Even if you did not have this problem, you have probably heard about termites and what they can do to houses. That is why you and every reader here need to know how to get rid of drywood termites.
They are not like other pests that harm only humans and cause some inconvenience pretty often. Termites are terminators of everything that contain cellulose.
Drywood termites are the type of termites, who destroy wooden floors, furniture, building skeleton, and other pieces of dry wood (so you can see the origin of their name). They live in colonies that consist of members with different roles: swarmers, workers, soldiers, and reproductives.
Termites are attracted to moisture and sources of cellulose. Their favorite habitat became human buildings made of wood, which led to tremendous drywood termite damage. The source of these pests can be wooden mulch, bad drainage, close firewood storage, and other wrong approaches to the building planning.
We tend to think of termites as feeding/injuring wood only. Termites actually feed on almost anything that contains cellulose, the main component of wood, including wood paneling, paper products, cardboard boxes, art canvases, the paper covering of sheet rock, carpeting, etc. While foraging and feeding, they may tunnel through non-cellulosic materials, such as plastic and foamboard. According to some research, a colony containing 60,000 workers could consume the equivalent of one foot of a 2″ x 4″ piece of lumber in slightly over 5 months. In reality, the amount of damage that termites cause depends on many factors. In areas with cold winter temperatures, termite activity (and feeding) often declines, but does not necessarily stop. If the termites are well-protected from colder temperatures (e.g., underneath a slab), then activity may continue year-round. From a practical perspective, serious termite damage usually takes about 3-8 years.
One of the greatest difficulties of the drywood termite infestation is that it is hard to detect until you see serious damage. These insects work undercover, eating the wood from the inside so they cannot notice them. However, some signs can help you in detecting the infestation:
- Flying insects around the wooden areas (not flying ants);
- Shed wings, as termites usually leave them in piles;
- Termite droppings in the form of hexagonal wooden-like pellets;
If you have an active termite infestation, do not panic – to cause structural damage, termites must work in a home for quite a while.
How to Get Rid of Drywood Termites: Step-by-Step Guide
- Locate the infested areas. Define whether the entire house is infested or there are some zones that you can isolate from the building.
- Use barrier drywood termite treatment. This method helps isolate the infested area and protect your home from the inside pests.
- Apply baits for termites. Another preventative and protective method is applying baits. Just stick them in the ground, and it will attract termites, poison the colony and kill it eventually.
Pestman Termite Bait Station consists of a bait station, a lid, bait blocks and bait. We fix the bait blocks, which termites like to eat and which are highly attractive to them, in the bait station and install the bait station in a building, tree or dam. When the termites arrive at the soil near the bait station, they quickly make their way to the bait station due to the strong attraction of the bait material released in the soil by the wood blocks of the bait station and then enter the bait station to feed. The bait stations contain toxic baits containing flubenuron, an insect growth regulator that prevents termites from growing new skin after moulting and makes the surface thin and brittle, killing the termites by inhibiting their growth without them being able to detect it. The termite colony relies heavily on worker ants to find and carry their food. Flubenuron bait is based on cellulose, which is the favourite food of termites, as a supplement, so termites can easily feed on it. Once the workers have found the bait, they will carry the ‘food’ back to the nest for their companions to eat. All the termites in the nest will feed on the bait and the eggs laid by the breeding ants will not be able to be hatched, thus killing the whole nest.
Alternatively, the wood blocks in the bait station can be used to spray a special termite poisoning powder on the termites feeding on the wood blocks. Upon return to the nest, the powder is spread to other termites, eventually leading to the poisoning and death of the whole nest.
As the baited wood blocks are processed from wood that termites prefer to eat and are targeted at different species of termites, e.g. termites, reticulated termites, toothed termites, greater termites, etc., all baited wood is treated with special attractants and feed stimulants that are extremely attractive to termites. When the bait station is placed in the soil, the lure molecules in the bait evaporate into the surrounding soil air and spread around the bait station through the soil voids. When found by termites out in search of food, they are quickly lured into the bait station to feed. And the bait blocks are so palatable that we have filled the bait station with 8 bait blocks which can feed thousands of termites at the same time, greatly reducing the time required to eliminate the entire nest.
The design takes into account the behaviour and habits of different termites and the bait blocks are placed very close to the plastic shell of the bait station. Once the lured termites are close to the bait station, they can feed quickly, thus increasing the effectiveness of the bait.
All the bait wood in the bait station is specially treated against mould so that the blocks are resistant to mould and have a long life span. The housing of the bait station is made of ABS material, antioxidants and UV resistant compounds for high strength and ageing resistance and durability for a long life.
If you have any questions, you can contact us.
