If you’re worried about termites, a thorough pest inspection by a professional is recommended. They can advise you on a multipronged treatment strategy.
A barrier treatment involves digging a trench around your home and then treating the soil with termiticide. Foraging termite solution are unable to cross the barrier and unwittingly bring it back to their colony, spreading the poison.
Liquid Barriers
A fluid air barrier is a type of wall insulation that uses a water-based liquid formula to create an air and moisture barrier for walls. These products can be sprayed or rolled onto the surface of a wall. They can be used in place of traditional paper barriers. The fluid-applied air barrier prevents moisture and reduces energy costs by limiting the amount of air leakage and condensation in a home. The barrier also helps to improve occupant comfort and indoor air quality by sealing the walls. The fluid-applied barrier has many benefits, including the ability to save time and money by not requiring a primer. It also provides structural and full adherence, allowing the sheathing to adhere to concrete and framing better than traditional paper barriers. The liquid-applied barrier can be applied in a single pass and does not require tape at interfaces, further saving time. It is also safe to apply, easy to clean up and V.O.C. compliant.
The main drawback of the fluid-applied barrier is its need for skilled labor. The installer must use a spray gun to deliver the fluid at a constant rate. This requires precise calibration and training. With the shortage of skilled labor in construction today, this is a big challenge for contractors. The other disadvantage is the higher cost for fluid-applied air barriers than their rolled or taped counterparts.
Baits
For a quick fix, termite pest control companies spray liquid termiticides over the foundation, soil, and around your house to kill the colony and keep it from coming back. Companies like Terminix offer free inspections and help you decide which option works best for your home.
Another effective treatment method is to place bait stations strategically around your property. The baits are laced with wood, cellulose, or paper that is similar to what termites are looking for in their search for food sources. Worker termites that find the bait eat it and carry it back to their colonies. Over time, the whole colony will be eradicated.
You can also prevent termites from entering your home by storing firewood away from the structure and keeping piles of wood debris well away from the foundation. Also, make sure that the ground beneath shrubs and plants isn’t pushed up against your house. Cardboard piles are also a huge draw for termites so make sure to store them in plastic containers or take them to a recycling center.
For a DIY solution, boric acid powder can be spread around the area, as can beneficial nematodes. Nematodes are tiny parasites that bore into termites and release poisons that kill them. If you want to purchase a chemical product, Ortho’s soil and barrier treatments are effective, with one application lasting up to five years.
Termidor Foam
Termidor Foam delivers the power and effectiveness of the most trusted termite product in a ready-to-use foam formulation. It is ideal for treating subterranean and drywood termites and can also be used to control carpenter ants and other wood-destroying insects. It works indoors and outdoors, on-and off-structure and offers better control than liquid barrier products. Its innovative formula creates thicker, stronger cell walls that resist breaking and lasts up to 6X longer than other foams.
Unlike baits, Termidor Foam starts working immediately and is the fastest to wipe out an entire termite colony – up to six times faster than bait. It is non-repellent, undetectable to termites, and provides superior residual performance.
It contains 0.5 percent fipronil, which is designed to be slow-acting, so that it can go undetected throughout the colony. It attacks the insect’s central nervous system, causing hyperexcitation and disrupting their ability to control basic motor functions. As they continue to work and groom each other, they pick up the chemical on their bodies and pass it along – the devastating Termidor Transfer Effect.
Fuse Foam is easily applied with a hose and spray tip that reaches difficult areas like wall voids and cracks, inside foundations, crawl spaces, under decks, around utility pipes, in sheetrock holes that lead to termite galleries, and more. It is safe for use around humans and pets when used according to the label.
Taurus SC
Taurus SC is a professional termiticide that contains 9.1% fipronil (the same amount as the popular Termidor). It’s labeled for OUTDOOR USE ONLY to treat against subterranean and drywood termites, along with a wide range of other insect pestemite. It also provides best-in-class control of ants, including acrobat, carpenter, crazy, odorous, pavement and pharaoh types.
This non-repellent product works to kill these insects by disrupting the GABA receptors within the pests’ central nervous systems, making it impossible for them to control their movements and causing them to die. Taurus SC is slow-acting, allowing it to take advantage of the pests’ natural food-sharing habits and spread poison throughout the colony, killing every insect that comes into contact with it.
Like most liquid barriers, Taurus SC requires you to mix it with water before application. It’s diluted at the rate of eight ounces to one gallon of water and can be applied with a pump sprayer, backpack sprayer or hose-end sprayer. It’s most often used to create a barrier around a foundation, but you can also apply it to crawl spaces and porches to prevent insect pests from getting inside your home or office.
This product is also useful for post-construction pest prevention, and it can be injected under slabs or directly into soil. It’s available in a 20-ounce or 78-ounce bottle, and you can make up to four applications per year using the recommended dilution.