Termites and chemical treatments

Using chemicals or termiticides is the oldest and the most immediate way of getting rid of termites. These treatments work by repelling or killing termites prior to their entry into a structure. There are two major kinds of chemicals or termiticides used in exterminating termites – repellents and non-repellents.

REPELLENT CHEMICALS. As their name imply, repellent chemicals tend to ward off or repel termites away from structures. Examples of these repellent chemical products are Masterline Permethrin Plus C, Talstar, Demon TC, and Dragnet FT. Termite repellent chemicals are primarily use in preconstruction treatments.

There are also repellent chemicals solely intended for wood treatment. Applying these wood termiticides lessens the possibility of your home timbers becoming the food sources for termites. They are applied on wood surfaces especially to those touching the ground. These chemicals are mostly boron-based. Examples of these are Timbor and Bora-Care.

Timbor
Timbor is a water-soluble borate powder that disperses into the wood and functions as wood termiticide/insecticide, fungicide and even wood preservative. Timbor can be used as a solution when mixed with water and then sprayed on wood or as a dry formulation. When used as a dry formulation, it is applied to treat and dust attics, crawl spaces and wall voids.

Bora-Care
Just like Timbor, Bora-Care is also borates bases and functions similarly to Timbor. The only difference is that Bora-Care is more effective compared to Timbor when treating home furniture. Since majority of furniture have sealed outer surfaces, you apply your borate termiticide on the unsealed parts like the bottoms and the insides. Bora-Care is proven to readily go through the wood more than Timbor does. It also dries clear when applied properly unlike Timbor that sometimes leave obvious marks on treated surfaces.

NON-REPELLENT CHEMICALS.

This is the newest scientific breakthrough in chemical treatments. These chemicals are designed to be completely termite non-repellent and are best for spot treatment applications. Examples of these non-repellent chemicals are Termidor, Premise and Phantom.

Termidor
Termidor is completely “undetectable” by termites. This means they cannot smell, see or even taste it. Termidor kills termites through the “transfer effect”. Termites that come into contact with it then transfer it to other nestmates. Soon, the entire population of termites is exterminated because Termidor is engineered to be slow acting, meaning the termites have enough time to spread it to the entire population.

Phantom
Phantom is a sister product of Termidor. Just like Termidor, Phantom kills termites by contact and ingestion. Phantom also combines non-repellency, superior control and long-lasting residual ability. It can be use to drench soil, as a wall foam or as a general spray for killing termites.

Premise
One interesting feature of Premise is that it makes termites stop feeding and socializing with fellow termites. When termites are exposed to even small amounts of Premise, they just roam around completely confused until they ultimately die.

Dean Gallagher
Termitexpel.Com