Different Termite Products You Can Use at Home

Termites are those tiny wood-eating insects that make a living for thousands termite exterminators and factory workers employed by large termite control products manufacturing companies. Although termites are relatively very small to cause serious household trouble, because termites live in colonies composed of hundreds of thousands if not millions of members these insects have become capable of destroying properties reaching to hundreds of millions in value.

However, professional termite extermination and control can be really costly. This is the main reason why many homeowners prefer to exterminate termites on their own. They do this by using termite control products which are readily available both in pest control shops and in online stores. Here are some of the products which homeowners normally buy:


1. Termite Killing Foam Aerosols

Aerosols are quite popular to housewives because they are very easy to dispense. In the case of termite killing foam aerosols, the user just have to spray the cracks and crevices found along the walls and on the floor and the job are complete. The user can also spray termite tube and mounds with the aerosol for an instant kill. Most termite killing foam aerosols do not leave odor or stain so they can be used by anyone without having to worry about anything else. Of course, aerosol mists are also toxic once ingested. But compared to other methods of dispensing chemical, aerosol cans provide the safest method.

The most popular termite killing foam aerosol is manufactured by Spectrum Corporation bearing the brand name Spectracide Terminate. Other termite killing foam aerosols in the market are CB D-Foam manufactured by Waterbury, Termite Kill Foam by United Industries and Ant & Termite Killer by Terro. The active ingredient used in all these products is Deltamethrin. The price of each aerosol can range from $15 to $75 depending on the brand and the size of the aerosol can.

2. Termite Killing Stakes

Termite stakes are used as baiting systems. In plain words, the stakes are not so different with all the other stakes that we place around our house, only that these stakes are poisoned. When you "fence" your house with these stakes, termites will confuse them with regular and "safe" wood and feed on it. Since the termite workers also feed the soldier and the larvae in the colony, they also poison these other members with the poison that they got from the stakes. The poison found in these stakes is slow-acting thus giving the termites more time to spread throughout their colony and kill as many termites with them. Results may not be seen in weeks but the use of stakes in one of the most effective way to keep the poison out of your house.

The most popular termite killing stake product sold in the market is from Spectracide costing about $50 per 15 counts. Another popular termite stake product is from United Industries Corporation costing $20 per 5 counts.

3. Termite Killing Sprays

Termite sprays dispense liquid termiticides which are proven to be effective in killing termites on the spot. These products are especially useful when the goal is to simply exterminate termites that can be seen in plain sight. However, the major disadvantage with termiticide sprays is that these can only kill a very few members of the entire termite colony. If the infestation is already severe, all that termiticide sprays can do is repel termites from going into areas that can be readily seen, this means that they can still continue to damage the house structure by feeding on the wood materials of your house where you cannot see.

These termite control products are relatively cheap because of their limited effectiveness. Amongst the most popular termiticide sprays are Terro, Spectracide, Bonide, Orange Guard and Bayer. All of these sprays cost less than $10 each.

4. Termiticide Concentrates

Professional termite exterminators also use termiticide concentrates but in most cases they use termiticide concentrates that are not readily available to the general public. These professional exterminators use their licenses to operate and provide services in making their termiticide purchases, so if ever you are offered a termiticide concentrate that is not supposed to be sold to an ordinary person, you better back off because you might be just harming yourself. Termiticide concentrates that are available for the general public are usually manufactured to have lesser toxicity in order to avoid fatal accidents from happening. Nonetheless, these products have to be handled with extra care in order to really make sure that nothing unwanted happens.

Termiticide concentrates are often mixed with either oil or water. In most cases, termiticide concentrates mixed with water are less toxic than those mixed with oil. The containers of these chemicals bear three kinds of warnings depending on the poison scheduling level of the chemical. The cost of termiticide concentrates vary so much depending on their brands and the active ingredient used by its manufacturer. The price range is anywhere between $0.9 and $5.9 per gallon. Among the more popular termiticide concentrate brands are: Dominion, Termidor, Tengard, Cyper TC, Altriset, Phantom and Bayer.

There are so many termite control products sold in the market these days. Most of these products are marketed to make an average homeowner think that the product will be sufficient to solve the termite infestation problems that he or she is already experiencing at home. There are many instances when these products do not satisfy their users of their effectively but still get away with it because of good marketing strategies. It is still more advantageous for any consumer to take the time to find out more about the product rather than make the purchase without knowing anything.

When using termite control products it is also very useful to keep in mind that you are dealing and handling poisonous chemicals which can harm you as much as they can harm the termites. Proper care must be practiced all the time. It is also most advised if the user follows the instruction indicated in the label of the product being used.

Have a nice day,
Michael Rozatoru :)