Effective, do-it-yourself, natural termite treatments..

June 11, 2005 3:46 PM

I have confirmed that my house has termites and I would like to treat them myself. Is this something I should screw around with or is this something where I should get a 'professional'?
posted by cowmix to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Depends on what your home insurance policy says. This may be covered.
posted by mischief at 4:10 PM on June 11, 2005

Get the pros in. They will give you a warrantee for the future. They can also, if you find the right folks, give you the minimal strong chemical treatment. If you do not have the bugs inside, they also have some very effective outside traps.
posted by caddis at 5:15 PM on June 11, 2005

Response by poster: >> Depends on what your home insurance policy says. This may be covered.


Homeowners insurance companies are notorious for dropping clients like flies.. sometimes just for inquiring about a claim (or so I have read). They have a centralized database that is kind of like a credit bureau (its called CLUE). I'll get them involved if things get real serious, but I would like to avoid that.
posted by cowmix at 5:19 PM on June 11, 2005

We (my company) used to run the scans on that database. Mostly they are looking for people who have multiple insurance plans and report their burned down house, or stolen Pings, to two, or more, insurance companies. This is more common than you would imagine, but they catch them almost every time with computers. Idiots.
posted by caddis at 6:23 PM on June 11, 2005

Homeowners insurance typically does not cover pest-related damage. If you're sure that you have termites, you have two issues: eliminating the pests and repairing the damage. You might take care of damp wood termites yourself by eliminating the sources of moisture and repairing a bit of modest damage. However, opening a roof or removing siding to replace structural members is not a typical DIY project. As for subterranean termites, treatment may involve chemicals that only a licensed technician may apply ( by drilling your slab or trenching your foundation), and repairs could be extensive and expensive (but not always). In short, not a DIY project for most folks.
posted by namret at 7:45 PM on June 11, 2005