Termite control experiences

[Stan Calow]

Anybody have experience with termite bait stations for their home? When I first looked into them years ago, they had a reputation as ineffective. But now I hear they are better.

I had chemical treatment back then, with a warranty and annual inspections. The company that did that no longer supports it and is offering to install the bait stations at a discount.

I know they're out there. Just waiting for me to let my guard down.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, at our old property we had the Sentricon product installed and maintained by a local pest control company. It was successful in killing existing colonies with no re-infestation over the five years of service. It took about 6 months to no longer detect any active insects after initial install and treatment. They did some additional "portable" bait stations inside the crawlspace to assist with that initial eradication, too.

[Terry Wawro]

If I remember right, when they first started doing bait stations, they loaded them with only cardboard or some other light wood product. If they saw activity when they were later inspected, then they would insert the bait with pesticide. Now it's my understanding that all the baits contains pesticide.

[Jim Becker]

The stuff that goes into the bait station is essentially wood with the chemical product in it. Workers who feed are not affected immediately, but take it back to the colony. Many of these systems don't kill directly; rather, they take away the colony queen's ability to reproduce and in turn the colony dies by attrition. That's why there is a period of time that passes before the infestation is gone. This method, while initially slower to act, is safer for people and pets, too, as there's no dangerous material deposited like tenting/fumigation and spraying entails.

[Ronald Blue]

It's been 18 years since my last termite experience but at that time Terminex placed bait stations. There was already confirmed activity. The old method was injecting pesticide into the ground which while effective isn't environmentally the best choice.

[Stan Calow]

Thanks for input everyone . What Terry said rings a bell as to why they had a poor rep early on. I had the chemicals (Termidor) injected around the perimeter of the house several years ago when I saw swarms. But I want belt+suspenders on this.

[Terry Wawro]

After seeing several termite swarms close to the house, coming up from cracks in the concrete at the edge of the garage and under the sidewalk, I applied generic Termidor all around the house using the trench method. It is an effective barrier up close to the foundation, but I still saw swarms every Spring further out but near enough to make me nervous. Last year I broke down and paid to have bait stations installed and monitored. (belt+suspenders) It's been a full year and they seemed to have done the job.