Termite Baiting Systems
Organic Termite Control
“Okay…I have termites and I’m considering a termite baiting system…how does that work?”
Two popular baiting systems are the Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System and the Advance Bait System.
The Sentricon System and the Advance System are similar because they both rely on the random foraging of worker termites leading them to the wood blocks placed in the stations.
With baiting systems, stations filled with wooden sticks are placed around your property roughly 8-10 ft apart and in areas conducive to infestations such as mulch beds and shrubbery. Once the stations are installed, quarterly visits are scheduled to come to your property and scan the stations for activity…if activity is found the wooden sticks are replaced with bait sticks. As termites feed on the bait sticks they take the bait back to the colony for the other workers and the queen to digest and die.
One year after the system is installed you will be given the option to pay an annual renewal fee which consists of quarterly inspections and continued baiting as needed plus replacement of any damaged stations during the warranty coverage. This option is usually for an additional 5 years from date of the original install. If you decide not to continue the coverage then the company stops inspections and baiting and some will retrieve the stations from your property.
Baiting systems are considered “organic treatments” because no chemical enters the ground or your home.
Baiting systems rely solely on the fact that termites have to come into contact with the bait station while foraging for food to register as termite activity and to be discovered by the exterminating company protecting your home.
There have been instances during the yearly inspection where termites were discovered in the home even though the stations showed no activity. Most companies will then resort to concentrating on the infestation by using 1 of several methods:
- – AG station (Above Ground Station)
- – Premise foam
- – Termidor powder
All are successful at eliminating the termite infestation.