Even though most people despise termites, they do play an important role in the ecosystem. They are tasked with removing dead and dying wood from the environment. However, they are also major pests when they come into contact with human settlements. They can cause serious economic damage, and as such, there are various control methods employed to get termite populations under control.

Given that they are responsible for billions of dollars in property damage every year, there is a huge demand for pest control products and options. Unfortunately, these options can sometimes be quite detrimental ecologically. One of the methods that is very effective in preventing and controlling termite infestations is known as a chemical barrier, where insecticides are injected into the ground surrounding the home, effectively creating an impossible to penetrate barrier. The other most popular option is the termite baiting system.

Termite baits are very different from chemical barriers. The baits are placed around the property inside the ground. They are usually composed of a plastic receptacle which is accessible to termites, and in this receptacle, you have cellulose that is laced with a slow acting insecticide. Termites will actually prefer the cellulose laced with poison to regular wood, so they will be drawn to these baits.

Once they come into contact with the bait, the workers will start taking it back to the colony, and over time, it is spread around the nest. This will kill a lot of termites, but the desired outcome is for the bait to reach the queen and kill it, thus destroying the reproductive capacity of the colony and ending the infestation.

Bait systems do have a drawback – they take a lot longer to be effective. Baiting systems cannot stop an infestation outright, like a chemical barrier can. On top of that, chemical barriers can also be created using slow acting termiticides that are spread throughout the colony by the termites that come into contact with it.

The ideal solution in your situation will depend on the type of infestation that you have and a variety of other factors, but one thing is for sure – baits are much more ecologically viable than chemical barriers. If you have any questions about these two termite control methods, or if you would like to set up a termite inspection for your property, contact us today and we can help you out.