Termidor SC Termiticide/Insecticide - Questions & Answers

You would handle this situation by either removing a good portion of the soil you treated with the over the counter product and replacing it like you had suggested, or by treating everywhere else but the area you treated.  If you are going to try to replace the soil, then make sure you dig down plenty deep and remove all of the soil that may have been contacted by the over the counter product.  Don't worry, many homeowners do the same thing and call us when they realize there are better alternatives.  It should be fine.

Termidor SC can be applied anytime through out the year, as long as it is not below freezing temperatures.  Termites are active all year round in many parts of the country so anytime is a good time.  As far as treatment goes, you should read our "How To Do A Termite Treatment" article which explains how a homeowner should do their own termite treatment just as good as the professionals.

You must find out how many lineal feet you have around the outside or your home. Unfortunately, the square footage just will not tell us how much you really have to treat. To find how many lineal you have, measure around the front, back and each side of your home. Add up the measurements and now you will have the total lineal feet. Use 4 gallons of finished solution per 10 lineal feet around the house. For Example: A home with 200 lineal feet around the foundation would require 4 bottles of Termidor SC. Most homes require at least 4 bottles. Spraying alone will not protect your home from termites. To protect your home from termite infestations, Termidor SC must be mixed with water and poured in a 6-inch deep trench that is dug around the foundation of the home. You can purchase Termidor SC on our website.

In the area where the well is located, you cannot use the trenching method, only the backfill method is allowed. The backfill method instructs you to trench and place the soil that was removed onto a tarp, pour 1 gallon of diluted solution per 1 cubic ft of soil, mix thoroughly, return soil to trench. The complete instructions are listed on the Termidor product label under the heading "Treatment of structure with wells or cisterns"

Termidor SC  used outdoors and Phantom used indoors have been the most effective products to control Crazy Raspberry Ants. Ant baits and synthetic pyrethroid insecticides do not seem to do an effective job controlling this ant species. Texas A&M University has done extensive research regarding these ants and you can find detailed articles on their extension website.

You will need to trench or drill around each pier or area of the house that touches the ground and apply either Termidor SC or Dominion 2L according to the product label instructions. Termidor SC will last for about 10 years in the soil while the lower cost Dominion 2L will last approximately 7 years in the soil.

Yes. You can find the spider and ant instructions on product label on page 13 on the bottom right hand side of the page. Basically you will mix .80 fl oz per gallon of water and spray 1 ft up the foundation and 1ft out onto the ground, around door frames, window frames, and any other exterior crack, crevice or gap where spiders may try to gain entry. Termidor SC is an outdoor only product and should not be used on the interior of your home for spiders or ants.

If you are lucky enough to have the wood on the deck run parallel to the house, then you can remove 2 runs of wood running against the house, perform the trench and treat method under the porch, and then put back the wood.  If your wood decking runs perpendicular from the house, then you don't have many options.  You can trench around the perimeter of the deck and then pour some termiticide from the bucket against the house so hopefully most of it is saturated into the ground against the house.  This is of course better than not doing anything at all, but you should keep a close eye on the area.

Termidor should not be used near a body of water.  If you are located very close to the lake, or are treating spiders in a boat house, you have to be very careful because insecticides are very detrimental to aquatic life.  If you live very close to the water then you should use Eco Exempt IC3.  It is an all natural product and will kill all insects.  Best of all it is not harmful to aquatic life.

Termidor SC is formulated specifically to bond to soil molecules and will last for around 10 years when applied properly to soil. When applied to wood Termidor SC will last at most for about 6 weeks. If you are looking for a long lasting product to treat or protect wood you should check out Bora-Care.

There is not a soil sample test kit for homeowners use that we know of.  However, most states department of agriculture's have a way to test soil for termiticides.

The goal is to soak the bottom of the trench so the solution sinks down into the ground along the foundation.  After the solution soaks into the ground, you should apply the solution to the backfill as you push it back into the trench so you have a complete treated barrier against the house.

We cannot comment on treatments performed by pest control operators. We can tell you that the Termidor SC product label does allow applications in wall voids only indoors and there are limited applications allowed in crawlspaces. You can read pages 13-15 of the Termidor SC product label to see if the application performed by the pest control operator follows the instructions given by the manufacturer.

Termidor SC is not labeled to be used in the manner you have described and it would be illegal to use it in such a way. Because Termidor SC does have the ability to be transferred from insect to insect you could potentially wipe out entire honey bee colonies by misusing the product which could be a huge problem for local farmers. The transfer effect that Termidor does have only works for social insects like ants, bees, wasps and termites. We recommend that you choose a product that lists bagworms on the product label such as Talstar P (Talstar P is the product most commonly selected by pros for bagworm control), Thuricide, Mavrik, or Permethrin SFR. Please take a few minutes to read our article Bagworm Control to learn when you should start spraying for bagworms.

Termidor SC cannot be used in a garden or on edible vegetation. Termidor SC can only be used on or immediately adjacent (within 1-2 ft) to a structure.

If the ants are not being eliminated by the product you have down now and they don't seem to be avoiding the treated area there really shouldn't be a problem with applying Termidor SC right away. If you are finding some dead ants in the treated areas it would be best to wait a week or two so that the product that was already applied doesn't effect the non-repellency or the transfer factors of Termidor SC.

You did not name an insect but in most cases the old saying 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" stands true. It is usually much easier to prevent insect infestations like using Termidor than to eliminate them once they start.

Termidor is not labeled for use on trees and plants.  It is only labeled for use around your homes foundation for termites, ants, and other selected pests.  For treating lawn, turf, and ornamental plants, trees, and shrubs that do not contain anything edible, you should Talstar Insecticide.

Termidor is the number one product on the market for termites today and is the product of choice for subterranean termites. Termidor is completely undetectable by termites and once termites touch it they contact, ingest and spread the termiticide until it eliminates the entire colony and it will last for about 10 years in the soil. Tengard can be detected by termites and they will try to avoid the treated areas and it will only eliminate the termites that come into direct contact with treated areas. Tengard will last for about 5 years in the soil.

We cannot answer that question for you.  You are definitely not required, however, if your state requires a termite letter at the time of closing, only professional companies can issue these letters and if you do not have an active contract with a company you will usually be forced to pay a large sum to have your house treated to get a clearance letter.  You should call your state Department of Agriculture which is usually the department that manages pest control companies and ask if your state is one that requires a termite closing letter when selling a house.