How to Kill Termites Around the House

Termites are insects that form colonies in places where food is abundant. They typically eat untreated wood and can cause significant structural damage to homes. They can be killed in a number of ways, including with a simple borax mixture, bait blocks, fungal spores, nematodes or pesticides. Using any one of the following methods will kill termites around the house.

Things You'll Need

• Borax
• Propylene glycol
• Termite bait block
• Bio-Blast
• Nematodes
• Termiticide

Instructions

1. Mix one part borax with one part propylene glycol. Sprinkle the mixture over the termite trail. Repeat this for each known termite trail in the house. Wait several days, and repeat the process for each termite trail. Over the course of 2 weeks, the numbers should begin to decrease dramatically. Specialty chemical and lab stores sell propylene glycol.

2. Place termite bait blocks throughout the house. These small traps contain wood treated with pesticide. The termites will take the toxic wood back to the nest colony. Once the queen is killed, the termites will be unable to reproduce.

3. Sprinkle Bio-Blast on all termites seen. Bio-Blast is a fungus that infects and kills termites with fungal spores. It can spread from termite to termite through close contact, and when infected termites return to the colony, it can spread quickly to the queen.

4. Apply nematodes to high-density termite infestation areas. The Steinernema carpocapsae species of nematode is a microscopic, parasitic worm that infests termites. Once inside the termite, the nematode produces enzymes that digest the termite from the inside out, until it eventually dies. From a single dead termite, up to 100,000 new nematodes can emerge, each finding a new host termite in the colony.

5. Spray non-repellant termiticide on highly infested areas. When termites enter the treated region, they pick up small quantities of the termiticide. When the termite returns to the colony, the termiticide is transferred through social activities. Control through termiticide usually occurs within 3 months.

Tips & Warnings

• Use borax, Bio-Blast, nematodes and termiticide in areas that are inaccessible to children and pets. Bio-Blast can be obtained from the EcoScience Corporation, its manufacturer. Contact the company by phone at [phone] for more information.

Resources

• Vet-America: Propylene Glycol
• NemAttack: Farm-Size Beneficial Nematodes, S. Carpcapsae