The key to proper safety providing of your house from pests is an abequate treatment and control options. Only specialists can deter the pest type infestation and choose the best combination of treatment appliances.
Termites are believed to be the most stubborn insects to rid of and the most dangerous for your house construction. From all the termites, subterranean ones feature bigger colony creation and the utmost hunger to wood, compared with drywood termites. Subterranean termites can eat out the house in 5 years. That’s why there are different measures for termite types. Let’s learn the main options treatment against termites to select the most appropriate ones in your unique situation.
Subterranean termite treatment
Since subterranean termites tend to settle outside the house and attack it exclusively for foraging, it is possible to use both repellent and non-repellent treatments, including bait systems.
Repellent liquids are unappealing for termites. These products don’t necessarily kill the insects; their main target is to defend the house structure from the infestation. To complete this task, it is important to create a circle barrier around the house. But it’s not so easy as it may seem from the first sight. Even a little gap or crack in this circle will lead termites closer to you.
The main procedures are:
- Drilling of the building foundation
- Filling of injecting the repellent into the wood hollows
- Dispersing the liquids on the outer and inner sides of cinder blocks.
Advantages:
- Relatively low price
- Good defensive measure if you don’t have termites inside the house
Disadvantages:
- High accuracy and attention of the pest professional to create a thorough defence.
- Soil and water contamination by high toxicity of repellent treatment
Drywood termite treatment
Drywood termites lead hideous in-wood lifestyle. Swarming is the only event in their development cycle to escape from their shelter, which happens once or twice a year depending on weather conditions.
Drywood termite treatment includes mostly non-repellent applications and bait systems.

Non-repellent liquids or baits are the newest solutions of the problem with termites’ colonisation. Non-repellent products are based on the obligatory attractiveness of the poison for the pests. Subterranean and drywood workers eat the wood, applied with non-repellent substance and don’t die immediately. They continue living for a definite period of time, contaminating their mound siblings, which they are responsible for – soldiers, larvae and the royal couple. The main target is at least to kill the queen and the king to destroy the nest. But it is better to cover as much termites as possible, because very often there are a few substitution males and females that can renew the colony in case the main productive pair dies.
Advantages:
- Less work with creating untearable circle of defence. Applying of the main hot points will be enough.
- High efficiency with less drilling efforts.
- Low-level toxicity, environmentally more friendly solution.
Disadvantages:
- Takes more time to see obvious results compared with repellent products.
- Doesn’t’ protect the wood. The termites will continue their everyday timber consuming. Doesn’t suit for houses with great damages.
- High price.
Termite bait stations
This is a device for additional defence of your house. Bait station system consists of a container where you can put the bait (a piece of pure or poisoned wood).
Bait station acts in two directions:
- Monitoring of the area around your house on the termites’ activity.
- Eliminating of the colony through gradual destroying of a termite’s body. In this case a forager poisoned termite feeds other representatives spreading out the contamination.
Advantages:
- Effective for outside and inside treatment and control.
- Doesn’t demand pre-treatment procedure – drilling or digging the soil. You only place the bait station in several entry points in the garden and the house. The system needs regular checking and replacement of the bait monthly or quarterly (every three-four months).
Disadvantages:
- Doesn’t allure termites itself. Can be useless if the insects don’t notice it.
- High price.
Termite fumigation
This is the most effective procedure against drywood termites. Fumigation or tenting includes covering the house with canvas to prove properly sealed space for releasing a fumigant. It penetrates deeply into the infested wood killing termite population.

Advantages:
- Best and quickest results in pests’ elimination, kills maximum termites at a time.
- The gas reaches the most inaccessible places in the house.
Disadvantages:
- Doesn’t give 100% guarantee from termites’ presence
- Demands leaving the house for 2 days and 3 nights, taking away or sealing food products, etc.
- May appear the most expensive termite treatment.
- Needs regular retreatment options to control pests’ colony growth.
Scientists haven’t yet invented the treatment against termites that will exterminate them once and forever. Homeowners who have the problem of termite infestation should take complex measures to defend their house form pests, beginning with total eradication with the help of fumigation and ending with annual house inspection and pest control.
It’s good to know what types of techniques are used to take care of termites and see the advantages of each. I had no idea so many different strategies were available. My uncle is having termite problems at his place so I told him I’d look into it.
In your article, you stated that from all the termites, subterranean ones feature bigger colony creation and the utmost hunger to wood, compared with drywood termites. Subterranean termites can eat out the house in 5 years. While I was going down into our basement to do some laundry I found some remnants of termites in the walls. I wonder if there are certain climates that are more prone to have termite problems.
I had drywood termites once and man was that a mess, definitely get this checked on consistently if you have a dry wood build.
I think that I might have termites, and I really want to know what my treatment options I would have. That is really cool that subterranean treatment can help protect your house from an infestation. I will see if I can get that done if I don’t have termites already. Thank you for the information!
I really like how you were so open about discussing the pros and cons of dealing with termites and the different options of pest control to get rid of them. My mom is dealing with a termite infestation and is considering getting the whole house fumigated. What you said about how fumigation is the best and quickest result in pest elimination and how the gas will reach the most inaccessible parts of the house will be very interesting to her when I let her know.