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Termites can be extremely destructive. One termite colony is capable of eating its way through a foot of 2 x 4 wood in approximately five months. That may not seem that serious but consider any piece of structural wood in your home with a piece that size missing. Alongside this, you can have more than one colony in your home and they can be well established before you even realize they are there.
In short, termites are a costly business. The good news is that there is a number of steps you can take to eliminate the issue.
1. Termite Bait
A termite bait station is designed to be placed near where you’ve seen the termites. You place cellulose-based products into it. This will appeal to the termites and is an important first step. Termites work together, some collect food, others build the nest, and so on.
By placing a bait station with good food in your termites will feel it is a good spot and mark it accordingly. You can then swap the good bait for the poison, this will be taken by multiple termite feeders and can inflict heavy losses to the termite colony. In many cases, the termite bait box can wipe out the colony in one go!
2. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is thousands of years old. It is produced as fossils breakdown. The earth is full of tiny bone shards, these are sharp enough to cut the skin of termites and many other pests.
Once the outer skeleton has been pierced the termites will quickly dehydrate and die. The best part is there is no risk to humans or pets. This makes it a great option to sprinkle around the outside of your home and near any areas where you’ve seen termites.
3. Boric Acid
This type of acid is very effective at killing termites. It works similarly to diatomaceous earth, by damaging its outer skeleton and dehydrating the termites.
It’s fast and effective. You can purchase it in powder form and sprinkle it around your home or near where you’ve seen termites. However, you can also get it in spray form. This will allow you to spray the nest or the termite directly, ensuring they die.
4. Sunlight
The UV rays in sunlight are very harmful to termites. In fact, the rays will dry them out and kill them in the space of a few hours.
If you have termites in your furniture then you need to take the furniture outside on a sunny day and let the UV rays do their job.
Of course, this isn’t possible with structural wood but you can use UV lights for the same effect.
5. Nematodes
Nematodes are a type of parasite that feeds on termites without doing any harm to your property or you. However, because they feed on termites they will effectively reduce and eventually eliminate the population.
It’s best to introduce the nematodes to the soil around your home, they’ll find the termites from there.
