To Bait or Not to Bait?

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Techletter, a biweekly publication from Pinto & Associates, Mechanicsville, Md. To subscribe, visit www.techletter.com, or call 301/884-3020.

The decision on whether to use termite baits shouldn’t always be an either/or decision. There are many situations where baits and traditional barrier treatments or spot treatments can be used together.

There are also certain problem accounts especially suited for bait programs, such as the following:

Buildings that pose higher-than-average risk of pesticide contamination from conventional treatment. Examples include those with wells or cisterns close to the structure, slab-on-grade buildings with heating/air conditioning ductwork in or under the slab and plenum construction.

• Buildings that are difficult to treat with conventional insecticides. Examples include those with inaccessible crawlspaces, rubble stone foundations or foamboard insulation, stucco, wood siding or EIFS (exterior insulation and finish systems) extending below grade, and buildings that have extensive shrubbery and complex plantings against the foundation wall.

• When customers object to the noise, dust, disruption and damage from drilling and treating. A customer may not be willing to have brand new carpeting pulled up or expensive hardwood floors drilled and patched.

• When there is no requirement for immediate control. A baiting program can take months to show results. If a customer has a severe termite problem, he probably needs instant gratification and quicker results.

• When the customers are chemically sensitive or chemophobic. If a customer objects to the use of pesticide around his home, a baiting program will be more acceptable. Termiticide bait is placed in small amounts in protective, child-resistant devices, and only where and when needed. There are no vapors or odors during application and no pesticide residue in the soil.

Advantages to Termite Baiting. Certainly the biggest advantage to termite baiting is that it’s customer friendly, especially in sensitive sites. It’s easy to sell the concept of neat, clean, odor-free bait stations as an alternative to drilling holes in floors and walls, moving furniture and rolling back rugs. There is no dust, noise or hoses dragged through the house. The technician may not even have to come inside so the homeowner may not need to be present or make arrangements for access.

Disadvantages. There are disadvantages to termite baiting. It is slow and customers often demand immediate control where termites are concerned. It can be difficult to get termites at first to find the bait and then to actively and continuously feed on it. Termite baits are usually not the best choice if the customer demands quick results or for real estate transactions, if cost is the major factor, if the structure is surrounded by concrete (although there are special stations for installation on concrete, brick, etc.) or if only one unit of a townhouse, duplex, fourplex, etc., is being treated.
 

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How Much Can Termites Eat?

Customers often ask tough questions like, "How long have those termites been feeding on my house?" or "How much more damage will they do if you don’t treat right now?"

How much can termites eat and how fast? These are tough questions because the answers depend on so many variables (i.e., the type of termite, the size of the colony, the geographic location and the kind of wood).

Obviously, the size of the termite colony will make a difference in the amount of wood consumed. But even if an individual colony is relatively small, consider that there are often multiple colonies in an area, which together, can produce the same amount of damage as one larger colony.

It takes several years for an eastern or western subterranean termite colony to reach a mature size of 60,000 workers. This colony will eat 1/5 of an ounce of wood a day. At this rate, the colony could consume more than 1 foot of a pine 2 by 4 in six months.

Mature Formosan termite colonies are much larger and more destructive. A small Formosan colony of 350,000 workers could eat more than 1 ounce of wood a day, consuming a linear foot of a 2 by 4 in 20 days. A medium-sized colony of three million Formosans could eat 1 foot of a 2 by 4 in two days.

In colder regions, termites are less active during the winter months. But in warmer regions or in heated locations, termites can remain active and continue to feed year round.