Termidor SC Termiticide/Insecticide - Questions & Answers

The trench around the exterior of the house only needs to be 6 inches deep.  It is not realistic to dig a 5 foot deep trench and no company would do this either.  On the inside of the basement, it would probably be a good idea to drill through the slab of the basement along the wall that is below grade and apply Termidor SC through the slab and/or treat the termites directly in the wall where the activity is.

Termidor SC is labeled for black widow spiders specifically but it cannot be used on play equipment. Termidor SC can only be used on or immediately around the foundation of a structure. We do not recommend using any type of insecticide on the play equipment. We do recommend sealing the holes so that spiders cannot nest there. You can treat the areas around the play equipment with a product such as Talstar P to keep crawling insects from making the play-set their home. Knock down any spider web as soon as you see them to discourage spiders from nesting in unwanted areas.

No. Termidor SC can only be used on or immediately around your home. Termidor SC is not labeled for use in your yard. You may want to consider using an ant bait granule such as Advance 375A or an insecticide granule such as Talstar PL for ants in your yard.

Both Termidor and Bora-Care are good for treating dry wood termites.  They do it in different ways though.  Termidor is considered to be one of the best treatments around, however it is typically meant for subterranean termites and it is poured into the ground.  When using Termidor to treat dry wood termites, you have to drill holes into the wood and get the Termidor directly into the void where the termites are for it to work. Termidor will not penetrate through the wood, you have to get it in the right place.  Also, Termidor SC does not have any long term protection qualities in the wood.  Bora-Care is a wood treatment product and will penetrate through the wood. When applying Bora-Care you do not have to get it directly where the termites are.  You would typically just spray it on the surface of the wood and the Bora-Care will penetrate through the wood and kill the termites inside.  Also, since Bora-Care is a wood treatment product, it will stay in the wood forever and protect it forever.  The down side is that Bora-Care can only be applied to normal raw wood.  It cannot be applied to wood that has been painted, stained, or sealed.  So, if you are exposing the studs or normal wood anywhere on the house or replacing any wood then usually Bora-Care is what you want to use since it will protect the wood long term.  If you have an infestation in wood that is painted and you will not be replacing it, then typically you would drill holes into the wood and use Termidor SC.

When building a structure you should apply Termidor to the entire area under where you are going to pour the slab.  You should apply Termidor at the rate of 1 gallon per 10 square feet.  You should apply slightly more around the perimeter edges and around any plumbing pipes or expansion joints that will be in the slab.

Termidor does not leave a residue and so what you saw was normal.  Unfortunately there is no real sign that you will see to know that it is working other than the fact that you will not have any new termite activity.  If you treated correctly and the termites did come into contact with the Termidor SC, then it will work.  You have to trust that Termidor is the best termite control product for a reason.  Since it does not kill the termites right away and it allows them to take the product back under the slab where the rest of the termites are, it takes up to 90 days to kill all of the termites.  So you should not disturb the area or check to see if there is still activity until after 90 days.

Termidor is not labeled to treat mole crickets and Termidor is not allowed to be used in the yard at all.  For mole crickets we recommend Advion Insect Granules which are specifically labeled for mole crickets.

 Termidor is only labeled for use around residential and commercial structures and should not be used away from a structure.  So we are not able to recommend it as a treatment method.  Most termiticides are only labeled for use around structures.  Termidor does take up to 90 days to kill a termite colony.  It is recommended when having a wood pile to build a structure for it or place it up on blocks or on a metal stand so it does not come into contact with the ground.  That being said, a 6 x 6 inch trench would work, IF it was labeled to be used away from the house.

Termidor is not a wood treatment product and will not penetrate into wood.  It is meant to be applied to soil.  So spraying Termidor on fascia boards or any other surface will not do much.  If you are trying to take care of termites in wood, then you have to drill holes into the wood and inject the Termidor directly.  It has to come into contact with the termites in the wood to be effective.

The usage rate is 4 gallons of solution for every 10 ft of trench. Be sure to read our Liquid Termite Treatment article for full directions.

Termidor SC must be diluted according to the product instructions. The smallest container it comes in is the 20 oz bottle. In order to inject the liquid into the beams you will need to drill holes every couple of inches and use a sprayer with a pinpoint stream or a straw attachment to get the application into the holes. Another option would be to use Termidor Foam which comes in a ready to use can with the small attachments to get the foam into the drilled holes.

Termidor Foam is not labeled to treat roaches. We recommend using our Roach control kit to treat roaches. Roach Control Kit #2 includes 1 packet of Demon WP Insecticide (which makes 4 gallons of finished solution) for spraying the outside perimeter of the home and inside underneath appliances, behind cabinets, under toilets and sinks, etc. You'll also get 4 x 30 gram tubes of Advion Roach Bait Gel--one of the best roach baits on the market. Advion can be applied up high in the kitchen in the corner of cabinets and in cracks and crevices in kitchens and bathrooms. The bait contains a slow-acting poison that attracts and kills feeding roaches, who also spread the bait to other roaches by contact or by sharing food. Finally, 20 Gentrol Point Source stations provide an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) that will stop roaches from laying eggs, helping to halt the infestation. Please find our article on roach treatment tips and prevention.

The shelf life of Termidor Sc is generally 3-5 years. Please make sure to keep the bottle out of extreme heat to ensure the longest shelf life.

If there is a doubt if some Termidor SC got to the soil of the garden area you can remove the soil and replace it with fresh soil to avoid any contamination issues.  Any tomatos that you suspect have been over sprayed would need to be discarded.

If you have termites in your home, we recommend doing the liquid treatment as outlined in the "How To Do A Termite Treatment" article and then inside the home where you know you have the termites you will treat them directly by injecting the Termidor into the wall or cutting a hole into the wall and spraying on the wood or however you can get the product to the termites. It only needs to touch a few termites to work.

Yes, we do sell Termidor SC in 78oz bottles. This is restricted and only allowed to be purchased by licensed Pest Pros. We require a copy of Pest Operators License and Drivers License, before purchase.

If you know where the termites are active we do recommend directly treating that area. You should trench and treat around the wall inside the crawl space and trench and treat around each pier for best results. Drilling through the concrete steps to apply Termidor to the area under the steps is needed as well as many contractors hide buidling debris in these areas and termites are known to frequent this area.

You can apply Termidor SC in a 3/8 or 1/2 inch hole. Either would be the size drill bit that you will use to drill the holes for termite treatments. The benefit of having a larger hole is that the product will be applied quicker in the hole making the solution reach the soil quicker.

The shelf life of the Termidor SC when stored properly in a temperature stable environment out of direct sunlight is roughly 5 years. It it has been improperly stored or is older than about 5 years or so, then we would suggest getting a new bottle to ensure the product is at full strength for your needs. If it is within the 5 year date and the color has simply changed, it can be due to the active ingredients settling or just changing slightly over time.