Protecting Your Home from Termites

In the United States there are four groups of termites: subterranean (including the Formosan termite), drywood, dampwood and powderpost. Subterranean termites "nest" in the soil and from there they can attack structures by building shelter tubes from the soil to the wood in structures. Subterranean termites are native to our DMV Region and cause more of the damage to homes and structures than drywood termites so will be my primary focus here. Termites will attack any material with cellulose, including wood, paper coated wall board, and paper. Termites need water or at least moisture to survive. Wood that is at least 30% water saturated provides enough moisture. Additionally, termites will find free-standing water such as condensation, rain or plumbing leaks and use this moisture as their main source for survival.

Termites have been a part of the ecosystem for thousands of years and aid in the decomposition of wood, freeing the nutrients in the decaying material for reuse by other organisms. Termites rely on eating the cellulose found in wooden structures, furniture, stored food and paper. It is virtually impossible to live anywhere in the United States without confronting termite damage at one point or another. Prevention may be the best approach. No technique, from the traditional, blast it with chemicals to the alternative strategies are 100% effective all the time.

As Virginia Tech says in their “Subterranean Termite Treatment Options” “Today, .. you may call four different pest management companies and receive four completely different treatment recommendations. In most cases the Pest Management Professional (PMP) is only familiar with the treatment used by his or her company.” Ridding an infested house of termites or preventing termite infestation using the lest toxic method requires an integrated pest management approach. The US EPA has developed their Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) that recommends an integrated pest management approach for termite control involving the following steps:

Inspection. The inspection should identify conditions favorable to termites and other pests. There are steps a homeowner should take to make a house less ideal for termite invasions to minimize the use of chemicals. Eliminating these conditions, which are mostly moisture-related problems, means repairs to plumbing or drainage systems, alterations to seal crawlspaces from moisture, elimination of water pooling around the house, and leaks in basements or other parts of the house. If inspection did not find any current infestation a termite monitoring program combined with repairing leaks and eliminating moisture will discourage infestation in the long run.

Monitoring. Regular monitoring will help determine the location of any termite damage, its extent, signs of previous and current infestation. Research from the Entomology Department of University of Florida found that properly trained termite dog teams are the most effective termite inspectors. This is not a joke. Termite Dogs can smell termites, through drywall, concrete, paneling and all other building materials. This kind of inspection is useful for someone like me with a basement overflowing with boxes, papers, books and other clutter.

Identification. The next step is to correctly identify the species found on-site. Ant and termites are often confused. Also, if it’s termites, verify that they are subterranean.

Determine treatment plan. If signs of infestation were found, it is necessary to eliminate the infestation and repair the damage. To eliminate the termite infestation, the treatment options are; bating with spot treatment, traditional chemical barriers, and non-repellant chemical treatment.

Chemical repellants were the first chemical treatment and required gallons of chemical to create an unbroken barrier. These chemicals are all pyrethroids which are fast acting never poisons that are highly toxic to termites. These are applied by professionals and require a complete, unbroken barrier of the repellent termiticide to keep termites from coming into the structure. This requires drilling through driveways, garage, and slabs to create a complete and unbroken chemical barrier surrounding a house. Though pyrethroids are relatively inexpensive and last for several years, in the real world it is difficult to inject a perfect barrier without breaks or gaps. The termites are able to detect these termiticide barriers in the soil and avoid lethal contact with them or locate the gap pathways.

More modern chemicals are non-repellent termiticide treatments. These chemicals are not repellant and termites cannot detect them in the soil. Therefore, the termites tunnel into the termiticide while foraging, contact the chemical, and die. The most common are Premise, Termidor and Phantom.

1. Premise (Bayer Corporation,) contains the active ingredient imidocloprid. Imidocloprid is unique because it not only kills termites that contact a lethal dose, but it also kills them at doses too small to cause immediate death.
2. Termidor (BASF Corporation) is also a non-repellent termiticide. The active ingredient is fipronil. Fipronil can be transferred from one termite to another through contact and trophallaxis (communal feeding). This allows it to affect more termites than those that contact the chemical directly. According to Virgina Tech Extension test data indicate that fipronil may be effective longer after the initial application than other liquid termiticide products. This is the most long lasting of this group.
3. Phantom (BASF Corporation) is another non-repellent termiticide. The active ingredient in Phantom is chlorfenapyr. Chlorfenapyr is an insecticide that is not toxic to the insect until it is broken down by enzymes in the insect’s immune system. The termites die because they cannot produce the energy needed to function.

Termite baits consist of paper, cardboard, or other termite food, that is often combined with a slow-acting substance lethal to termites. Termite baits use small amounts of non-repellent insecticide to knock out populations of termites foraging in and around the structure. Some baits may even eradicate entire termite colonies. Regardless of which bait is used, the process is lengthy and four or five times as expensive as chemical treatment.

Sentricon System – The Sentricon system was the first termite baiting system and still the most popular system today. The system was developed in 1995 by Dow AgroSciences and the University of Florida was not initially intended for use in combination with liquid termiticide because at the time, only repellent termiticides were available. Repellent termiticide used in a bait station would defeat the purpose of the bait. Termites would turn away from the station, rendering it useless. However, now that non-repellent termiticides are available, Sentricon is often used in combination with a non-repellent termiticide. My Sentricon system is used with fipronil.

When baits are used with a non-repellent termiticide, the total amount of pesticide applied is small. Regulations prevent the application of barrier termiticides and some other chemicals within 50 feet of water well. Termite baiting requires fewer disruptions within the home and is protective of ground water and drainage systems. Installation and subsequent monitoring of bait stations generally does not even require the technician to come indoors. However, the baiting process can take months, possibly a full year to eliminate infestations. Planning, patience, and persistence are requisites for successfully using termite baits. This is a long term commitment.

Monitoring. After treatment it is essential to continue monitoring for termites. The success of the treatment method needs to be assessed and once elimination of the infestation has been accomplished, monitoring will detect further infestations as early as possible.