Termites love wood materials and can cause plenty of damage if they invade your home. Here are a few ways you can prevent their infestation and, if you are already experiencing infestation, treatment options:

Prevention of Termite Infestation

Make sure you remove all piles of debris or trash from your home area, as well as any dead tree stumps. This ensures that termites do not have a place to hide and wood to chew. Firewood should also be stacked away from your house so that if they get to the firewood, it would be difficult to get to your house. If you have any structural repairs or plumbing, make sure they are repaired -- termites like moisture, and they can die of dehydration. Keep any wooden structures, such as decks or porches, above the ground level and keep gutters clean. If you have a downspout, ensure it is long enough to steer water away from the foundation of your house.

Liquid Termiticide Treatment Options for Termites

Prevention methods may help you avoid the termites, but not in all circumstances -- you may require termite treatment options. There are two types of liquid termiticide treatment options — repellent termiticides and non-repellent termiticides.

Liquid termiticides can be applied before or during the construction of your house. This is done through soil treatment and treatment of the foundation walls before pouring the slab. If it was not applied during construction, it can be applied to your already built and inhabited house. Liquid termiticide is applied in all areas where termites can gain access to your house. The perimeter of your house's foundation is trenched and drilled, then liquid termiticide is applied. Liquid termiticides act as chemical blankets between the structure and the soil.

Repellent termiticides contain pyrethroids, which are fast-acting nerve poisons. They are repellent and toxic to termites. When termites are foraging in the soil, they will avoid the poison and try to find another route. It is not impossible to find another route, since the application of liquid termiticide may not be thorough due to hindrances to digging trenches caused by underground piping. This may not be a 100%-sure treatment plan, but it can be useful in repelling most termites.

Non-repellent termiticides are of three types based on their ingredient. The ingredients are imidacloprid, fipronil and chlorfenapyr. The termites are not able to detect non-repellent termiticides, meaning that they will forage and come into contact with the poison and die. Termites that come into contact with a lethal dose of imidacloprid will die immediately. If the dose is minor, it may take a while, but the termite will die. Termites that come into contact with fipronil will also die, but will transfer it to other termites through contact or communal feeding -- chlorfenapyr works in the same manner.

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