Ask Jon Eakes

Last Updated: Friday, November 30th, 2001, Created: Friday, November 30th, 2001

Just how do you protect your house from termites?

Present termite control methods are not aimed at killing termites, but at creating a barrier around the house to prevent them from commuting from their habitats in the soil outside the house to your wooden structure where they feed. They are an insect without a shell so they need protection to keep their body moisture, hence they always burrow tunnels from the soil to the house, or build visible tunnels over material they cannot burrow through like the concrete wall.

The barrier, or insect moat, is created around your foundation by drilling holes into the ground every few inches and injecting insecticides into the ground, both on the outside and the inside of the foundation wall. Here we were working with the guys from PCO Orkin pest control in Toronto.

This does not eliminate termites in the neighbourhood, not even in your yard, so you will have to maintain this protective barrier every few years. Termites cannot be eradicated on a house by house basis as they will continue to live in the yard, or next door. Studies have been shown that while protecting individual properties, termites can be eradicated if a neighbourhood approach is taken with different techniques.

Keywords: Damage, Insects, Pests, Termites

Print Send To A Friend

Article 1511

Privacy | Ruby on Rails Development by Isnor Creative