Susan from Acworth, Ga writes
I started poking the wood (all of it) and found a small area in the garage that was infested which I will have replaced. Unfortunately I didn't research before spraying with Spectracide Termite and carpenter ant killer from HD so they probably moved location. Since researching I have found that the 6"x6" trench with 4 gallons of Termidor per 10 linear feet of trench is the solution. I do not want to pay the pros for this so I would like to do this myself. After reading the labels it looks like a 4 ft. trench is required for the sides of the house that have a basement. Since the basement is not finished and I have access to all the beams can I just spray the wood with Dominion 2L or something else? I found the termite gallery outside of the garage which is the part of the house that is on a slab and no other mud tubes outside or in basement so can I get away with a 6"x 6" trench all the way around? I am a 50 year old 120 lb. Woman and do not mind hard work, but 4 feet deep is a little much. I looked at Boracide, but it seems like this is for drywood termites. I had the house treated by pros in the past so the basement has plugged holes. I checked the wood in the basement and did not find any activity? If there is nothing I can apply directly to the wood can I drill through the plugs and inject Termidor using a hand pump then re-plug the holes (I would rather not have to do this)? Thank you for your help.
You do not have to dig the trench 4 feet deep. You should do a 6 inch wide x 6 inch deep trench around the entire house, everywhere the ground comes up to the structure and apply at 4 gallons per 10 lineal feet. Inside the garage where you have had activity, you should treat that area directly by drilling holes into the infested wood and injecting the Termidor or Dominion 2L product directly. These 2 treatment options should take care of your issue. Just keep in mind that Termidor or Dominion are not wood treatment products, so they will not protect the wood long term like they do when they are in the ground. However, if they touch live termites in the wall or in the wood, the termites will take the product back to the colony as it was intended.
Answer last updated on: 07/31/2013
