Termite Control
What could be the worst thing that could happen to anyone’s home? Setting aside issues like divorce (heck what could be worse than that?), perhaps, termites come in next! Termites have plagued humans for as long as anyone could remember. And, yes, even palaces and strong fortresses could fall prey to these tiny predators.
Termites are often called white ants although they are not, at all, associated with the ant family. The most common foods for termites are leaf litter, animal waste, soil, and wood. Although they do recycle plant and wood matter to balance our ecological system, still, they can do major damage to plantations, crops, and buildings.
Termites multiply tremendously in just a short period of time. One colony could have as many as hundreds or millions of individual termites. And these next bits of information are really not good news: they are intelligent and they operate in an organized manner.
Many plants have come up (and developed over time) some effective measures against these pests. The most common defense is the presence of chemical oils, lignins or resins on the woody cell walls that act as anti-feedings. Among humans, there are many available types of anti-termite products. Perhaps one of the most publicized is the commercial product Blockaid which was developed in Australia in 2005. This anti-termite product was developed from plant extracts and can be used with paint. It is said to be very effective that termites would even consider going hungry just so they don’t get near it.
Nowadays, homes that are infested with termites could resort into so many methods of annihilating them. One effective process is chemical fumigation (more often called tenting). Termite tenting is done by putting up a nylon tarp around the entire house or building and eventually gassing the pests. Vikane is the chemical that is used in fumigation and it takes 12-24 hours before the tarp is taken down and another 6 hours of aeration before it is safe to walk back into a building (blood and bone problems could result from constant exposure to this chemical).
Another form of termiticide is methyl bromide but the sad news is it depletes the ozone layer. This led to the chemical being phased out in 2005. Up until the late 90’s the most popular method of killing termites is the use of pesticides.
Nowadays, there are now many alternative methods of killing termites such as baiting (where a small amount of poison is contracted by some of their numbers and these individuals would eventually kill the entire population), spraying, heating, freezing, microwaving, shocking and oiling. These are all proven methods that eradicate termites and the problems they cause.
After making use of all the possible ways of wiping out the termite population in your home, it is always best to have inspections every now and then. Remember not to do this on your own, though. Termite control experts are the ones that can best detect their hideouts. You would not want to deal with the problem of re-infestation and it is always best to deal with the problem when the pests’ population hasn’t ballooned. Remember that preventing the termites from taking a foothold on your home is the key to keeping them away for good.