Termite Elimination

Termites in the Northeast
The termite's role is to break down plant and wood material - good news in the forest, bad news in your neighborhood. Their trick is to tunnel from their underground colony through the soil to any source of cellulose (your home, for instance), which they devour from the inside out. You don't even notice their work until structural timbers are severely damaged. In the pest management industry the termite has been knick named "The Invisible Invaders".


Amazing...but true!

The termites on Earth outweigh the humans on Earth.
No wonder - they've been reproducing for more than 200 million years.


Every year in the United States:

  1. More than 5 million homes have some type of termite problem
  2. About $5 billion in termite-related property damage occurs
  3. Termite damage is more common than damage caused by storms, fires and earthquakes
  4. The costs of termite damage are rarely covered by homeowner's insurance


Like people, termites are social creatures that look out for their own. Unlike most people, they really will eat you out of house and home. Termites live with several hundred to several million family members, all of whom work together in an organized system to find and use cellulose food sources to grow the colony. This cooperation is called "swarm intelligence" and it helps explain why termites are so successful.

Termites love a moist, temperature-stable environment. The soil under your yard is the ideal spot, below the frost line but above the water table and bedrock. In this hidden spot, worker termites:

  1. Build a nest for the colony, with rooms to accommodate reproductives, eggs and nymphs
  2. Create a vast network of pencil-width tunnels through the soil
  3. Constantly forage for food, up to 350 feet from the nest, with total foraging territory up to ½ acre

When any termite finds a food source, it leaves a pheromone scent trail to recruit other termites from the colony to the food source. This scent trail is part of the colony's communication system.
As they forage, termites often have to cross something they can't chew through  - such as a concrete foundation  - to reach an above-ground food source. To do so, they build mud tubes out of packed earth, saliva and bits of chewed cellulose to protect them from drying out or being attacked by ants. They also use this material to seal in moisture while they're lunching inside lumber, and sometimes to create an above-ground colony.

IT'S TIME TO PLAN YOUR COUNTER-ATTACK


You've decided it's time to do something about termites. Now the question is simply: what? As you plan your course of action, you need to know about the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System. 

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Did you know?

If termite treatments haven't been properly done - with proof -
mortgage lending companies often raise a red flag during sale or resale.



The Sentricon System, the first and most successful termite baiting system, has been proven to eliminate termite colonies by independent research at 30 universities, reported in 45 published scientific articles, and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It uses only a few grams of active ingredient in a cellulose matrix that termites love to eat. This Recruit termite bait is placed strategically in in-ground Sentricon stations in areas where termites are or may be active. Termites feed on the Recruit termite bait and share it with nest-mates until the colony dies. The Sentricon System requires no drilling in floors or foundations, no digging or trenching and no need for large quantities of chemical solution injected in the soil.

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There are other options being marketed to homeowners. Here's how each one compares to the Sentricon System:

Other Baits
Other baits also use in-ground stations filled with a mix of cellulose and an ingredient toxic to termites. With some, the ingredient makes termites get sick or die near the bait station, so other termites avoid the bait and the colony dodges destruction. Many baits are not effective enough to do the job on their own and require a companion liquid chemical treatment.

Liquid Chemical Treatments
Liquid chemical treatments saturate the soil to try to create a treated zone around the house. In a conventional treatment, even with the newest non-repellent termiticides, a trench is dug around the foundation of the home and holes are drilled every 12 inches through the floor or foundation. Then, hundreds of gallons of diluted chemical solution are injected into the soil around and under the structure. Unfortunately, liquid chemical treatments tend to break down over time, and termites often find untreated gaps to tunnel through. Special precautions must be taken when using a liquid chemical treatment on properties with wells or cisterns, sub-slab heating ducts or other vulnerable features

Treated Wood
Borates and pressure treatments penetrate the surface of bare wood to protect it against termites. However, over time, even treated wood is subject to termite attack. Plus, termites can build mud tubes over treated wood. A wood treatment is usually done during construction when wood is exposed, but it is sometimes used to treat infested wood.

Biological Control Agents
Researchers are exploring the possibility of using parasitic worms and termiticidal fungus to infect and kill termites and other soil insects. So far, success has been limited in the real world. The colony can stop the spread of the parasites or disease by recognizing and quarantining infected termites.

Do-It-Yourself Tools
There are a few termite treatments available in do-it-yourself stores, including foams, liquids, powders and baits. However, most homeowners don't have the knowledge, time, training or tools to outsmart termites on a mission. Plus, they have too much at stake. Many universities strongly encourage you to consult a professional for termite treatment. Even the labels on the do-it-yourself products caution that they're not recommended for sole protection from termites.
Now that you know your options, consider them carefully. We think you'll find there's good reason why the Sentricon System is the No. 1 brand in termite protection.

What to look for:
Termites occasionally leave a few tantalizing clues behind. Here are the most obvious.
Beware of the swarm. If you see a sudden swarm of hundreds to thousands of winged insects inside or around your home, call us immediately. Typically, termites swarm in the daytime right after it rains. The swarm lasts just a few minutes, though, so you might only see the wings they leave behind. Look for shed wings around window sills, doors, heating vents, bathtubs and sinks.

Start seeing mud tubes.
Grab a flashlight. Visit your basement, crawl space or around the exterior of your home and look for tubes the diameter of a pencil and made of dirt either against the surface or free standing. They disappear into cracks of masonry, in and around doors and window frames or along siding. Termites travel through these mud tubes on their way from the soil to a food source.

Notice wood damage.
Termites eat wood from the inside out, so damaged wood is hard to find. Break open hollow-sounding wall studs, baseboards and floors. Inside the wood, a honeycombed pattern is typical, as termites feed along the grain on the softer spring growth. Their excavations often are packed with soil. 

Live Termites
You might actually run across live termites while doing home remodeling. They're soft, light-colored and rarely more than 10 mm long (about the size of grains of rice). They move away quickly when exposed to light.


If you've seen any of these signs, it's a pretty safe bet you've got termites. If you haven't, keep your eyes open. Better yet, get a professional who has seen them all - and more - a hundred times before. Remember, termites are adept at hide-and-seek. The absence of all of these signs is no proof you're home termite free.

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Proven Colony Elimination
Before the Sentricon System, this wasn't even possible. With the Sentricon System, termite colony elimination has become the standard. And when we say proven, we're talking about conclusive independent research at 30 universities, reported in 45 published scientific articles, and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ask for proof from other commercially available termite treatments and you'll find very limited - if any - documentation. 


Easy to live with
With small Sentricon stations placed discreetly around the home, the Sentricon System is less of an aggravation than traditional liquid chemical treatments:

  •     No drilling in floors and foundations
  •     No digging or trenching
  •     No chemical solution injected in the ground under and around a home
  •     No tank trucks of chemical solution
  •     No scheduling hassles


Environmentally responsible
The Sentricon System was developed with a green mentality. In contrast to liquid chemical treatments, which use hundreds of gallons of chemical solution, the Sentricon System uses only a few grams of active ingredient when and where needed to wipe out the colony.

The best professionals in the business
Not just anybody is qualified to install and service this unique system. We are Authorized Operators of the Sentricon System and have extensive training and state-of the-art data gathering and management tools. We're skilled, experienced and ready to eliminate your termite problem.

The Manufacturers commitment
With its extensive termite and entomology expertise, Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, proudly offers the most advanced pest management technology. Dow AgroSciences is a global leader in pest management solutions.

So rest easy. When you notice a Sentricon station under a bush or next to the deck, or when you see your Authorized Operator monitoring for termite activity, you know termite concerns are a thing of the past. With continued service, the Sentricon System will stay on guard to protect the value of your home.

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Index
About Termites
The Sentricon System
How Sentricon Compares to Other Methods
Termite Elimination


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