termites?

what is a good termite preventive around an old house?

A friend of mine had a bad termite problem at his home. As we were in the process of determining what to do another friend said his neighbor did pest control and owed him a favor. In the beginning we were getting estimates from commercial exterminator's and all were going to use the same product to eliminate and prevent further infestations. This was Termidor SC, the active ingredient is fipronil at 9.1 %. In the end the friend of the friend did the work for material cost and it looks to be very effective. Prior to him agreeing to treat the house I discovered that you can in most states order from a company called Do my own pest controle. The sell many different products two contain the fipronil at 9.1%.One is the Termidor SC, States on the site not sold in CT,IN,NY and SC. The other is Tarus SC and it also contains 9.1% fipronil, also has restrictions on sales in AK,MA,NY and CT. It is as I was told the best in the market at this time. It seems to have been very effective so far as we see no further damage at this time. They were literally eating thru his living room hard wood floor. It took nearly a bundle of new flooring to repair. I am sorry I don't remember the sq. ft. in a bundle. This was about 10 months ago and we have seen no new damage. We will be doing a crawl space inspection this fall. All parties said an infestation would or could take 6 months or more to kill completely. He used a paper respirator, rubber gloves and eye protection when applying. He said the main thing was to wash with soapy water if you got any on your skin.
Hope this helps

Termidor is what my pest control guy uses. I THINK he said test show it good for about 10 years, again I think, not 100%.

George. HOW do you keep your terramites under control ? I heard you have an infestation of them.

It's difficult, they make a mess in the dirt.

An exterminator can place bait stations around the house. If termites are present they'll eat the bait and die.

The good thing about that system is that you'll know for sure if any are (were) around so when it's time to sell the house the exterminator can certify that there aren't any active colonies.

Australia is the recognised home of the most voracious termites in the world , and that includes Africa !
Even more so, in the lower South East of Victoria where I am the termites there are the worst in the entire country .
Termidor is the only thing that will control an[u:977ed61651] active [/u:977ed61651]infestation and it is what we use almost without variation .
There are other controls , Terrimesh is a stainless steel mesh barrier that the little blighters can't chew through . The bait stations are effective only as an early warning system , at least here . They are placed in various locations around an [u:977ed61651]uninfested[/u:977ed61651] property and inspected from time to time . If the bait is taken it will kill any scouting parties and perhaps even a newly emergent nest . Once any evidence of a bait being disturbed is seen then out comes the Termidor .
Old Bushmen used to use Copper Sulphate powder to stop shearing sheds from being eaten away , this might be cost effective if you can get it and the area attacked is easy to inspect .

What kind of foundation is it, Slab or pier and beam? Termites aren't difficult to run off but if there is cracks in the slab you might have to make a small hole in the wall to get a spray into. The problem with pier and beam is it's such a pain to get under the house.

We had flying type termites and had house tented last spring. Service said it usually good for about 10 years. We have flying and soil types here in Florida. Not the same gas works for both. Was $ 2700.00 to tent. Ants move in after its done so prepare for them.

Termidore ( fipronil ) is what I would use.

Actually, I'd use ( have used ) Taurus SC, it's a generic of termidore.

Comes in jug concentrates, you mix in water, then trench around the structure and treat.

so many ounces of mix in so many gallons of water, cover so many feet of trench, etc.

When I did my horse barn, I got a bucket, and market as line in it with a marker. the bulk jugs of taursu come with a measure device. I put the ounces in the bucket, then filled to the line with water. I had a measuring stick the length of what that bucket would treat. I'd then hoe open a trench at the foundation or stemwall, and pour in.

rinse, repeat.


I had active termites in a couple lower boards in the barn. I checked back in 2 weeks... nothing... gone.

+1 on Termidor. I was talking to an exterminator about maybe redoing my house as It's been over 10 years since I had it applied to a really bad infestation.......and haven't seen one around the house since. His answer, not knowing he talked himself out of a job, was that it will be there till you remove the soil. That's good enough for me.

http://www.doityourselfpestcontrol.com/

You don't need any license in most states and they do not seem to have any trouble with hazmat red tape on shipping.

Termidor is the way to go.

You already have the link for "do it myself pest control", go there and look up the reviews on Termidor.

I bought it to control carpenter ants around the hose and the barn but I now use it at our shop to keep all the critters at bay. You won't believe the reviews and how happy everyone is that bought it. Get the smallest bottle you can because this stuff goes a long way and as I remember it has about a 5-year shelf life. I won't use it all no matter what so I am passing the bottle to some of the guys so we can all use it before it expires.

I was using Advance Carpenter Ant Bait for years and while it controlled them a bit I never really got rid of them. One application of Termidor gave me piles of dead ants in a couple of days. It lasts a long time and I actually got 2 seasons before I had to re-apply.

If chlordane hadn't been band we wouldn't have a big termite problem. We therefore would be using near as much pesticide. That holds true with many pesticides.