What is a Proper Termite Treatment?
As we find ourselves amid termite swarm season, it is important to know what to look for in a termite professional. Termite treatments are quite possibly one of the most misunderstood services a homeowner purchases. The appearance of termites in or near your home is alarming, and you should know what the proper steps are for treatment.
Termite exterminator treatment is not something to put off until you see termites. Prevention is available and it works. You often don’t know you have termites until they’ve caused extensive damage.
If You Find Termites
In the spring as temperature and humidity fluctuate, we will see termite swarms. Termites send out reproductives to start new colonies periodically. This is most often seen during swarm season. If you have termites emerge inside your home, you need to take action. Don’t panic and allow an unscrupulous exterminator to back you in a corner, though.
If your home is not under contract for termite protection, you need to get a proper treatment performed to stop the termites. However, the sight of a swarm does not indicate the need to treat today. To limit the spread of termites and stop damage, you do want to find a pest control company you trust to perform a treatment for you within a few days of the swarm. Just don’t put off treatment indefinitely.
Homeowners often will spray the swarmers with some type of insecticide. Once the swarmers die, the misconception is that the threat has passed. This is not true! Termites do not live out in the open. They must maintain a constant temperature and humidity, so most of a termite colony lives within the soil or inside mud tubes in your home’s walls. Their activity and damage can go undetected for years.
Proper Treatment
Did you know termite treatments are regulated by the state of Mississippi? Standards are in place to protect consumers and ensure treatments are performed correctly since termites can be very destructive. To properly treat for termites and protect your home against further damage, three actions must happen:
- An interior and exterior inspection of your home.
- A full treatment as defined by state regulations. This can be a liquid application that is trenched and injected into the soil around your foundation, or a bait station application around the perimeter of your home.
- Issuance of a termite contract that states what type of application is performed, the products used, a diagram of the structure treated and the cost for the initial treatment and ongoing annual inspections.
Annual inspections must include both an interior and exterior inspection of your home. If your current provider comes by and hangs an invoice once a year, you have not received a proper inspection. Do you want to trust your most valuable asset to a company that does not perform complete inspections?
Spot treatments are allowed in certain situations but should not be relied upon as an effective treatment. Some companies may provide an annual spray for termites. If the soil around your home has not been trenched and treated or you’ve not had bait stations installed around your home, an annual spray for termites does not provide you any benefit. In fact, if these annual sprays are not targeting a specific pest other than termites, they are in violation of proper treatment protocols and result in irresponsible application of pesticides.
What We Recommend
Investigate the pest control company you have a contract with or are considering hiring. Ask what their inspections include; if you will have a contract with a diagram; and what they will do should termites appear again in your home.
Lawn & Pest Solutions provides both liquid treatments and bait station treatments. Our liquid applications are performed using Termidor®, one of the leading non-repellent termiticides on the market and backed by years of research. Our bait station applications utilize the Sentricon System® which uses some of the most advanced pest control methods. Sentricon is only available to Certified Sentricon Specialists who have been trained in the proper installation and inspection techniques for this system. Click here for information on our Termite 360 program.
Both of our termite treatment methods are backed by a contract that clearly states all of our pricing and what you can expect. Additionally, we perform interior and exterior inspections for our customers annually.
What About the Price?
Price is important to all of us. Don’t always trust your home to the lowest price contractor, though. If you find a price for termite treatment that is significantly lower than other companies you’ve investigated, ask questions. Ask about their annual inspections, if a contract will be issued, how the treatment will be applied and what products will be used. If you get evasive answers or feel pressured to make a quick decision, you may want to reconsider the low price you‘ve received for treatment. Ask yourself if you want to trust your home to a contractor that may not provide the best results. Also, remember termite treatment is not a do it yourself pest control project.
Have more questions? Reach out to us on our contact page. At Lawn and Pest Solutions, we are serious about pests including termites. We would love to have one of our certified technicians stop by your home and give you an estimate or just answer questions for you. We service all of North Mississippi, including Tupelo, New Albany, Oxford, Hernando and all points in between.
