Dealing with any sort of termite infestation – drywood, dampwood, powderpost, formosan, subterranean – is one of the tougher challenges in home and business pest control. Once these insects have swarmed into an area and infiltrated timber, they are invisible to the naked eye save for pellet residue and are often, because of how hard they are to reach, seemingly impervious to most home remedies and off-the-shelf products.

Non-Chemical Methods

Most termite infestations become evident to the human eye when they are at the advanced stage. For those lucky enough to catch a small, localized outbreak some rotting wood of an old shed foundation for example, non-professional treatment solutions may work. But as much for peace of mind as anything else, most people call upon a professional termite fumigation service to deal with the problem. Alongside the use of chemical pesticides and tenting an entire structure, a newer form of treatment against drywood termites that is gaining favor in the marketplace is the use of orange oil. In addition to presenting a more environmentally friendly solution, orange oil does not require the occupants of a home or business to vacate the premises for a few days, nor does it in most cases demand the need for tenting the structure.

Chemical Methods

Still, depending on the specific details of an infestation, an orange oil treatment may not be as effective as one that relies on a chemical product such as Vikane. Pest control companies promoting the latter will tend to show a comparison of the two different applications in their promotional materials, supported by scientific survey evidence. For those who can afford it, the best scenario is first to try a less disruptive orange oil treatment to see if this takes care of the drywood termite problem. Because orange oil is a less pervasive form of treatment, it must be injected directly into a termite colony to be fully effective.

 

Resources

National Pest Management Association – Termites, Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://www.pestworld.org/Search.aspx?keywords=termite

Santa Cruz Sentinel – “Go Gree”, August 14, 2010, Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15776479

Dow Chemicals – Vikane, Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://www.dowagro.com/ppm/vikane/