Termite Treatment Options
WHAT EVERY HOMEOWNER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TERMITE CONTROL
A home’s health depends on a variety of factors, some of
which may surprise the average consumer. In a recent survey of members of the
American Society of Home Inspectors, more than 70 percent of respondents
indicated that effective termite control is very important or essential to the
life of a house. Add to that the fact that most homeowners’ insurance policies
do not cover termite damage, and it’s clear that regular termite inspections and
effective treatments by professionals are sound investments in the long run.
Improvements in professional termite defense products
have given homeowners more options than ever for protecting their homes from
damage. Scott Milliron, a termite expert from Bug Brigade in
Sanford, Florida, provides these four simple questions homeowners can ask to
ensure their pest control professional is using the best termite defense product
available.
“What type of termite treatment do you recommend?”
“Most pest control professionals offer one of two
options– bait systems and undetectable liquid treatments,” says Milliron.
“These two treatments work very differently, and the level of termite control
provided by each can vary significantly.”
“How long will it take for this treatment to start
working?”
According to Milliron, one of the major
differences between undetectable liquids and bait systems is the time it takes
for each treatment to begin working.
“Before a pest control professional adds insecticide to a
bait system, he first must observe sufficient termite activity within one of the
‘stations’ that are placed in the ground at intervals around a home. It can
take months for termites to even encounter these stations, if they ever do at
all.
“In contrast, undetectable liquid termite treatments work
immediately,” notes Milliron. “Applied around a home using accepted,
time-tested methods, these products do away with termites once they encounter
the treatment.”
“Will this treatment control all of my termites?”
Bait systems, comments Milliron, require termites
to encounter a station for control, but there is no guarantee that termites will
ever come into contact with these stations during normal activity.
“The effectiveness of liquid treatments differs from one
product to the next. Older treatment types act as a barrier, repelling termites
as they approach a home. However, termites can be as small as the size of a
grain of rice and will find breaks in the barrier, rendering these treatments
useless.
“Termidor® Termite Defense, the #1 termite
defense product in America, is the most effective of a group of newer
undetectable liquid treatments,” says Milliron. “Termidor allows
termites to forage in a treated area, then unknowingly pass the insecticide on
to other termites during normal activity. This ensures that even termites that
don’t directly come into contact with a treated zone will still be wiped out.
It is the only treatment using this unique ‘Transfer Effect™’ action,
and is the only one that consistently wipes out termites quickly and
completely.”
“How long will this treatment take to completely get
rid of my termite problem?”
“Bait systems rely on termites to find stations, so they
may take months to begin working and years to achieve control,” says Milliron.
“Liquid treatments work significantly faster – in fact, Termidor begins working
immediately to wipe out termites both inside and immediately surrounding the
home.”
Taking the next step
Armed with this knowledge,
homeowners should feel prepared to discuss termite control options with a pest
control professional. Ensuring a professional is using the best product to
control termites is the most effective way to guarantee one’s home is protected
from such a threat.
Termite Treatment Options
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