An active colony of termites will forage non-stop. This means that damages will occur quickly and continue to mount until you take strategic action. If you have drywood termites in your home, however, you’re in luck. Treating an infestation of these insects is often much easier and far less costly than eliminating colonies of subterranean termites.
Table of Contents
- Prevention And Elimination
- Strategies For Eliminating An Existing Infestation
- Termite Inspections
- Whole Structure Treatments
- Borate Surface Sprays
- Compartmental Treatments
- Local Treatments
- Best Reasons To Pay For A Professional Drywood Termite Treatment
Prevention And Elimination
The treatment of drywood termites is generally a two-fold process. Unlike dampwoodtermites, these bugs don’t need access to damp, rotten wood in order to survive. High-quality building materials that are in optimal condition will do. Thus, you’ll have to go beyond fixing property and plumbing leaks, covering standing bodies of water and directing drain spouts away from the home. A good prevention plan for drywood termites can entail:
- The replacement of vulnerable wood features with wood that is naturally-resistant to termites such as bald cypress or Spanish cedar
- The use of screens to cover vents around the home in order to prevent the entrance of king and queen drywood termites
- The use of screens on all windows and doors
- Storing firewood away from the home
- Moving wood landscaping features back from the building structure or eliminating these entirely
- The injection of a solution or the use of a spray to cover exposed wood on the building structure with a preventative, termiticide application.
Strategies For Eliminating An Existing Infestation
There are numerous ways to treat the home for drywood termites, which makes it possible for homeowners to find treatments that are best in line with their budgets and the needs of their properties. In most instances, termite treatments are charged by either the square footage or the linear footage of the home, depending upon how they are applied. It is also important to note that a drywood termite treatment can be a whole-house treatment, compartmental treatment, or local/spot treatment.
Termite Inspections
Although homeowners are perfectly capable of identifying the presence of termite colonies on their own properties, pest control professionals will need to perform their own inspections in order to determine the number of colonies, the type and extent of the damage that has been caused and the specific type of termites that are present. All of these factors allow pest control companies to determine which treatment methods will have the greatest measure of efficacy.
Whole Structure Treatments
Whole structure treatments can include the use of fumigation chemicals or heat. These tend to be among the most costly options available, given that a larger amount of square footage will need to be addressed. These methods are often used in homes where multiple colonies exist and damages are fairly widespread. More often than not, the treated properties will be tented for up to two days so that all termites are sealed inside and effectively eradicated.
Borate Surface Sprays
Borate surface sprays fall somewhere between whole structure and compartmental. These sprays can offer residual protection, but they can only be used on untreated wood. It is also necessary to drill into infested wood in order to apply borate surface sprays effectively. When whole house fumigation or heating is outside of the homeowner’s budget, this may be the next best option, given that pest control companies can use this method to cover relatively large areas at a slightly lower cost.
Compartmental Treatments
Compartmental termite treatments can be employed when infestations are localized an identified early on. These can include the use of microwave technology, drill and inject solutions like borax sprays and electrocution. These methods can be significantly less costly than most whole house methods, largely due to the fact that a much smaller area will be treated.
Local Treatments
Local treatments typically entail the removal of infested wood. These are often the cheapest strategy for eliminating drywood termites, but they do not have the highest measure of efficacy. Strategies like wood removal also have a number of potential risks. Termites spook easily and the disruption of a drywood termite colony in the home could simply cause these bugs to migrate to another area and start foraging there. Thus, while the removal of affected wood is among the cheapest treatment option for drywood termites, it is usually only effective when paired with other, more costly solutions.
Best Reasons To Pay For A Professional Drywood Termite Treatment
Termites can cause tens of thousands of dollars in structural damages if their colonies are left unchecked. Homeowners can purchase and disburse store-bought products for eliminating these bugs, but many of these are not capable of killing all generation of insects at one time. Pest control professionals can implement treatment plans that are specific to the needs of the home environment, whether these treatments are whole house, compartmental or localized. They can also determine whether multi-pronged efforts are necessary for preventing future infestations. Thus, in spite of the often considerable costs that professionally-rendered treatments entail, these options can be far more cost-effective than self-managed treatments in the long run.