Drywood Termite (bukbok) Control: What are the Options

Many residents will experience a drywood termite infestation in their home. Unlike subterranean termites which require excess moisture, drywood termites spend almost their entire life cycle inside the sound, dry wood members upon which they feed. Only during brief swarming flights do young adults leave the confines of their galleries to begin new colonies elsewhere. Winged adults or "swarmers", shed wings, ejected pellets, and galleries inside wood are typical signs of a drywood termite infestation. Swarming ants are sometimes confused with termites, but their differences are easy to recognize.

fecal dropping of "bukbok" or drywood termites

If a drywood termite infestation is suspected in your house, a thorough examination of the entire structure should be conducted by a pest control operator or building inspector. To provide a valid report, the inspector must hold a State-issued wood-destroying organism inspection card and be personally licensed in the termite category or be supervised by such a licensee. A careful inspection is critical in order to determine the extent of an infestation and location(s) of other possible drywood termite colonies. The results of the inspection will dictate the best treatment option(s) as no single control method is best for all situations. Most companies offer only one or a few of the methods discussed herein, therefore, it is prudent to contact several companies for inspections and treatment recommendations before choosing the company and specific treatment which best fit your needs.

Drywood termite treatments are divided into three general categories which reflect their areas of coverage: whole-structure, compartmental, and local or "spot" applications. Preventative treatments are also available and are usually offered after an existing infestation has been treated. All treatments listed below will kill drywood termites, but their effectiveness is limited when used beyond their intended scope. 

WHOLE-STRUCTURE 

Fumigation. Fumigation ("tenting") has been the only method used for over forty years which insures complete eradication of all drywood termites from a structure. The phase-out of methyl bromide in the U.S. has positioned sulfuryl fluoride (Vikane®) as the leading gas fumigant. Fumigation is a highly technical procedure which involves surrounding the structure with a gas-tight tarpaulin, releasing the gas inside the seal, and aerating the fumigant after a set exposure time. Before fumigation, the homeowner must remove all plants and animals from the house, remove or place food items inside special protective bags, and insure that there is sufficient tarp clearance between sensitive landscaping and exterior walls. The fumigation company may monitor gas concentration during the fumigation to insure that a sufficient dose is maintained. Only after the house has been aerated and tested for absence of fumigant can it be reoccupied. Because the fumigant is a true gas and works as a component of air, no cleanup of clothing, dishes, floors or other surfaces is needed. 

COMPARTMENTAL

Heat. Heat treatments are used to eradicate drywood termites from portions of a house such as an attic, porch, or bedroom, or from an individual apartment or condominium unit inside a multi-family dwelling. Heat sensitive articles are removed and the infested area is cordoned off with polyethylene or vinyl sheets. Temperature probes are placed in the hardest-to-heat locations and heat is applied with a high-output propane heater. After a lethal target temperature is achieved, the area can be cooled quickly for immediate reoccupation. If a heat liable material cannot be removed, it must be thoroughly protected with insulating blankets.

LOCAL

Wood Injection. Wood injection or "drill-and-treat" applications have been used since the 1920s to treat drywood termite infestations which are accessible and detectable. An insecticide is injected into small holes drilled through any wood surface into termite galleries delivering the treatment directly to the pest population. This is the simplest and most direct method of treatment. The amount of drilling required and the effectiveness of this treatment depends on the chemical used and the nature of the infestation. Most chemicals will remain active in the wood after treatment to thwart resurgent colonies.

Borates. Spray and foam applications of products containing boron salts are applied to raw, uncoated wood surfaces. Because penetration depths of borate solutions and depth of drywood termite galleries vary, injection into existing infestations should also be performed (see also wood injection above and preventative treatments below). 

Wood replacement. This method allows for absolute removal of a drywood termite infestation if it is isolated to a wood member which can be detached relatively easily, as for example, a fascia board or a door. Make certain that there are no galleries leading to adjacent wood members, otherwise, they will also require treatment or removal.

PREVENTATIVE TREATMENTS 

Pre-construction. The most effective prevention for drywood termites can be "built-in" to a home during its construction phase. Pressure-treated lumber should be installed wherever building codes allow. In the framing stage, all untreated wood can be sprayed with borate solutions.

Post-construction. It is impossible to treat all wood in a completed house with residual chemicals. Exposed, unfinished wood can be sprayed with borates which repel swarming termites, but keep in mind that untreated wood may still be susceptible to infestation as the borate spray residue will not kill wandering adults on contact. Wall voids and attics can also be sprayed or dusted with various residual insecticides which kill swarming adults in search of a nest site.

We use Wood Pro to treat Drywood termite infestation

TREATMENT VERIFICATION

Because drywood termites are hidden inside the wood they infest, it may be difficult to immediately verify the success of a given treatment. A swarm within a few years of treatment suggests either that the treatment was unsuccessful, infested wood was brought in, or a hidden, untreated, infestation was present and must now be treated. Accumulation of pellets, especially in a cone-shaped pattern, is also a sign of active drywood termites. All pellets should be removed after a treatment to insure that colony activity has ceased. A retreatment is warranted if new pellets are observed. Pellets may continue to trickle from wood after successful control if the wood member is periodically subjected to vibrations or jarring such as a door or door frame. Should you want to know more or have a free survey of your house, please contact us now at (033) 337-1117 or Mobile # 0927-5460608 nationwide. 

http://www.jcnjansen.com/

Cheap Pest Control? Here's what you get!

Cheap termite and pest control

Sometimes people tell me they just want the cheapest price possible. When shopping for a car, boat or television this attitude can be a good idea. You’re going to get the same warranty on a Sony TV at Wal-Mart or Costco so unless you have a store preference price is really all that really matters.

When shopping for a service company saying “I'm just looking for the cheapest price.” will likely get you one or more of the following:

•  An underpaid inexperienced technician

•   Costly mistakes that you may not be able to detect right away

•   The lowest quality products

•   The absolute least amount of time and materials 

•   An awful experience

The fact is Cut-rate service companies charge less because they do less. In most cases they do a lot less and homeowners are forced to pay someone else to redo their shoddy work. 

A good service company will add value to your property. A job that is done right the first time and that will last for years. Remember the cheapskate always pays twice. Always get the right people for the job and be willing to pay for quality service.

Credits: https://plus.google.com/u/0/109931685993330540919/posts

Xterm Termite Baiting System eliminates termites at Malacañang Palace’s Kalayaan Hall

Malacañang Palace’s Kalayaan Hall was infested by termites. The Xterm baiting system was used to eliminate the colony.

Xterm uses only baiting cartridges to exterminate termite colonies. Sumitomo Chemicals Phils. Inc. (SCPI) appoints any of its  authorized installers around the Philippines to treat your home with the Xterm system, which does not use chemicals so you do not have to evacuate your house because there is no spraying to be done.

Xterm baiting system has been used in Malacañang Palace, six hospitals of the DOH, the National Historical Institute, Crosswinds in Tagaytay, a number of upscale condominium buildings in Metro Manila, and countless residential homes.

Sumitomo Chemicals Phils. Inc. (SCPI) country manager Ferdinand de Gala says, “First, the installers will inspect your home to see if a termite colony already exists. If it does, they will install an above-ground baiting system; if the homeowner wants prevention, they will install an in-ground system.”

It takes about four weeks to eliminate a termite colony, he says. How does it work? “The baiting system relies on the natural behavior of termites,” he says. “Termites share their food in a process known as trophallaxis. Once they ingest slow-acting toxicants they pass it around the colony until it reaches the queen. The key is the use of a system that attracts termites to a readily accessible feeding station containing a suitable bait matrix that is carried back to the nest.” So the workers who forage for food inadvertently kill their own colony.”

An entire house can collapse from termite infestation, warns De Gala, so it is easier to prevent a colony from invading your house rather than exterminating it. There is hardly a house that doesn’t have termites; even newly constructed ones may be attacked by termites. And there is hardly any material that termites will not eat (the queen must be fattened!) — wooden flooring and paneling, books, paintings, rubber soles of shoes, even clothing. I have a friend whose library was wiped out by termites. I had my own unfortunate experience with anay. When we were moving to the south to our newly renovated house, the packing boxes sat unopened in the lanai for months. When I finally opened them, anay spilled out even though these boxes didn’t contain wood — but rather held clothing, albums and documents. Like any other ignorant homemaker, I asked our cleaning lady to spray the balikbayan boxes with insecticide.

“That’s what most people do, but it’s not going to kill the termites,” says De Gala. “Only a proper baiting system will do it. It is an environmentally friendly way of treating termite infestations, using very small amounts of a pest-specific chemical in a non-disruptive low-hazard application. Baits are ideal, even those sensitive to insecticide use. A house with a big termite colony may require more than one Xterm baiting system.”

“Especially these rainy days, homeowners need to be vigilant to avoid attracting termites. Moisture and wood act like magnets for termites and you can prevent that by taking a few simple home maintenance steps,’’ says Jay Adalla, entomologist and sales and marketing officer of Sumitomo Chemical Philippines, Inc. (SCPI).

De Gala says that most of the time, you don’t even know that your home has a termite because your wood looks okay on the outside. “Underneath, it is already hollowed because they eat from the inside out.” He adds that warning signs include swarmers around near light sources after rain, “mud shelters” (those thin mud-like streaks) on foundations or other walls running from the ground, sawdust-like powder near doors and window frames, stray wings of termites, tiny holes on wood surfaces, and paint that has started to bubble on wood surfaces. Lastly, termites are not exactly quiet — sometimes you can hear them (thousands of them) gnawing on your wood.

When something goes bump in the night, check for termites first.


Source: http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/635574/home-invasion-you-can-fight

Xterm Termite Baiting System Installation of a House infested with Termite species Coptotermes vastator

The most destructive species of subterranean termites infesting both rural and urban areas of the Philippines, the Coptotermes vastator, silently creeps and chews on anything containing wood cellulose. Common signs of infestation includes earthern tunnels along edges and more often sandwhiched between walls, hollowed wooden fixtures such as door jambs, ticking sound resembling a sand being poured continuously and physical evidences such as books and stored clothing being chewed and the termites itself scampering when you have discovered them. Worst if you are sleeping and the wall and ceiling came down on you.

Since the introduction of the termite baiting systems, pest control professionals and homeowners alike testifies to the efficacy of it and how termite colonies are being eliminated with the the homeowners happily watching on their activity everytime a technician is in the house to refill baits on the feeding stations.

To date, Xterm Termite Baiting system has proved it is the fastest termite colony elimination system. It can be installed without prior mixing of wettable powder baits & messy applications. Termites readily eats on the bait cartridge without knowing it would be their last supper. Treatment start by thorough check up of the house for evidence of termite infestation.

Termite soldiers rush to defend when wood is being probed, a suitable place to install the Xterm Above Ground Station

 Installation of Xterm AG Stations is fast as a breeze....

 Termites feeding on the bait; their last meal.

Xterm  In Ground Interceptors are installed within the perimeter of a structure to intercept foraging termites on the ground before they reach your homes.

These Termite Interceptors are monitored from time to time to ensure termites are intercepted, baited and killed.

4 days after installation, termites were intercepted by Xterm Termite Baiting system's In Ground station. Time to place the bait cartridge with Bistrifluron and let the killing begin!

Call us for details and free estimate at (033) 337-1117 or text us at 0927-5460608 (Nationwide)

Bistrifluron and Termites

The efficacy of bistrifluron, a chitin synthesis inhibitor, in cellulose bait pellets was evaluated on the mound-building subterranean termite,Coptotermes acinaciformis(Froggatt). 

Three concentrations of the bistrißuron were used:0(untreatedcontrol),0.5,and1.0% over an 8 wk period.Both doses of bistrißuron bait eliminated (viz. termites absent from nest or mound) termite colonies:83% of colonies (10 of 12) were either eliminated or moribund (viz. colony had no reproductivecapacity and decreased workforce) after 8 wk, compared with none of the control colonies. 

There maining two treated colonies were deemed to be in decline.Early signs that bistrißuron was affecting the colonies included: 3 wk after baiting mound temperatures showed a loss of metabolic heat, 4 wk after baiting foraging activity in feeding stations was reduced or absent,and dissection of two mounds at 4 wk showed they were moribund.Colony elimination was achieved in around half or less the time,and with less bait toxicant,than other bait products tested under similar conditions in the field,because of either the active ingredient, the high surface area of the pellets, or a combination of both. This suggests the sometimes long times reported for control using baits may be reduced signiÞcantly. The use of a mound building species demonstrated clearly colony level effects before and after termites stopped foraging in bait stations

Source: http://academia.edu/864840/Rapid_elimination_of_field_colonies_of_subterranean_termites_Isoptera_Rhinotermitidae_using_bistrifluron_solid_bait_pellets

JC & Jansen Pest Control