Termite Control – Controlling termites requires multiple applications and services. The terms “termite control” is actually no longer used in the industry, we now call it “termite management”.
Controlling termites is possible and involves a management program which will involve a process of elimination.
Termite Barriers are established in several different ways. One non-chemical approach is using a steel barrier or steel posts or even the exposed slab edge of the perimeter of a home or for best results even a combination physical barrier like TermSeal surrounding the home installed during construction which termites cannot burrow through but must travel outside and around the property forcing them to be visual on the outside of the home. However, most homeowners living in homes built after 2002 depend on either a repellent barrier or a barrier that does not repel termites but poisons them in a way that eventually spreads to the entire colony, killing them.
The repellent barrier is one of the oldest approaches to protecting homes from termite damage. A barrier is established by digging a trench both inside and outside the foundation of the home. The trench is filled with chemical that repels termites. With slab floors, holes must be drilled in the floor to install the barrier. One of the problems with this type of barrier is that termites can find breaches in the barrier and still feed from the wood in one’s home.
Non-repellent barriers have been used since the year 2000. These chemicals are not detectable by termites. The workers return to the colony with the chemicals on their body and in the food they bring. Establishing this type of barrier will eliminate a termite infestation in about one to three months. Examples of the Chemical are Premise Imidacloprid and Termidor Fripronil.
One of the best ways to protect a new home from termites is to establish a barrier during construction. Once the ground work is done and before concrete is poured, the ground is sprayed with the barrier or a Physical Barrier is installed to the service penetrations or fully installed under the Slab. Some of the non-repellant barriers have been shown to provide fifteen or more years of termite control with a single application.