How Often Is Termite Treatment Needed? 

Termites are one of the most common pests to attack homes and cause significant damage. However, a number of preventative measures can help keep your property free from infestations. The following are some of the best ways to avoid termites and protect your home: 

(Searching for “best ant exterminator“? Contact us today!)

Reduce Soil-to-Wood Contact 

The first step in preventing an infestation is to minimize soil-to-wood contact by removing wood, paper, mulch, and other sources of cellulose from around your house. This should be done before construction begins and continued throughout grading, landscape installation, and foundation installation. 

Another way to limit the contact of soil with wood is to eliminate sources of moisture, such as leaky faucets and water leaking down pipes. If you have a basement or crawl space, it is important to seal any cracks and holes that allow water to enter. You can also install weather stripping around your doors and windows to help eliminate these points of entry for termites. 

Remove Termites from the Home 

After inspection and diagnosis, your pest control professional will then recommend treatment to kill termites and prevent future infestations. Depending on the severity of your infestation and the type of termites, the treatment may involve soil treatments, bait systems, or a combination of both. 

Termite Bait Stations 

When it comes to bait stations, a professional will place strategically placed poisonous baits near your home. These will then be consumed by termites, causing them to become infected with the chemical. This will then kill the entire colony. This treatment requires regular monitoring and maintenance year-round, but it can be very effective in getting rid of termites quickly and completely. 

Liquid Termite Treatments 

For liquid termite treatments, a termite expert will dig trenches all around the exterior perimeter of your home. The treatment is applied to the soil in the trenches to create a barrier that termites can’t penetrate and feed on your home’s wood. This treatment is usually effective for about five years. 

It’s not uncommon to find termites in homes even after a termite treatment, so annual inspections are important to ensure your chemical barrier is intact. If you’re not careful, you could still be susceptible to an infestation if there are any loose points of interest in the chemical barrier or if termites get past the barrier. 

A liquid termite treatment can last for five years or more, but it’s a good idea to have annual inspections in order to make sure your chemical barrier is intact and there are no loose points of interest. 

How Long Termite Treatments Are Needed 

A termite treatment is needed to destroy the entire colony of termites, which is why it’s essential to get them treated right away. The longer you wait, the worse the problem becomes. 

Termite treatment is needed for both residential and commercial properties, but it’s typically more effective on commercial buildings due to the higher number of termites that can be found in these types of structures. For example, a commercial building may have as many as 1 million termites, while residential buildings may only have 5,000.