| Termite services' treatment varies Steve Dodge has seen the destruction termites can do from basement to attic. Anything that might attract termites, such as firewood stacked next to the home, a patio that abuts the structure or imperfect grading that directs water toward a home rather than draining it away. ). PermaTreat also uses a bait system that prevents termites from molting as they grow. ProTech relies on Sentricon, another green system. Exterminators surround a house with bait stations, which they monitor. If they discover termites in the stations, the monitoring device is replaced with a "Baitube" containing Recruit IV termite bait, which halts the molting process. The advantage, Dodge said, is that only a small amount of bait is needed, compared with gallons of liquid termiticide, and it doesn't get washed into nearby ponds, creeks and rivers. The termites common to Virginia are subterranean, said Jim Fredericks, a board-certified entomologist and the NPMA's technical director. And with good reason. One of his oddest calls came from someone with a 17th-floor apartment. They'd apparently gotten a lift when the planters were brought up in the elevator. Signs of termite damage, which can lurk beneath painted surfaces. Orkin, like PermaTreat, will use either a liquid termiticide or a bait system, or a mix of the two if infestation is severe, Jarvis said. org, said spokeswoman Missy Henriksen. Area pest control companies don't all use the same types of chemicals, however. "Humans can drink it and it won't hurt them," he said. "It sinks in so termites won't feed on it," Fredericks said. ProTech's Dodge said he has gone into crawl spaces to inspect for termite damage and found floorboards so eaten away that they were as flimsy as balsa wood, and climbed into attics wherewere the voracious insects were gnawing away at the rafters. Brian Jarvis, who manages the Orkin branch at 1002 Thomas Lane in Stafford, said his exterminators look primarily for three things: Signs of current or past termite activity, such as the mud shelter tubes termites build as they emerge from the soil and the wings that they shed during a swarm. To keep termites at bay, the National Pest Management Alliance, a trade association based in Fairfax, recommends that homeowners get a licensed, professional exterminator to examine their property annually. |
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Termite services' treatment varies
