Drywood termites, very local, very low volume treatment?

[DaveC]

Hello,

I have a couple of small holes on an oak threshold. Drywood termites are pushing out quite a lot of pellets; very impressive.

In the past I have engaged termite professionals to treat buildings locally, but they usually spray a relatively lot of insecticide on the exterior of the wood around the holes. Doesn't seem very efficient or environmentally friendly.

Seems like it would be better to force a very small amount of gas or liquid into the holes and along the tunnels. Preferably some material that might be transferred further into the tunnel system and nest by the termites themselves.

I have never seen a professional termite guy do this. Am I missing something?

Also, if I could do this myself whenever I discover pellets or see one of those little holes it would be a lot cheaper and more effective. I have the technical background to handle toxic stuff safely.

Thanks for any ideas?

DaveC

[DK]

You have the right idea.

I recommend you spray the known holes plus drill dozens of small

1/16" holes in the studs and other wood nearby and spray with your favorite toxic solution.

Then paint over your holes and keep your eye out for new pellets..

If you hire a professional, he MUST spray everything on your property or you can sue him for incompetence.

[Lar]

You might look for a firm that will do a spot treatment of the area with a product called Termidor. I'm in the Dallas area so I don't get a chance to deal much with dry woods, but Termidor has proved to exceed all claims made by the manufacturer for subterranean termite and ant control so I would guess you would get the same results with dry woods. The termites don't detect it so if by chance they don't get it to the main galleries it won't chase the termites to another part of the structure as other chemicals might and the foragers that are in the treated areas continue to pass the product throughout the colony.

Lar

[Don Young]

A co-worker used a hypodermic syringe to inject formaldehyde into the tunnels with good results. I enclosed a small area with an open pan of formaldehyde with good results also.

Don Young

[Norminn]

Gee, Lar, does it pay to advertise on newsgroups? Since you portray yourself as a professional, you should know whether Termidor is effective against dry wood termites. The U of Fla website, with extensive information about pest control, mentions Termidor only as a barrier termiticide for subterranean termites.

It's been a few years since I did extensive research about termite control and treatment, but at the time subterranean and drywood required completely different methods for extermination in structures.

The little bit of looking I did now seems much more oriented toward local treatment for drywood, rather than tenting. Still a lot of tenting going on down in Fla, though.

[Lar]

I guess there is a fine line in your mine on advertising and talking about a product that I am familiar with when asked to give an opinion. Since there is no generic form of termidor I really can't get around naming it. I am a pro in Dallas Tx and if you locate on the web, maps or graphs showing the distribution of drywood termites, you'll see they aren't here so I haven't had a chance to try it myself. The reason I have based my "opinion" is when the product came to on the market with the usual hype and smack all manufacturers stick to their products, it was going to be the best thing since sliced bread. Since termidor came out on the market in 2000 I have yet to have a call back on any home that I have treated with it. When doing WDI reports (for real estate transactions) I have yet to find active termites on any home where other companies have treated using it. It is the only product on the market that I have seen that type of results. A couple of years ago, the label was changed and added localized treatment for dry wood termites and exterior ant control was added to the label, once again with "whacky" promises were made by the manufacturer. The results I have gotten using it for ant control once again exceeded my expectations, so I would think there is a pretty good shot of a couple hundred dollar service may be able to stop a $1200 fumigation.

Subterranean termites problems are coming from the ground 99% of the time. So whether the termites are just around a door frame or through out the home treating the ground will be the treatment. With drywoods it depends on the infestation. Localized treatment have always been done, mainly with borates, but it can push termites to other areas of the structure. The surest thing is whole home fumigation. Now the question comes will the treating company do a quick inexpensive treatment or push for the fumigation, is it because one "works better over another" or does the industry not want to give up the more money generating route.

Lar

[DaveC]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Is it possible for a private person to buy a small amount of Termidor? Are the active ingredients also found in other insecticides? Is it a liquid?

Will anybody get pissed if I post a similar inquiry on the "alt.consumer.pest-control" newsgroup? I did something like this on another pair of newsgroups, other subject and I got flamed. Apparently there is some system or technique for "cross posting" to different newsgroups. How does it work?

Thanks,

DaveC

[Lar]

Well, let's just say I am amazed of what one can buy on E-Bay. I don't like the idea of the homeowner being able to get it, not so much as to "keep the good stuff" out of their hands, but more so that most won't have the knowledge or the tools of properly using the product and at some point Joe Public will start using it for areas of pest control it is not labeled for...next thing you know the honey bee is a thing of the past, termidor gets pulled off of the market, and we go back to depend on more expensive type of and inferior treatments for termite work. It is a liquid and other products containing the same active are Front Line flea drops and some roach baits.

heh... the only flaming you probably will get there is from exterminators blasting you for buying termidor, though you might get a few more opinions on how to handle your situation from pros.

Lar