Jul 18, 2011 – Termites – Picky Eaters
QUESTION:
I've recently sold and installed Sentricon HD systems at two houses. One of the houses had no activity on the stations, but termites were still active in mud tubes in the crawlspace. I moved a couple of the AG stations to the active tubes. Should I be worried that the termites haven't started feeding on the bait or is it too early to tell?
ANSWER:
I suspect that what you have done so far with the stations is just fine. As far as I know there still is no true "attractant" to termite bait stations other than the piece of cellulose/wood within the station that the termites will be happy to eat IF they find it. Termites encountering bait stations is still a bit of a game of luck. You install the stations in what you feel are the most likely places foraging termites will go, and then hope that in their random search through the soil for food they will encounter the station and enter it. In theory you could put stations in a solid line around a home and the termites could pass between them in the inch of clear soil available and make their way to the structure. It is a guessing game as to where that colony is located in the ground, so these termites tubing in the crawlspace could have come up from someplace below the structure rather than from the outside, where they at least would pass by the stations.
This is not meant to cast a bad light on termite baiting. It is an excellent tool within the overall arsenal, and if you are able to get subterranean termites feeding on the bait within the stations you have a good chance of eliminating the colony, rather than just keeping it away from the structure as we have with some of the liquid termiticide applications. The best termite prevention or control could be the combination of soil treatments, wood treatments with borates, and bait stations to monitor for the termites long term. If it is possible to place a couple of the in-ground stations next to the point where these termites seem to be coming up from the soil this could provide them with a better opportunity to stumble upon that station and begin using it for food.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
I've recently sold and installed Sentricon HD systems at two houses. One of the houses had no activity on the stations, but termites were still active in mud tubes in the crawlspace. I moved a couple of the AG stations to the active tubes. Should I be worried that the termites haven't started feeding on the bait or is it too early to tell?
ANSWER:
I suspect that what you have done so far with the stations is just fine. As far as I know there still is no true "attractant" to termite bait stations other than the piece of cellulose/wood within the station that the termites will be happy to eat IF they find it. Termites encountering bait stations is still a bit of a game of luck. You install the stations in what you feel are the most likely places foraging termites will go, and then hope that in their random search through the soil for food they will encounter the station and enter it. In theory you could put stations in a solid line around a home and the termites could pass between them in the inch of clear soil available and make their way to the structure. It is a guessing game as to where that colony is located in the ground, so these termites tubing in the crawlspace could have come up from someplace below the structure rather than from the outside, where they at least would pass by the stations.
This is not meant to cast a bad light on termite baiting. It is an excellent tool within the overall arsenal, and if you are able to get subterranean termites feeding on the bait within the stations you have a good chance of eliminating the colony, rather than just keeping it away from the structure as we have with some of the liquid termiticide applications. The best termite prevention or control could be the combination of soil treatments, wood treatments with borates, and bait stations to monitor for the termites long term. If it is possible to place a couple of the in-ground stations next to the point where these termites seem to be coming up from the soil this could provide them with a better opportunity to stumble upon that station and begin using it for food.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
