These damn bugs make me sick. Please help me destroy them.

April 21, 2007 1:47 PM

Has anybody had success with DIY termite treatment?

Six years ago, we had our first termite swarm. I investigated the professional exterminators, and decided to do it myself - after all, none of them were willing to guarantee that they could actually get rid of the buggers, only that they would come out and re-treat if they returned. Which doesn't seem like much of a guarantee to me.

Anyway, I researched online and ended up buying some industrial-strength killer from a now-defunct website called Bugsmart. It was the little things that go in the ground with wooden baits, and when they get halfway chewed through, you replace them with the poison ones. I also got the foaming spray stuff that went around the perimeter of the house, in holes, etc.

Well, we didn't have any swarms for three years, and I felt proud of myself. Last year, though, they returned, because I had gotten lax in my smug self-satisfaction. But finding that Bugsmart is gone, I went to Home Depot and bought those Terminate stakes, which I now believe are absolute wastes of money.

So, the question is this: Is there any DIY termite treatment that actually gets the job done? Was I fooling myself? Do termites swarm, then disappear for three years, then come back? Does anybody know where I can buy the industrial strength stuff once again?

posted by jbickers to home & garden (3 comments total)

There are many online resources that sell commercial-grade insecticides, such as this one and this one and this one.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 3:30 PM on April 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

When drywood termites came up through the floor of my rental house and into my old cedar chest, the terminators said to get stuff from the local farm store to treat my chest. It turned out that the stuff that they had me get was borax. I mixed it with water and injected it into the holes that the termites made. You may be able to use borax in the same way with your termites.

My new landlord (who didn't do a proper inspection prior to purchase) just got the professionals to come in and do the whole house. It was a pain - we couldn't be in the house, had to pack up all our food, including everything in the freezer, and spent an extra day airing out the place as it made me have a sore throat even though they said it was clear of the gas. (It was probably the signaller, tear gas, because the actual stuff was odorless.) Our house has some pretty significant damage from the termites.

Good luck.

Wife of 445supermag
posted by 445supermag at 3:36 PM on April 21, 2007

I have bought products from U-Spray here in Georgia several times in the past with great results. Here is their termite info page.
posted by Wezzlee at 9:08 AM on April 23, 2007