Will a Termite Bait Station Work With Flying Termites?
October 31, 2021
Termites are extremely destructive pests and without any sort of structural protection, they can easily make their way to your home and start an infestation. Naturally, no homeowner wants to have a termite infestation so it’s always best to set up your defenses as early as possible. One of the popular termite control measures is the termite baiting system.
So can you use a termite bait system to drive away swarms of winged termites? Yes, a termite bait system is an effective termite killer that can eliminate an entire colony. The presence of a termite swarm usually indicates that there’s a nearby termite nest and you can prepare a termite bait station to lure the foraging worker termites of the colony. Bait systems contain termites’ favorite food combined with conventional insecticides or liquid termiticide to poison them until they die.
Termite Bait Systems for Flying Termites: Do They Work?
Flying termites or a termite swarmer usually appear for one main reason: to multiply and expand their colony. The swarming season is typically different for every species of termites but it normally falls in the summer months for the common subterranean termite and drywood termite. You may notice that their swarming activity often happens late at night because they prefer the high humid conditions in the evening.
Among the available methods for termite treatment, a termite bait station is one of the most effective solutions for controlling and exterminating these pests. What a termite bait system does is that it attracts the worker termites of the colony. A termite worker has an important role in hunting down food and bringing it back to the entire nest.
Bait stations commonly contain any cellulose-based material since that’s what a termite’s nutrition usually consists of. Any type of wood, plastic, cardboard, or paper can be placed in the termite bait. To make it effective for termite colony extermination, the baits must be laced with a slow-acting insecticide or poison to kill the termites.
A baiting system doesn’t instantly exterminate termites unlike chemical-based termiticide and termite sprays which are fast-acting termite killers. When you use a strong chemical to instantly kill termites that find the bait, there are chances that the other termites in the colony will recognize the bait and move their colony to another location.
While using a slow-acting chemical on the bait may take several months, this process will eventually wipe out the entire colony. Worker termites won’t immediately notice the presence of the chemical and they can take back the food to their nest. This means that the flying termite swarmers and reproductive termites can also ingest the bait.
Why You Should Consider Baiting for Termite Treatment
Baits are excellent solutions for managing the issue of flying termites infestation, as well as exterminating them for good. At the same time, using a current termite baiting system for pest control has several benefits such as:
Safe and non-toxic to humans and pets: Termite bait stations contain chemicals that are not harmful to humans but are extremely lethal to termites. Likewise, a pest management professional will ensure that the baits are installed underground or in an area that’s far from the reach of your kids and pets.
Environment - friendly method of termite treatment: Unlike chemical termite treatment and liquid spot treatments, baiting is more eco-friendly since it doesn’t require doing any digging or drilling to place them within your property. If you have a garden or greenhouse, you can rest assured that the baits won’t be toxic to your vegetation, plants, and flowers.
Resistant to bad weather conditions: Termite bait stations are durable and are efficient for long-term termite control. Termite barriers that apply chemicals to the soil and ground can be easily affected by weather changes and flooding. But a termite bait system can be conveniently placed in any location and will be safe throughout the year.
How You Can Set Up Termite Stations at Home
Effective termite baiting can be done with the help of a professional pest control company. If you suspect that you have an active infestation, you should call a pest control team to conduct a termite inspection in your home. Once they’ve confirmed the locations of the current termite activity, there are three steps that can be done to set up the bait stations:
Initial pre-baiting phase: Early detection of termite activity is important to know where the stations will be placed. Termites need to familiarize themselves with the termite bait system hence pre-baiting stations are installed so they’ll create a feeding cycle with the termite bait. These pre-bait systems include a termite inspection cartridge that will encourage the worker termite to feed on the bait. During this initial stage, the bait station will only contain the food without any chemical or toxicant yet.
Application of the toxic termite bait: Once the termite workers have gotten used to the bait station, the pest control technician can add the active bait with the toxicant or insect growth regulator. This is done so that the termites will continue to feed on the station without any suspicion about the bait. The amount of time that it takes for the active bait to take effect will depend on how often they feed and the size of the termite population.
Monitoring of the termite station: Termite control with a baiting system is a slow and gradual process. You need to constantly visit the station to make sure that it hasn’t been destroyed by termites or other insects. There are also cases when the bait has run out which means you need to put a fresh active bait to continuously lure the worker termites. A termite technician can come back to check if the bait has worked and eliminated the entire colony.
Other Termite Treatment Methods That Can Help Eliminate Swarming Termites
Some of the most popular bait monitoring systems and solutions for household termites are Advance Termite Bait System, Spectracide Terminate, and Hex Pro Termite Baiting System. But there are other termite control options that can work for getting rid of flying termites. Your termite treatment options can include:
1. Liquid Treatments
There are types of termites that live in the soil beneath the ground such as the Eastern subterranean termite and Formosan subterranean termite. Putting up a barrier within the perimeter of your home can serve as good protection against termites.
A pest control technician can put a liquid soil treatment or termite barrier around your property to stop termites from reaching possible entry points. Liquid termite treatments can also be applied in the location sites that they have already infested to instantly kill them.
2. Wood Treatments
Wood termite treatments are good for getting rid of termites and preventing future termite infestations. This method typically requires applying varnishing and termite sprays to treat any type of structural wood to keep termites from chewing on the wood. This is especially effective for drywood termite species who love to cause termite damage on wood structures and furniture.
3. Termiticide Sprays
Another method to get rid of termites is termite sprays. Unlike liquid chemical barriers and baits, the application of pesticide typically needs to be directed to visible flying termites. The active ingredients in the termite sprays will penetrate their exoskeleton and dehydrate them until they die.
How to Keep Termites Starting an Infestation in Your Home
If you live in an area infested by swarming termites, flying ants, and other pests, there are some practices that you can follow to prevent a potential infestation. Here are some professional tips to avoid an active termite infestation:
Keep away lumber, moist wood debris, and piles of firewood from your home. As much as possible, you want to minimize possible soil-to-wood contact so drywood and subterranean termites won’t be able to enter underneath your house’s foundation.
Look for any sign of water leakage and fix broken sinks, roofs, or other fixtures to avoid attracting termites.
Remove their supply of food sources such as tree stumps and other cellulose material within your home.
Switch off your porch lights and shut your windows at night to avoid swarming termites going into your home.
Schedule an annual inspection with a termite and pest management professional to look for common signs of termite such as active mud tubes, hollow sound on wood and walls, or the presence of discarded termite wings.
Expert Termite Control Services Available at Positive Pest Management
Keep yourself from worrying too much about termite infestation with a reliable and effective termite bait system in place. At Positive Pest Management, we offer quality services and termite control measures that will help bring back a termite-free environment for your home and give you and your loved ones peace of mind.
Our team of pest control experts guarantee effective extermination of your pest problems. Our services aren’t limited to termites as we can create a customized and comprehensive plan to treat any kind of household pests including carpenter ants, bed bugs, roaches, rodents, and more. Call us now to book an appointment and we’ll drop by your home for an initial assessment.
