Treatment

The Treatment Stage

When you find activity in any of the stations it's time to begin the treatment stage. This on average will only be 1 or two and very occasionally 3 of the stations as when the termites enter the stations they lay a pheremone to guide the others there. The termites vitually always go to the Termite Coffins first and work their way over to the WAM's. The "Coffins" will have enough termites in them for an effective treatment on their own, any termites in the WAM's is a bonus. The more termites you can treat at once the faster the treatment will work.

If you buy your own termiticide the tub should be kept in a cool dry cupboard until it is required. It remains in a dry powder form until it is needed and is then mixed with distilled water to turn it into a paste. The correct doses and application are described in the instructions on the tub. Once the termiticide is added to the affected stations you leave them alone for 6 to 8 weeks and then check for any remaining activity.

If there are still "stragglers" in any of the stations you reapply the termiticide. One 500 gram tub would normally make enough mixture to treat 2 to 3 stations twice over and should be enough to wipe out the colony.

P.S The chemical manufacture rightly recommends that the baiting stations must be a ble to accomodate 100 grams of mixed paste, which is reasonably bulky,  to be affective, so we leave enough space above the termite food in the outer chamber plus space in the inner chamber to ensure you can fit it all in. A couple of thin tubes full simply wont cut it.

If you decide to call in a professional The Termi-mite Termite monitoring and treatment stations give the termite technician three different choices of treatment.

Each of these allow the termite technician to apply the termiticide without disturbing the main feeding group of termites in the outer chamber. Most termite speciallists using "baiting stations" nowadays use the same treatment you can now buy. Modern termiticides are very clever in that they are odourless and when applied will both adhere to the termites' shells and mix with their food.

What Happens Next?

The very nature of Termites or White Ants does the rest spreading the termiticide very quickly throughout the entire colony. The Termites feeding inside the Termi-Mite Stations are the “Workers”. They are the only member of the colony who can chew and digest the whole food and turn it into a soluble form the rest of the colony can absorb. They must then return to the nest to feed the queen, the king, the soldiers and the workers who perform other tasks such as grooming and construction.

Termites constantly groom each other as they are working as they are regularly being attacked by microbes and fungal decay in the soil. Grooming removes the “bugs” to keep the shell clean. As the Termiticide adheres to the termite’s cuticle it is ingested by grooming termites. This is the main method of transfer from termite to termite and why it is critical to treat large numbers of worker termites so the termiticide wil still be potent when it reaches the nest.

Dont read this bit if you’re squeamish.

Excrement from the workers is taken up by the following termites and mixed with saliva to form their galleries and tubes. If a termite dies, to keep the pathways clear, it is eaten by the ensuing termites. Feeding of the rest of the colony is done by regurgitation.

Each of these activities transfers the Termiticide to the other workers, the Soldiers, any A-lates (winged termites that are bred, fed and housed in the nest until they are released during late spring and summer) and eventually on to the King and the Queen who are also constantly being fed and groomed by workers. The Queen thereby absorbs large amounts of the termiticide. As her subjects die she also simply runs out of minions to feed and groom her. She eventually gets sick and suffers the same fate.

Once the Queen is dead the colony is finished and your house is safe until another foraging colony enters your property. You do get a honeymoon period as when large numbers of termites begin to die they emit a pheromone which warns other termites that this is a dangerous place for termites to be. This pheromone can last for many months and it is not uncommon to have years of respite from these hungry little varmints.

Is The Termiticide Safe to Use?

The termiticide you can buy isn't actually a poison. Its called an Insect Growth Regulator or IGR. It affects the termites shell production blocking the hardening process when termites regenerate their shells. As such it has no known affect on humans or any other mammal. For those who want to find out more about it it's called "Chlorfluazuron"

At the approved application rate, the other termiticides our recommended professionals may use are rated as being of extremely low toxicity or virtually non-toxic to mammals (including us humans, pets and the environment). The termiticide cannot escape into the environment so it bears no threat to your kids, pets or the environment.

Why Cant I Buy The Treatment Chemical from You?

My main concern is for you to get the best result possible. To do this the chemical must be fresh when it's applied. To do this it must be kept in a cool dry environment or it will eventually lose its effectiveness. It's much better to buy the chemical in when you need it. There is only one company I know which has a license to sell the chemical to the public. They are very efficient and will post it out within a couple of days of you ordering it which can be done over the phone or by mail order.

You will never know when termites will attack the Termi-Mite stations but it is rarely within the first month after installation. They will definitely turn up but it could be this year or the year after by which time the chemical could have deteriorated.

This will also save you a couple of bob as I don't have any mark up to cover my costs where most sites selling it are $10.00 to $30.00 dearer than buying it direct from the supplier. Currently a 500gram tub is $120.00 plus $9.00 postage. This should be enough to eradicate the colony when the time comes to treat the baits.

If you would like me to supply it with the kit, let me know and I'll be happy to order it in and end it but I have to add $10.00 for the double handling and postage.

Full details of where and how to buy the chemical comes in the Owner's Manual supplied with every Termi-Mite kit. By the way, this is the very same chemical the really expensive commercial baiting systems use but you'll do a better job.

NOTE: Don't forget to mark the dates of any activity and treatment on your log sheet as these records will add value to your property should you ever decide to sell!