Tips for Choosing the Best Termite Control Program
How do you know that you are choosing the best program for your termite control for your home or business? Usually prices vary greatly so it’s a hard decision to make. Here are a couple of tips that will help you choose the best termite control service for the situation that you currently have. The first thing you need to look at is the structure itself. The traditional method of termite control is the use of liquid termiticide’s pump then around the perimeter of the structure as well as right around the footings to provide a barrier or a kill zone through which the termites will pass. Now if you have a finished basement or if you’re structure is on a slab the chances of being able to provide a thorough chemical program is very slim. The reason being is that with a finished basement it is law in New York and it is recommended procedure in almost all other States that you’re able to see the foundation wall that you are pumping chemicals against. The reason being is that you do not want to pump liquid termiticide’s against the foundation that may have cracks in it. What will happen is you will get liquid termiticide into the wall, into the insulation and you will end up breathing those vapors for a long time to come. With a home that is on a slab the issue becomes providing enough protection without having to drill through the first floor around every wall.
If the termites are coming up from underneath the slab there is pretty much no way that you’re going to get complete protection without doing a lot of damage to your floors by having to drill through them. When you have situations like these a baiting system is going to be your best choice. Baiting systems work by feeding toxicants directly to the colony. This is a slow process and in some cases baiting programs can take over two years to be fully effective. During this time ongoing damage may occur. Usually it is effective the first year but you have to be aware that the probability or the possibility exists that it may take longer. Termites are social insects and they feed each other through a process called prophylaxis. When they do this process they actually transmit the termiticide bait from one to the next. Eventually the colony weakens and dies and since the Queen has no one to take care of her she dies as well an egg production stops. With chemical injection programs we typically provide a barrier and nowadays it is usually a non-repellent so that the termites do not know that the barrier is actually there. Once the product adheres to their exoskeleton since they are social insects they transfer from one to the next in a chain almost like transmitting a disease throughout the colony. This will eliminate the entire colony. There are products in New York State labeled for this such as Phantom or Transport although the best product for this which can be used in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and a slew of other states is Termidor. Termidor is probably one of the best termiticide’s on the market today and in some cases even spot treatments have eliminated the entire colony.