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Termite prevention

The pest control company for the previous owner of our house installed green plastic termite baiting stations all over the yard in the perimeter of the house. I think they're an eyesore. Can anyone tell me whether this is the only type of termite prevention out there? Could we hire a company that uses a different method than these plastic things?

4 Comments

Woodbridge Environmental ... Colonia, NJ

There are many methods of termite treatments. But in some cases one works better then another. The bait systems work well but require ongoing monitoring by the company that installed them in an effort to assure that they are keeping the bugs away. With that said, and the stations are not being infested and showing signs of activity you can ask them to remove them and install a simple monitoring system in its place. We use wood sticks. We hammer them into the ground about six inches and ...»
yearly come back and pull them out. If termite activity is still present we will see this as damage to the bottom of the stick as the termites will damage the wood. If activity shows up we then retreat that area only.
The big benefit of the baiting station is that the insects are already coming and going out of that location and its simply a matter of removing the wood test with a chemical treated sample.
Many homes do not benefit with the old school style of chemicals in the ground. The chemicals need to bind to the soils and in many cases because of the soil types the treatments do not last nearly as long as we would like. Also if a well is located on the property or a nearby body of water, we do not want the chance polluting this water source so we go with the baiting systems as they do not use a liquid chemical to do the job.
But to answer your question, Yes there are many other methods that can be used. But your best answer to what is determined by the pest company themselves. As there are many other considerations that must be weighed before you simply "pull the plug" on these stations that you already have.

on Feb 07, 2012 · Like 1
Melissa G Atlanta, GA

Thank you -- that's a very helpful response. I guess I'll just have to camouflage them with something!

on Feb 07, 2012 · Like 0
Keller Pest Control - Tom... Harrisonville, MO

Yes you can use a chemical barrier treatment with Termidor. The stations if they are green may be Sentricon or they may only be a cheap monitoring device. You need to find that out, if it is sentricon then a licensed pest control company should be monitoring them on a regular basis. This is critical otherwise they are doing nothing but sitting there in the dirt. The cost for monitoring can be steep. Anywhere from 250-450 a year depending on home size. You can cover them since most ...»
companies have an electronic device called a dolphin to find them in the ground. And monitoring has changed to once a year instead of quarterly.

on Apr 11, 2012 · Like 1
Sherrie S Debary, FL

Melissa G, I had the green sentricon system before my exterminating company changed to another product because of the increasingly high cost.
I was paying $400 a year and now I pay the same company $165 a year for a different system that is sprayed once a year.
The sentricon wasn't very noticeable because the sentricon was underground with only the top cover showing.

on Apr 26, 2012 · Like 0