Our Pest Pulse survey finds out which products pest managers turn to when they need to take control of an active termite infestation.
Controlling active termites is a critical first step in dealing with an active termite infestation. There is a range of products available for pest managers to choose from and a number of potential factors to consider in making the right choice.
Perhaps the first question pest managers should consider before narrowing down the choice of product is whether the product is appropriate for the situation? This can be impacted by the species present, level of infestation, location in the building, environmental conditions and time of the year. But there are other factors that can impact choice: does it provide colony control or just eliminate active termites from the building? How quickly does it work? Is it expensive? How easy is it to apply? Do specific safety issues need to be considered?
Our Pest Pulse survey this issue asked you to name your preferred termite control product – which would be your go-to product? (Assuming the situation would allow you to choose from any product). To dig a bit deeper, we wanted to know what was the primary reason for choosing this product?
Interestingly the preferred product of respondents was fairly evenly split between liquids, baits, foams (aerosol and make-your-own) and dusts. I suppose on the face of it, the high number of pest managers specifying liquid as the preferred control product format is possibly a little surprising, as liquids should not really be applied to active termites in structures. However, they can be used to treat non-structural external elements (posts/fencing) and for direct nest treatment.
It is possible that respondents to the question were thinking about their preferred use of liquids as a perimeter treatment around a structure, as two respondents mentioned long-term protection. Maybe further in-depth questions would have helped to get a better understanding on their use of liquids.
No doubt on the key requirement of these products – the need for colony control – with a majority of pest managers (51%) choosing this as the key reason for choosing their preferred product. In fact, this was the number one reason for choosing all product formats, except for pest managers preferring foams, who specified quick and easy application as the key reason. Fast acting was also an important reason for product choice, but significantly less important than colony control.
There were some great comments as well, with several pointing out that taking time to locate and physically destroy the nest, is a preferred first step. However, finding the nest is the tricky part!
