Why You Shouldn't DIY When It Comes To South Carolina Termite Infestations

Have you found termites inside your South Carolina home? Have you come here looking for an effective way to protect your investment? We're glad you did. There are a lot of "experts" on the internet, and while many of them mean well, their advice falls short of the mark when it comes to stopping termite infestations. Here are a few things you should know about termite infestations.

How to Kill a Termite

It doesn't take much to kill a termite. You can put a termite out in the sun for a while and kill it. This is especially true of worker termites (those are the termites that eat your home). All the other termites get their food from the workers through a process of shared fluids. A worker termite has a thin skin that can dry easily. If it is exposed to the sun and air for too long, it dies. You can also kill a termite by drying it out with some form of drying agent. There are many natural products that can be used for this purpose. One of the most commonly mentioned on the internet is vinegar. Can you kill termites with vinegar? Yes. Can you stop an infestation with vinegar? Not likely. Understanding why vinegar fails will give you insight into many other suggestions you'll get about how to kill termites.

The Problem with Topical Sprays

Vinegar spray is what we call a topical treatment. It is sprayed on surfaces. When the termites come out, they are exposed to it and it kills them. The description of this treatment will look something like, "Create a mixture of vinegar and water. Spray it on the holes created by termites in wood or on their mounds. Repeat treatment often to get all the termites."

Let's dissect this treatment advice.

• Spray the vinegar on the holes termites create in wood. In our area, the termites we deal with are Eastern subterranean termites. They don't create holes in wood that you can see. The holes created in wood are called "kickout holes," and they are made by drywood termites to push their feces out of their tunnels. Subterranean termites don't do this.
• Spray the vinegar on termite mounds. Eastern subterranean termites create their nests under the ground and below the frost line. You're not likely to see a mound that you can spray.
• Even if you were able to spray a surface and expose termites to your spray, it wouldn't last long as a treatment. Vinegar solutions dry out. Once your solution dries, it has no ability to kill termites.
• If you have opened up a section of wall and discovered termite workers, you might think that you can spray them and kill them off. This is partly true. You can kill many of them and they may share the vinegar spray with other termites as they attempt to groom each other. But there is no way the spray will work its way back through the colony and kill all the termites. This isn't just true of natural products you use to kill termites. It is also true of many chemical products you may use to kill termites.

Do you see the problem with termite control advice on the internet? They have elements of truth, but when applied to your problem, they fall short and leave you exposed to termite damage.

Termite Detection

Topical sprays and natural remedies aren't the only bad advice you'll get on the internet. There are many "experts" that will tell you how to easily detect termites when they come onto your property or get into your home. We're here to tell you, there is nothing easy about detecting termites. The warning signs termites leave are extremely subtle. Don't trust your home investment to the chance that you'll see warning signs or detect termites with an inspection. Subterranean termite workers can completely consume the inside of a wood timber without even damaging the paint surface. You can look at a piece of wood in your home and think it is completely sound, only to find out that it has been devoured on the inside.

Don't Let Termites Eat You Out of House and Home

If you live in South Carolina, find out if you're in our service area. We use Termidor®, the number-one termite defense product in America. This product is undetectable to termites and, unlike vinegar, it is passed from termite to termite through grooming and it works its way through the entire colony, eliminating it. Reach out to us today to learn more. There is no better way to protect your investment from these destructive insects.