How to Fumigate Furniture for Termites

Termites can cause structural and aesthetic damage to furniture.

Most furniture has a small component of wood in the frame or main body. This wood can easily come under attack from a variety of insects, including drywood termites. According to Pest Control, these termites dig tunnels throughout pieces of dry wood without requiring any contact with soil, a foreboding circumstance for owners of beautiful wood furniture. Fumigation involves using heavy chemicals that fill the air to kill any insects or mammals that may be present in the house.

Things You'll Need

• Drill
• Termite spot treatment kit

Instructions

1. Assess the damage to the furniture. Look for small openings or tunnels in the body of the wood furniture before beginning any kind of treatment.

2. Drill a small hole in an inconspicuous area of the furniture using a drill and a small drill bit. The goal is to create an opening large enough to squeeze the treatment into the main body of the furniture.

3. Squeeze the insecticide into the opening you drilled in the furniture. Ideally, this product will spread throughout the body of the furniture, killing any termite infestations that have already begun. Sometimes, more than one drill hole or treatment is required.

4. Call a professional fumigation company if the spot treatment does not work. Traditional fumigation involves heavy chemicals that spread throughout the entire dwelling to kill infestations and should not be performed by a lay person.

Tips & Warnings

• Apply the spot treatment to furniture in a well-ventilated area.

References

• Do It Yourself: Drywood Termites
• University of Nebraska, Lincoln: Wood-Destroying Beetles