Understand your Subterranean Termite Control Options The scope of this guide is to inform you about Subterranean Termites and how to choose the best preventive measure to protect your home. Termites plague millions of homes which annually cause more than $5 Billion dollars in damage in the US alone. Drywood termites have different characteristics than there subterranean cousin and therefore have different preventive measures which I do not cover in this guide. There are many products on the market that all claim to kill or control termites. I will break them down into 2 categories with there advantages and disadvantages. Bait Stations and Barrier Treatment termiticides using Repellants and Non-Repellants. Bait Stations where originally introduced to augment a barrier treatment but many pest control companies now offer them as stand alone termite control to cut cost. The concept of bait stations is to provide two functions. The ability to monitor termite activity and to provide toxic bait that the termites would take back to the colony and eradicate the colony over time. Well I am not a big fan of putting something in the ground that will attract termites to begin with secondly we have to rely on the termite do something…they have to like the bait and share it with the colony for the concept to work. It can take over a year for a bait station system to eliminate the whole colony. In the mean time they could be doing a lot of damage to your home while you wait for the system to work. This is why most of the bait station manufactures only recommend that a bait system be used in conjunction with a barrier treatment and not as a stand alone solution. Also keep in mind that the bait stations must be constantly monitored. The stations should be placed about every 10 feet around your home so the average home needs about 20 stations. My recommended solution if you want to attract termites and monitor there activity get yourself some wooden paint stirring sticks “the ones they give you when you buy a gallon of paint” soak them in a bucket of water for a week and then stick them in the ground every 10 feet leaving the top 2 inches above the surface so you can find them…Walla …you now have a redneck termite bait station without the added expense of the commercial units. Barrier treatment termiticides fall into to categories Repellant and Non-Repellant. All barrier treatments are applied the same way by pouring or injecting the diluted/finished solution into the soil at the rate of 4 gallons per 10 linear feet of trench around the structure you are treating, where as the soil treated with the termiticides acts as a barrier to the termites. The difference between the two is just as the name implies one only repels the termites just like mosquito replants (it keeps the mosquitoes away but does not kill them) it will keep the termites away but will not kill the colony. These repellents have been around along time and there are dozens of manufactures of these products all claiming to be the best. Some of them are Demon Max, Talstar One, Dragnet, Bifen I/T and Cyper TC to name a few. Most of these products will last from 3 to 7 years when applied per the manufactures instructions. One of the disadvantages of using a repellent treatment is that it’s virtually impossible to get 100% coverage and a termite may find a tiny entry gap and breach the structure you are treating. Now for the NON-Repellents…these products do not repel the termites because they can not smell or detect the termiticides presence. When the soil is treated with a non-repellent termiticide the termite will move through the soil and become a carrier of the termiticide therefore transferring the termiticide to every termite they contact, which eventually kills the whole colony in a few months. To my knowledge there are only two non-repellent products on the market Premise and Termidor. Of these two products I highly recommend Termidor, as it is readily available and will last for over ten years. Bait Stations: Attracts them High ongoing maintenance Slow kill Termites need to cooperate with the program. Repellents: Only lasts 3 to 7 years Won’t kill the Detectable Termites can sometimes breach soil Non-Repellents: Last over 10 Years Kills whole colony Non detectable