Q: Can I treat the house myself?
A: Ridding a home of termites requires special skills. A knowledge of building construction is needed to identify the critical areas where termites are likely to enter. Many of these potential points of entry are hidden and difficult to access. Termite control in some cases also utilizes specialized equipment such as masonry drills, pumps, large-capacity tanks, and soil treatment rods.
A typical treatment may involve hundreds of litres of a liquid pesticide, known as a termiticide, injected into the ground alongside the foundation walls or beneath concrete slabs. In short, termite treatment is a job for professionals. A possible exception would be if a mailbox post, sandbox or other small wooden object not attached to the house was infested. “Do-it-yourself” products, sold to homeowners at retail stores or bought over the internet, will seldom eradicate an existing termite problem.
Q: How do I choose a termite control company? Why is there such variance in price?
A: Companies offer different types of treatment methods and warranties. In most cases, no warranty will be offered due to the nature of termites being able to bridge treatments when soil has been disturbed or even with leaf build-up around foundation walls, or if wells, cisterns, subslab heating ducts, drainage systems, or inaccessible crawl spaces make it impossible to treat in accordance with industry standards.
Q: How long do termites take to do serious damage?
A: Termites damage wood slowly; the amount of damage caused by taking an additional day, week, or month is generally is insignificant however it is quite common for termite presence to go un-detected for some time. Prevention dosing the perimeter of your home in conjunction with a monitored program offers the best protection or at the very least, regular checks to detect termite activity early.
Q: Which treatment methods and products are most effective?
A: There are two general categories of termite treatment, liquids and baits. Soil-applied liquid termiticides have been around for decades. Their purpose is to provide a long-lasting chemical barrier that excludes termites in the ground from entering buildings. In most cases, termites in the structure die off as well, since they cannot return to the soil. Most former products were repellent rather than lethal to termites foraging in the soil. Newer materials, such as Premise® (imidacloprid), Termidor® (fipronil), and Phantom® (chlorfenapyr), are non-repellent and termites tunnelling into the treatment zone are killed. Overall the non-repellent products are proving to be more reliable in their ability to resolve termite problems in the first attempt. All registered termiticides (both repellent and non-repellent) can be effective, however, and homeowners should not base their purchasing decision on product alone.
The other broad treatment category is baiting. Termite baits consist of paper, cardboard, or other palatable food, combined with a slow-acting substance lethal to termites. The baits are installed below ground out in the yard in cylindrical plastic stations. Others are sometimes placed indoors over active mud tubes. Foraging termites consume the bait and share it with their nestmates, resulting in a gradual decline in termite numbers. On some properties, a combination of baits and liquid applications may be employed to stop termites in their tracks.
Q: Does the entire house need to be treated… or can they just treat areas where I see termites?
A: Subterranean termite colonies may contain hundreds of thousands of individuals, foraging in many different directions. For the homeowner, localized or “spot” treatments are generally a gamble except in cases of retreatment. Bryce Pest Control can not warranty spot treatments, since it´s likely that termites will eventually find other points of entry into the structure.
Bryce Pest Control do offer a “perimeter” treatment, using one of the non-repellent liquid termiticides (Termidor, Premise, etc.). Typically this will involve a thorough application around the entire outside foundation wall of the building, and spot-treating any infested or high-risk interior areas.
In many cases Bryce Pest Control warranty this treatment against termite return within an agreed period of time (this varies from area to area). Our agreement states that if termites return, Bryce Pest Control will return and retreat the affected areas at no additional charge provided the renewal agreement is maintained.
It´s a bit of a gamble to purchase any termite treatment option without an ongoing service agreement but ultimately local factors and your personal circumstances will dictate if spot treatment or an ongoing service agreement are best for you. warrantied the best option for you. Bryce Pest Control service agreements are not expensive and offer peace of mind for home owners in high risk areas.
Q: How long will the treatment last?
A: All liquid termiticides are supposed to control termites for at least five years when applied according to label directions. The actual length of control on a given structure will depend on such factors as thoroughness of the application, environmental conditions, and density of termites in the area.
If termites swarm again and continue to be a problem the year after treatment, it´s usually not from degradation of the termiticide — but because termites have found an untreated gap in the chemical barrier.
Bryce Pest Control take great care in the application of these barriers to ensure that this does not happen to you.
Q: Will the chemicals harm my family or pets?
A: Termiticides are tested extensively for adverse effects on health. Before a product can be used, numerous studies are conducted by the manufacturer and independently evaluated by governmental bodies such as the CIRSO. Based on the current body of knowledge, registered termiticides pose no significant hazard to humans, pets or the environment when applied according to label directions.
Despite the negligible health risk from a properly performed termite treatment, people with lingering concerns should consult their physician. Most of the newer liquid products have essentially no odor. Clients who are still apprehensive may want to consider having their home treated with baits.
Q: Have I been “cheated” if termites continue to infest my house after treatment?
A: Not necessarily. Unlike other services such as plumbing or electrical work, termite control involves living creatures. The best treatments performed by knowledgeable firms may fail at times, when termites find their way through tiny, untreated gaps in the soil.
In these perimeter treatments the intent is to establish a continuous, impenetrable chemical barrier but this is difficuilt to achieve in actual practice. In the case of baits, it may take several months for termites to initially find the below-ground installations and several months more to achieve control.
This is not to be of concern however as by employing experienced, conscientious technicians from Bryce Pest Control, we will return and retreat affected area(s) at no additional charge provided the service agreement is purchased and maintained.
