Taurus SC Termiticide is a non-repellent insecticide. This means that ants and other insects cannot tell that it is there and they will readily walk over treated areas. It also has a delayed reaction time and a transfer effect which allows the ants time to get back to the colony and spread it around before they succumb to the effects of the product. Bifen IT on the other hand is synthetic pyrethroid which many sensitive insects such as ants can detect. Ants may avoid the areas treated with it and those ants that do cross over treated areas are the only ones that will be killed by the product. Bifen IT does not have a transfer effect so it will not be transferred back to the colony. While the Taurus SC will not actually be deactivated by Bifen IT it will be much less effective if it is over-sprayed with Bifen IT. You can spray Bifen IT on your trees, bushes and lawn for mosquito control as long as you are not actually overlapping the areas where Taurus SC was applied.
White Footed Ant Control
Carpenter Ant Control
Per the Taurus SC Termiticide product label: "Basement Structures: Exterior perimeter: Apply by trenching and rodding into the trench or by trenching along the foundation walls at the rate of 4 gallons of finished dilution of Taurus SC per 10 linear feet per foot of depth, or, if the footing is more than 4 feet below grade treat to a minimum depth of 4 feet. Trenches need not be wider than 6 inches and must be a minimum of 6 inches deep or to the bottom of the footing. When trenching in sloping or tiered soil, the trench must be stepped to ensure adequate distribution and to prevent Taurus SC from running out of the trench. Never treat a structure below the footing. Space the rod holes no more than 12 inches apart in a manner which will create a continuous treated zone. Mix the finished dilution into the soil before replacing it into the trench". Depending on the design of your home, you may need to trench deeper. It is safe to do so if you feel they are getting in under the brick and want to trench to that depth. It should not go below the footing of the home.
In the area where the well is located, you cannot use the trenching method, only the backfill method is allowed. The backfill method instructs you to trench and place the soil that was removed onto a tarp, pour 1 gallon of diluted solution per 1 cubic ft of soil, mix thoroughly, return soil to trench. The complete instructions are listed on the Taurus product label under the heading "Treatment of structure with wells or cisterns"
Per the manufacturer, since Taurus SC was only sprayed around the foundation, one foot away from the blueberry plants and you've already skipped one growing season, it is safe for you to harvest and eat your blueberries this year. Taurus SC is not a systemic and does not move through the plant.
Taurus SC is not labeled for fleas. Fleas tend to live in moist shady areas out in the yard where pets or other animals spend a lot of time resting. Taurus SC, however, is only labeled to be used in very limited areas on or immediately next to the house or structure making it mostly ineffective for flea treatments. We recommend you use our Outdoor Flea & Tick Kit to get rid of fleas around your home. You should use a topical flea product that is labeled for use on animals such as Petcor if you are trying to also rid your pets of fleas.
Taurus SC's residual, like many other insecticides, can be affected by the elements eventually. As long as the product is applied on a non-windy day and at least 24 hours before rain, the residual will last approximately 4 weeks.
Taurus SC Termiticide can be used indoors to treat active termite colonies only as a spot treatment; it cannot be used as a general preventative spray for termites.
Trenching along the interior wall of the crawl space with Taurus SC is not necessary unless trenching along the exterior wall isn't possible.
Taurus SC is not labeled for fleas. Fleas tend to live in moist shady areas out in the yard where pets or other animals spend a lot of time resting. Taurus SC however is only labeled to be used in very limited areas on or immediately next to the house or structure making it mostly ineffective for flea treatments. We recommend you use our Outdoor Flea & Tick Kit to get rid of fleas in and around your home. You should use a topical flea product that is labeled for use on animals such as Petcor if you are trying to also rid your pets of fleas.
If there is dirt immediately around the posts, then you would trench around the posts with Taurus SC in the same way you would treat around a larger structure. So you would use about 0.5 gallon of solution around each 4" x 4" post (0.4 oz of Taurus in 0.5 gal of water). If the concrete extends out from the posts, then you would not be able to trench there. Instead (or in addition to trenching), you could use Bora-Care to treat any raw wood on the shed to prevent infestation of termites and other wood-decay insects.
Taurus SC Termiticide in the 78 oz bottle will cover 240 lineal feet of trenching/drilling for termite applications. It makes 100 gallons of solution. We would suggest the 20 oz bottle for treatment topically around the structures (1 ft up and 1 ft out). Each 20 oz. bottle will make 24 gallons of solution and will treat 16,600 sq ft.
The manufacturer of Termidor SC recommends that you use the diluted solution within 24 hours. The longer the product sits in a solution the less effective it will become.
Concrete areas should be drilled and apply Taurus SC Termiticide every 10-12" apart, 2" from the foundation. You will disperse 4 gallons every 10 ft of drilled holes. Please take a few moments to review our treatment article on How to Get Rid of Termites for a successful application.
Taurus SC is not for indoor use at all unless you are treating for an active termite colony behind a wall void that you plan to drill a small hole into the wall to get to. If that is the case, you would use the same rate as you would for the trenching method outdoors which is 0.8 oz per gallon of water.
Yes, Taurus SC does need to be applied directly to the tree with a sprayer since this is more controlled than just pouring solution into the tree stump.
Taurus SC is not labeled to treat for fire ant control. Please review our How to Treat for Fire Ants Page for recommendations on using granules for broadcast or mound applications and also how to use a liquid insecticide such as Talstar for a liquid treatment.
Taurus SC Termiticide has a long residual and should only be applied at the lowest rate if using 4 times a year as labeled by the manufacturer to be the safest application. You will still see ants after application as it takes time to completely kill off a colony but you should not apply more often than labeled. They will still die after contacting a treated area.
Taurus SC Termiticide does list tree treatments on the label. However, it is only labeled for injection applications, and not for a general spray on or around trees.
