Termite Baiting System

OVERVIEW OF THE TERMITE BAITING PROCESS

Termite baiting concept made simple:

， Find a solid feeding cycle between the bait stations and the termite colony by "prebaiting", Placing monitoring stations that include a wood monitor or inspection cartridges in the soil. You establish this by allowing the foraging termites eat the wood, "sourcing out" the feeding source.

， If you were to put the "active" or "toxicant" at this point you would kill off the very workers that you need to establish the cycle. Once the termites start eating on that wood or the inspection cartridge, they are introduced to the toxicant or active.

， Termites eat this particular bait, feeding it to the entire colony....and in THEORY the colony dies and the complete colony is eliminated.

Currently, there is no way to substantiate claims of "complete" colony elimination. Laboratory tests do suggest that colony elimination is possible, but in reality they may have multiple food sources, the poisoned bait not being the only food source.

• Population reduction and not population elimination is likely the true story. In laboratory tests termites are confined to a test site given only the bait as the choice of food.

However with proper monitoring and bait placement the termites will consume it, resulting in a population reduction. Because of the smaller population level it will result in less feeding and less damage. This can be a valuable tool. Termite baits are an added measure of security and are best used in conjunction with the traditional soil treatments if you have a current infestation.

In infested structures, it is best to treat the area where termites are found with the barrier or traditional soil treatment. You would be cutting off the termites' current food sources, forcing them to find other sources for food ( the bait). However, do not place the bait and the liquid termiticide in the same place.

WHAT ARE TERMITE BAITS?

Termite baits consist of paper, cardboard, or other acceptable termite food, combined with a slow-acting substance lethal to termites. The bait must be good enough to compete with the presence of competing tree roots, stumps, woodpiles and structural wood. If the bait kills too quickly, sick or dead termites may accumulate in the vicinity of the bait stations, increasing the chance of avoidance by other termites in the area. Delayed-action or slow acting bait also enhances transmission of the lethal agent to other termites, including those that never fed on the bait.

Some bait stations are installed below ground out in the yard and others are positioned within the structure in the vicinity of active termite mud tubes or feeding sites. Below-ground stations typically contain untreated wood until termite activity is detected inside the stations. Then the wood is replaced with active ingredient treated material-the bait itself.

， Termite baits may also be installed above ground in known areas of termite activity. Typically, the stations are installed directly in the path of active termite tunnels after the mud tubes have been broken.

Termite Baiting

Advantages of Using Termite Baits

Proper baiting will result in a reduction of the termite population.

Baiting provides an added measure of prevention and control to that of traditional barrier and soil treatments.

Baiting is gentle on the environment -- it does not require disturbance of soil with large amounts of termiticides, and does not involve any chemical run-off.

Baiting and monitoring may be used at any time as an early detection and prevention device, to catch termite activity before it gets out of hand.

Termite Baiting Systems can save you thousands of dollars in home repair.

Baiting systems allow control in situations where a structure is too difficult to treat with traditional barrier termiticides.

Disadvantages of Using Termite Baits

The greatest disadvantage of using termite baits is the amount of time and patience required. It can sometimes take several months to a year for the termites to locate the inactive monitoring station. Once replaced with an active bait, some damage may occur before the slow-acting bait is able to spread throughout the entire colony. On the other hand, control if more immediate with barrier and soil termiticide treatments.

COST.

Termite Baiting is more expensive in time and money than conventional treatments. If you use a professional company, the process requires several visits, usually monthly, to first monitor the baits and then add or replenish baits as needed. There is also a service fee and annual renewal fee with termite baiting systems. Further, deciding not to renew the system can quickly lead to disaster because there will be no chemical left in the soil once the termite colony has been eliminated. Continually monitoring the bait stations for new activity is what protects your home from future damage.