Wood Destroying Pest Information Pages: Choose Your Pest or Product: How To Kill Termites Termite Identification Subterranean Termites Drywood Termites Formosan Termites Old House Borers Powderpost Termites Powderpost Beetles Dampwood Termites How Termite Baiting Works Termite Bait Installation and Inspection Liquid Barrier Termite Treatment Methods Pictures of Termite Damage Alternative Termite Treatment Methods Solo Professional Wall Foamer Bora Care Wood Treatment Premise Termiticide Insecticide Termidor Termiticide/Insecticide Termidor Foam Termiticide/Insecticide Spectracide Terminate Bait Stakes Smartdisk Firstline GT Plus Termite Bait Advance Termite Bait Complete Pest Library   Termite Treatment Methods Using Termidor, Taurus, Premise, Talstar, Phantom and Prelude Easy Do-It-Yourself Soil Treatment Methods For Subterranean Termites

How Does A Liquid Chemical Barrier Treatment Work ?

Liquid Chemical Barriers for subterranean termite control work by killing or repelling termites before they enter the structure. The termites are killed before they enter the structure and/or killed upon leaving the structure to return to their colony. In some cases, when using a repellent chemical such as Talstar Professional, the termites will avoid the chemical and stay away from it. If termites are present inside the structure and a repellent chemical is used, the termites will "back up" inside the walls to avoid it. In some cases they will attempt to organize a secondary colony to continue living inside the structure or they will attempt to find a new way out of the structure. This is very seldom successful for the blind subterranean termite workers. Usually, in the absence of moisture, they are simply trapped inside the wall, cannot organize a new colony and eventually dehydrate (dry up) and die. It is common in homes that have had chemical treatments performed to find thousands of dead termites in walls where the termites were trapped and could not get out and simply died due to lack of moisture.

Repellent termite insecticides tend to repel termites away from structures. Demon TC, Talstar Professional, Dragnet FT and Bifen are examples of repellent chemicals. The repellency factor of these liquid termite chemicals have specific uses - primarily in preconstruction treatments (before the structure is built) and in areas where fast control of subterranean termites is desired.

• Talstar Professional (Bifenthin) - has been a pest control industry standard for years. It is very low cost, and very effective at killing subterranean termites. It is repellent to termites, long lasting in most soils and safe when properly applied.
  
  
• Bifen Insecticide / Termiticide (Generic Bifenthrin) - works just like Talstar Professional but is much lower in cost. Manufactured by Control Solutions and Distributed by Univar USA. It is generally regarded as safe when properly applied.
  
  
• Dragnet FT (Permethrin) - a staple of the pest control industry for 25 years. Permethrin based termite insecticides are highly toxic and repellent to subterranean termites. It is generally regarded as safe when properly applied.


• Prelude (Permethrin) - is a low odor version of Dragnet Ft.. Prelude is considered by many experts to be a short lived termite control product which is recommended for use in areas where contamination from a long lived termiticide is not desirable.
  

Non-Repellent termite insecticides chemicals are designed to be transparent to subterranean termites. This non-repellency factor is a great attribute in subterranean termite control. "Imidachloprid" registered as Premise (United States) and Hachikusan (Japan), "Fipronyl" registered as Termidor and "Chlorfenapyr" registered as Phantom are examples of non-repellent chemicals. The termites are not repelled and in most cases cannot even sense that these chemicals are present. Non-repellent chemicals work best in spot treatment applications because the termites are killed instead of repelled to other non-treated areas of the structure.

• Premise 2 / Premise 75 (Imidichloprid) -is the most popular termiticide in the World. It is a liquid concentrate that foams very easily, is easy to mix in small quanitities and is very effective. It is non-repellent to termites.
  An interesting attribute of Premise is that it causes termites to stop feeding and to stop socializing with other termites. After termites are exposed to even small amounts (very few parts per million) of Premise they wander around in a state of confusion until they eventually die. When large amounts of termites die in the same place, this causes a natural repellency for other termites to leave the area.
  It is generally regarded as safe when properly applied.
  
  
• I MaxxPro 2F / I MaxxPro WP (Imidichloprid) - is generic Premise manufactured by Control Solutions and Distributed by Univar USA. It is generally regarded as safe when properly applied.
  


• Termidor - (Fipronyl) widely used by pest companies in the USA. Has been banned in the EU, France and Japan due to toxicity concerns. It is generally regarded as safe when properly applied.


• Phantom - (Chlofenapyr) - Very popular non-repellent termite insecticide. It is generally regarded as safe when properly applied.
• Bora Care - (Sodium Borate) - is not a soil treatment, but is a wood treatment. It is a form of boric acid, and will last the life of the wood when applied. Very safe when properly applied.
  
  

What Are The Steps Involved In Applying A Liquid Chemical Barrier ?

In the 1970's, high pressured sprayers putting out a whopping "150 PSI" were popular in the pest control industry. The thought was that the higher the pressure, the better the spray coverage.

All of this changed in the early 1990's when it was found that lower PSI did a better job of dispersing chemicals with reduced "drift" and mess. Chemical manufacturers changed their labels (directions for use) to specify that very low pressure of around 25 PSI was to be used in liquid termiticide applications. Today, all pest control companies that are doing liquid temite chemical applications use smaller gas powered or electric powered sprayers. In fact, most of these sprayers deliver less pressure than a standard water hose!

What's the point ? To spot treat with termite insecticides, you don't need expensive equipment. In fact, most liquid termite chemicals can be applied with a few simple tools readily available from your local hardware store. Of course in more complex termite infestations, the services of a professional should be obtained. However, if you want to do it yourself, we've put together a simple strategy that makes the job easy.

How To Apply Liquid Termite Insecticides

Outside Foundations (Slabs) and All Pier and Beam Structures: Most termiticide labels have specific instructions on how to perform treatments along foundation areas.

• Pic or small shovel. Pics or small shovels are used to dig trenches around your outside perimeter. Pier and Beam structures require trenching around the exterior and interior foundation wall. Piers and plumbing lines also need to be trenched. A pic has a sharp point on one end and a flat spade on the other. The flat spade side is used to dig a trench by dragging it along your foundation wall to make a shallow trench 3-6 inches deep. The dirt from the trench is simply laid back next to the trench for later replacement after chemical treatment. The normal rate of application in a trench is around 4 gallons of termiticide per 10 linear feet or about 1/2 gallon per foot.



• 5 gallon bucket. A 5 gallon bucket is used to mix the termiticide so that it can be applied 4-5 gallons at a time into the trench and/or drill holes. Many pest companies use this technique in the winter time when their spray rigs are frozen up ! We find it is useful in many situations and perfect for the do it yourselfer.
  
  

Patios, Porches, Floating Slabs, Concrete Expansions: Termiticide labels have specific instructions on how to perform treatments below cement or slab foundations.

• Hammer Drill. You can rent hammer drills from any tool rental center. The standard drill bit is a carbide coated tip drill - standard size is 1/2" wide by 18" long. You may also want to rent a ground fault interrupter (GFI). The GFI is a small box that the drill plugs into. The GFI then plugs into any 110V wall plug. GFI's are especially useful when drilling inside slab foundations near plumbing lines. If the drill bit contacts any metal in the slab, it will cut off electricity to the drill and save the drill bit , not to mention plumbing lines, post tension cables, rebar, etc. Make sure that you test the GFI prior to use by touching the tip of the drill to any grounded metal object, such as water lines under a sink, etc..

• 2 gallon bucket. A 2 gallon bucket is used to mix the termiticide so that it can be applied 1-2 gallons at a time into the drill holes. Many pest companies use this technique in the winter time when their spray rigs are frozen up ! We find it is useful in many situations and perfect for the do it yourselfer.
  

• Long Plastic Funnel. A long plastic funnel (1.5 - 2.0 feet) is perfect for inserting into drill holes (1/2" or larger) and dispersing the termiticide below porches, patios, garages, slab foundations, etc. The average rate of application in holes drilled is about 1 gallon of termiticide per hole (holes drilled every 12"). Mix any termiticide in a 2-5 gallon bucket and pour it through the funnel. This technique is useful for treating concrete areas where the soil is tightly compacted against the bottom of the slab and the termiticide has to "drip" down into the soil.

• Rubber gloves and goggles and appropriate clothing. For safety reasons. The products that we sell are safe when used as directed, but be a little safety conscious. You don't want to end up like your termites !

• Trebor plugs. For plugging holes that you drill into the cement foundation. We do not recommend to use paper towels as this is against the label on most pesticides.

• Cement. A small amount of cement or sand mix mixed in a small bowl with water works perfect for patching holes drilled in cement etc. Be sure to plug the hole with the Trebor plug first.
  
  

Inside Wall Plumbing Penetrations And Plumbing Voids (Slab Foundations): Most termiticide labels have specific instructions on how to perform wall foaming.

• Solo Wall Foamer - The Solo Foamer is an excellent tool for applying chemicals into wall voids and other areas where drilling through the cement patio or foundation is too difficult or inappropriate. Use a 3/8" drill bit and drill in between wall studs about 4-6 inches from the floor. Use approximately 2 oz of foaming agent and 40ml of termiticide. Fill wall void with 6" layer of foam to penetrate studs, woodwork, etc, and kill termites on contact.

• Air Mate air grill. For covering access holes made to plumbing or bath traps through sheetrock.

After you have stopped the termites with a termiticide, it is time to go after the colony with a bait system. Termite Colony Baiting can be easily performed with our SecureChoice Termite Baiting System. Using a termite baiting system without first killing the localized termite infestation with a termite insecticide can allow the termites to continue feeding until control with the baits are achieved. Although some pest control companies follow this philosophy, and some pest companies use liquid termiticides without a termite bait system at all, we think the best approach is a combination of the two. This is currently the technique that most reputable pest control companies use.

The 2 Step Professional Approach To Killing Termites:

1 - Spot treat termite activity with a liquid termite chemical.

2 - Bait the termite colony with a termite baiting system. Read more about termite baiting here