Termidor SC - Questions & Answers

Ants will build nests where ever they can find a suitable area to do so. While it would be unusual to have an entire colony in your attic, it is not unheard of. The good news here is that the ants are visible to you and they are still going outdoors to forage which means they will walk through areas that that you treat outdoors. We recommend you use a product called Termidor SC around the exterior of your home. Termidor is the # 1 choice for ant control around the home. Termidor is a non-repellent insecticide that works with a delayed reaction amd also has a transfer effect. That means that ants cannot tell that the Termidor is there and will walk right over it and then pick the product up on their bodies and inadvertently carry it back to the colony, then through normal social interaction the ants spread the Termidor and wipe out the colony. Termidor only needs to be applied two times per year and is effective for a wide variety of insects including ants, centipedes, roaches, spiders, silverfish, wasps and many other nuisance insects. You will need to apply Termidor SC 1-2 ft up the foundation and 1-2 ft out onto the ground, around door frames, window frames, places where cables, pipes or wires go through the wall and any other crack or crevice where the ants can gain entry into your home.

Suspend SC will only kill the ants that contact a treated surface and would need to be applied every 30 days outside and 90 days inside.  Termidor is the # 1 choice for ant control around the home. Termidor is a non-repellent insecticide that works with a delayed reaction amd also has a transfer effect. That means that ants cannot tell that the Termidor is there and will walk right over it and then pick the product up on their bodies and inadvertently carry it back to the colony, then through normal social interaction the ants spread the Termidor and wipe out the colony.

Termidor only needs to be applied two times per year and is effective for a wide variety of insects including ants, centipedes, roaches, spiders, silverfish, wasps and many other nuisance insects. You will need to apply Termidor SC 1-2 ft up the foundation and 1-2 ft out onto the ground, around door frames, window frames, places where cables, pipes or wires go through the wall and any other crack or crevice where the ants can gain entry into your home.

You cannot use Termidor inside for ant control so Suspend would be the better product if you needed to treat inside.

Termidor SC would work fantastic to put a barrier up outdoors.

Termidor SC is not labeled to be used all over your property. Termidor SC is only labeled for use directly on or immediately adjacent to a structure which is why your pest control operator is limiting his use to these places. Dominion does have a broader usage label but it is not labeled for use all over your property for ants. If you can find the nesting sites of he big headed ant colonies you can drench them with a cypermethrin product such as Demon WP or Cyper WP. If you cannot find the colonies you should consider using an ant baits such as Maxforce Complete Granules and Gourmet Liquid Ants Bait in ant bait stations. Baits tend to work well because they have a delayed reaction time which allows the ants to get back to the nesting site and share the bait with the colony. It is also very important to remove piles of wood, stones and other debris to discourage nesting.

While we cannot comment on the services done by a professional we will say Termidor is not labeled to spray in the yard, it is only labeled to be applied next to the house as a spray for ants or in the ground for termites.  As long as your fruit tree is not directly sprayed with the Termidor or so close to the treatment area that runoff or overspray comes in contact with the fruit, Termidor is safe to use and is not a systemic.  General rule of thumb is that you should keep Termidor treatments at least 10 feet away from any edible vegetation and you should discard anything that may be contaminated with a direct spray.

Unfortunately, Termidor is only labeled to be used up against the foundation of a structure and cannot be used in lawn applications.  We recommend that you select a product that can be transferred back to the colony instead of a product that is effective only on the ants that touch treated surfaces. Ant baits are always a good choice and a granule product such as Maxforce Complete Granules would be an excellent option for ants in your lawn. You will broadcast it across your lawn in the places where you have seen activity or used inside of Bait Plate Stations. Maxforce Complete has a unique formula with a mixture of proteins, simple sugars, fats and complex carbohydrates in a food-based granular structure that is irresistible to insects.  

For crabgrass control, you should be using a pre-emergent crabgrass killer such as Dimension 2EW Herbicide.  This is going to be the best pre emergent product when controlling crabgrass, as it kills the crabgrass in the ground before it has a chance to grow above ground.  The timing of the application of your pre-emergent is crucial to successful crabgrass control. In order to work properly, pre-emergent herbicides need to be in the soil before the crabgrass seeds start to germinate. Germination begins generally when the soil temperatures reach 55 degrees. This is around early spring, but the exact month will vary depending on where you live. Your local extension office can give you tips on when you should apply pre-emergents in your area.

Although we can not say the company is treating your properties incorrectly, we do know that the method you mentioned is against the usage label from the manufacturer. BASF is the company who created Termidor and has VERY specific guidelines set by the company and by the EPA as to how to properly use the product to get the results intended from it. There are places all over the BASF Termidor product label, which clearly state that rodding alone is not sufficient, no matter what applicator tool used, to treat a home for termites. You can either do a 6x6 trench around the foundation, or a 6x6 trench with rodding used additionally every 12 inches through the trench at a depth not to exceed the footing of the home. We do not carry the device you are requesting, nor do we have any knowledge of a company who sells that type of apparatus. If you choose to do the treatment yourself you will need to follow the label exactly by how it should be used in a treatment to be accurately protecting your structure. By using the product inconsistent with what the label permits, you are not only potentially not protecting your home completely by leaving gaps between the holes where the termites can still get through, but also breaking federal law. If you have any questions about the treatment methods used call BASF at 1-800-777-8570. You can also refer to our How To Do A Termite Treatment article for treating your home yourself.

There is no warranty offered with Termidor.  That is one benefit of having a company treat your home is they do provide a warranty.  However, no termite treatment can 100% guarantee that you won't have termites because termites can enter your home in places that you cannot treat, like underneath a slab, through a plumbing pipe, or through an area you cannot get the treatment to because it is covered or inaccessible. After your home is built, it is impossible to get to every entry point.  Also, Termidor does not guarantee you won't have termites for 10 years.  The 10 year applies to the areas that you apply Termidor, it is guaranteed to stay where you put it and protect and last for 10 years.  But there are always areas you cannot get to which is why you should continue to have a professional company come out every couple of years to do a professional inspection to make sure you have no areas of activity.  Most companies will do free inspections.  You do not need to re-treat the whole house for 10 years.  Another way to look at it is that when you have a company perform a termite treatment and they give you a 10 year warranty, you are paying them usually $150 or more per year to keep that warranty.  If Termidor treatments insured you never got termites for 10 years, then people would have no reason to continue to pay companies year after year to keep their warranty.  One other point is that most of our customers end up treating better and more thoroughly than most companies because the truth of the matter is that no one will take the time to care about your own house as much as you will.  And on top of all that you usually are saving a ton of money.

No matter how the house is constructed, the perspective area of treatment against the foundation should be treated either drilling into the attached concrete or trenched in the soil. It is recommended to drill into the concrete floor of an attached garage along the attached walls adjacent to the interior of the structure and across the garage floor where it meets a concrete driveway. The objective is to make sure all areas around the structure are properly treated so that when termites enter they will come into contact with the product that you apply.