Termite Monitoring?

[EatenByLimestone]

Be careful doing that. A homeowner would have to trench and pour an awful lot of product into the ground. F up your groundwater once and you and your neighbors get to live with it.

The active ingredient in that is a neonic. It’s not a good thing to play with.

[JosephP]

Like I said about...listen to EatenByLimestone. There is a reason the state requires commercial applicators to have special insurance.

The likelihood of correct application is probably not great...and that probably gives a false sense of security while adding more insecticide to the environment without doing any good.

[FireWood]

Be careful doing that.    A homeowner would have to trench and pour an awful lot of product into the ground.  F up your groundwater once and you and your neighbors get to live with it. 

The active ingredient in that is a neonic.  It’s not a good thing to play with.

Really?  imidacloprid is the active ingredient in flea collars and GrubX.  That stuff is used everywhere.

[EatenByLimestone]

Really? Yes. Just because it's everywhere doesn't mean its safe. The pesticides sold 20 years ago are no longer being sold. There's a reason for that. Imidacloprid has varying toxicities depending on its form with aerosols being the most dangerous. Most pesticides are this way though.. our lungs are made to easily absorb everything. Multiple states are working on banning it. That is not common. Dominion 2L is over 21% active ingredient. I can tell you thats a very high % and you should be very careful using it. This isn't a product you will find at Home Depot.

Most of the issue here is how it has to be applied for a termite treatment. Since you have endorsed this product, please let us know what you would be doing to keep the pesticide above the the footer and out of your groundwater. You would be dumping 4 gallons of solution every 10 feet into a trench. A 25x25 foot house means you're dumping over 40 gallons of solution in the trench. Then you need to treat the trench backfill. Many houses have driveways against the foundation or paver patios. You need to drill those, insert a rod and inject the solution under low pressure to TRY to get a barrier around the house. Oh, by the way, Imidicloprid will only last about half the year in undisturbed soil. Annual treatment is prohibited. Reading the label will discuss all of this.

Now you need to deal with any termites inside the house. Dominion 2l can not be used indoors.


To be transparent, I own a pest control company. For over a decade, I've carried 4 licenses, Structural (7a), Termites(7c), Ornamental and Turf (3a), and Food Processing(7f).

[JosephP]

Last I knew, Imidacloprid was the most widely used insecticide.  Yes, it is used "everywhere".  We use a few gallons per year treating trees.

That doesn't mean it should be used indiscriminately.  It is a very low dose in flea and tick collars.

I don't do structural pest control, but I wouldn't think that imidacloprid is the best bet...there are products that persist longer.  I'm not going to recommend anything by name because, like I said, that's not my jam.

[EatenByLimestone]

Every product I’ve used that contains it has been for bedbugs. Bad applications of pyrethroids have made them resistant to many pesticides.

[FireWood]

Really?    Yes.  Just because it's everywhere doesn't mean its safe.  The pesticides sold 20 years ago are no longer being sold.  There's a reason for that.  Imidacloprid has varying toxicities depending on its form with aerosols being the most dangerous.  Most pesticides are this way though..  our lungs are made to easily absorb everything.  Multiple states are working on banning it.  That is not common.  Dominion 2L is over 21% active ingredient.  I can tell you thats a very high % and you should be very careful using it.  This isn't a product you will find at Home Depot.

Most of the issue here is how it has to be applied for a termite treatment.  Since you have endorsed this product, please let us know what you would be doing to keep the pesticide above the the footer and out of your groundwater.  You would be dumping 4 gallons of solution every 10 feet into a trench.  A 25x25 foot house means you're dumping over 40 gallons of solution in the trench.  Then you need to treat the trench backfill.  Many houses have driveways against the foundation or paver patios.  You need to drill those, insert a rod and inject the solution under low pressure to TRY to get a barrier around the house.  Oh, by the way, Imidicloprid will only last about half the year in undisturbed soil.  Annual treatment is prohibited.  Reading the label will discuss all of this.

Now you need to deal with any termites inside the house.  Dominion 2l can not be used indoors.


To be transparent,  I own a pest control company.  For over a decade, I've carried 4 licenses, Structural (7a),  Termites(7c), Ornamental and Turf (3a), and Food Processing(7f).

Not intending to argue with you, I appreciate your input.

But how does it matter if the product is applied by a homeowner or a pro?  same dosage is needed, right?

Around here, the pros don't trench.  They inject.  I would do the same, following the label instructions.

If there is a better product, please advise...

[EatenByLimestone]

Experience would be the main difference and liability insurance incase something goes wrong. There can be professionals that are idiots too. We do our best to cull them quickly as it’s not worth the risk to have them.

We do not trench. If we did outside treatment like that, we would drill and inject as you said. But my main worry is not being able to control where the pesticide is going. It has to be kept above the footer. Most homeowners aren’t going to have the equipment to inject with a probe so will be stuck mid applying or with the trench method. With the probe, you can control what height you inject at, but can’t control where it goes after that.

We monitor outside every 10 feet (placement is key for these) and if found replace cartridges with chitin inhibitors. We generally assume that termites are going to roam around outside. I don’t want them inside.

Inside we use a borate treatment and foam.

[David Stone]

I spoke with the company again. Their pitch now is that the bait in the termite monitoring stations is also a poison.  So, by having the stations, it 1) lures the termite away from the home; and 2) termites that eat the b bait go back to the hive and the bait kills the hive.

This makes sense in theory, but I'm not sure it's actually how it works. I also don't know if my house is at a particularly high risk of having termites.  They provided me with the original contract, and it's from 2012.  So, I assume the house has been termite free for 12 years.

And, yes, it's a Sentricon Service Contract.

[EatenByLimestone]

Sentricon is the only monitor I know that has the termiticide out all the time. There are probably others I don’t know about. I’ve always used a straight cellulose monitor/cartridge until any sign of activity. I can’t say my way is better or worse. Sentricon has been around for a long time. There may be a cost difference between the two products that the company would see, but the homeowner may not.