You should clean out all of the Advance Termite Bait Stations completely and replace the wood base at least every 12 months, or once a year. Depending on where you live and the climate and amount of rain, you may need to replace the wood base more often. If the wood bases become very soggy and moldy then you should replace them.
The lid on the Advance Termite Bait Station is removed with a Spider Access Tool. Please look at pictures 12 and 13 on page 4 of the Advance Termite Bait Station Guide. These pictures illustrate what it looks like when termites have started invading the bait station. Once an infestation has been identified, the plastic inspection cartridge would need to be changed to an Advance Termite Bait Cartridge. Both the wood monitoring base and the plastic inspection cartridge should be changed every 12 months and the wood should be changed more often if it becomes very soggy or moldy. Please watch our Advance Termite Bait Station video for some great tips for using the Advance Termite Bait Station System.
If the Inspection Cartridge in the Advance Termite Bait Station is empty upon inspection that means that termites have eaten the entire contents of the cartridge and it was not monitored frequently enough to catch the activity and replace with a bait cartridge to kill them off. The stations should be checked quarterly for any activity.
You would not want to use a shovel when applying an Advance Termite Bait Station. To dig holes for the stations, use a 2 ¾ in. hand or electric auger or post hole digger.
You should clean out all of the Advance Termite Bait Stations completely and replace the wood base at least every 12 months, or once a year. Depending on where you live and the climate and amount of rain, you may need to replace the wood base more often. If the wood bases become very soggy and moldy then you should replace them. It sounds like the bait may need to be replaced all together and the station wiped out. We are not aware of a specific product used for this.
We would recommend Termite Bait Stations for subterranean termite prevention. Please watch our Advance Termite Bait Station video for some great tips for using the Advance Termite Bait Station System. Keep in mind that you need to use stations all the way around the structure to protect it.
The Advance Termite Baiting System woud not be the appropriate product to apply soley for the termites if they are inside the structure. They are great for monitoring activity but if you have activity inside, you will want to treat outside up against the foundation with a liquid termiticide such as Termidor SC. You can spot treat the interior voids with the Termidor Foam. Bora-Care can be applied to the floor (raw, natural wood only). Please take a few moments to review our treatment article on How to Get Rid of SubterraneanTermites and How to Get Rid of Drywood Termites.