elimination of several termite colonies altogether.

Years of extensive field research have brought new and innovative ways to treat a termite infestation. Some non-repellent products can be used conventionally and in a new way providing for effective termite treatment results; this is referred to as exterior perimeter plus localized interior treatment (EP/LI).

Conventional Treatment
This type of treatment has been available for more than 50 years. A conventional treatment seeks to treat all potential areas where subterranean termites may enter a home. It is considered to be the most extensive liquid treatment for termites. Conventional treatment includes treating the soil on both sides of foundation walls, the voids of cinder blocks in foundation walls, and the soil under plumbing penetrations in slabs and bath traps.

Drilling is usually required to treat the interior foundation wall, cinder block voids, and plumbing penetration areas. The number of treatment areas and the amount of drilling vary based on the home’s construction type.

Exterior Perimeter Plus Localized Interior Treatment (EP/LI)
Only certain non-repellent liquid termiticides can be used for EP/LI subterranean termite treatments. Because most termite attacks come from areas surrounding a home, EP/LI treatments primarily are aimed at treating the soil adjacent to the exterior foundation wall of a home to intercept these attacks.

Interior treatments are not required unless there are live termites in interior areas, which usually are detected with a thorough inspection. The result of this targeted treatment is a substantial reduction in the amount of drilling required to control termites. According to the label of one non-repellent termiticide – Termidor – there also can be an up to 60 percent reduction in the amount of termiticide needed for control with EP/LI, when compared to conventional treatment. The exact percentage of termiticide reduction varies based on the home construction type.

Which Type of Termite Control Is More Effective?

To gauge the effectiveness of a termite control program, industry experts analyze the number of times a single pest control company has to repeatedly return to a home to ensure effective pest elimination.

According to Dr. Michael Potter and Anne Hillery from the University of Kentucky, nonrepellent products offer a more effective termite control than repellent products. The pair of experts compared conventional treatments using non-repellent and repellent products in an article published in Pest Control Technology, in February 2000. In this study of over 12,000 treatments, the retreatment rate for repellent products was 21.8% as compared to 5.7% for the first nonrepellent product to enter the market.

Three years after the study, the two experts published another study in Pest Control Technology. The study covered more than 3,800 EP/LI treatments; it showed a retreatment rate of a mere 0.7% with the use of newer termite treatment products.

How to Choose the Right Termite Treatment Plan for Your Home?

To choose a suitable approach for termite control, it is important to consult a qualified and experienced pest management expert. He or she can inspect your home and recommend possible treatments that will work best for your home. The specialist will also be aware of state laws and regulations regarding pest treatment options so will be able to suggest you the treatments accordingly.

The pest extermination professional will also schedule post-treatment inspections in your home to determine the effectiveness of the entire termite termination treatment. To ensure quality pest control,  a reputable and expert termite specialist is very important.