Termidor SC can kill sugar ants when used outside around the perimeter of the home but these are not actually a species of ant. It is just what ants that are looking for a sugar/carb based food are called since they go for sweets. We would suggest using either the Indoor or Outdoor Ant kit depending on where you are seeing activity.
Sugar Ant Products/Kits
How to Get Rid of Ants Treatment Guide
Termidor SC is a great choice for liquid soil treatment since it has a very long soil residual (10 years or more) and great transfer effect. In preventative applications, you would not be required to treat the inside of a crawl space. However, if there are live termites in the crawl space, then you would still need to spot treat that colony to insure control of them. So just treating the exterior of the house is not considered sufficient if there is already an issue in the crawl space.
If you can treat the termites from elsewhere in the house, then you may be able to spot treat the activity using Termidor Foam instead.
Termidor SC is only labeled to be sprayed for ants outdoors in the following way:
For Control of Ants and other Target Pests: Termidor is mixed at a rate of .80 fl. oz. to one gallon of water in a pump sprayer and sprayed around the outside foundation of the home. For example, you would spray 1 foot up the foundation of your home, and 1 foot out onto the ground. The treatment will last about 4-6 months, and will then need to be reapplied.
Termidor SC can only be used on or immediately around the foundation of a structure topically as directed for crawling insects or in a trench and drilled holes for subterranean termite application. Keep pets out of the area during the application and while wet. Once completely dried, it is safe for their return to the area. Drying time can vary.
Yes, you want to treat the crawl space with Termidor SC per product label instructions. On the exterior wall where there may or not be gravel/french drain, you either have to move the gravel and treat the soil below it, and keep a close eye on the home throughout the year to make sure termites don't sneak through the gravel and bypass the soil, or you can use bait stations a few feet from the foundation past the gravel or within it to monitor for activity. You can treat the soil under the gravel in addition to bait stations around the perimeter as well if you would like to do both.
As long as your fruit tree is not directly sprayed with the Termidor SC or so close to the treatment area that runoff or overspray comes in contact with the fruit, Termidor is safe to use and is not systemic. The general rule of thumb is that you should keep Termidor treatments at least 10 feet away from any edible vegetation and you should discard anything that may be contaminated with a direct spray. You may view the product label here for more information.
You must find out how many lineal feet you have around the outside or your home. Unfortunately, the square footage just will not tell us how much you really have to treat. To find how many lineal feet you have, measure around the front, back and each side of your home. Add up the measurements, and you will have the total lineal feet. Use 4 gallons of finished solution per 10 lineal feet around the house.
For Example: A home with 200 lineal feet around the foundation would require 4 bottles of Termidor SC. Most homes require at least 4 bottles. For Termite control, Termidor SC is mixed at a rate of .80 fl oz. for each gallon of water used and each 20 oz bottle will make 24 gallons of solution and treats 60 lineal feet of trenching.?
Termidor SC should not be mixed in wet cement or grout. It binds to soil when applied as directed on the label against the foundation for termite control/prevention.
While Termidor SC is labeled for wasps it can take time and you are limited in where it can be applied per the product label. Please take a moment to read over our wasp control guide so you can learn how to control wasps.
We cannot recommend or advise to flood a crawlspace with Termidor SC unless concrete will be poured over it afterwards. You may view our Termidor SC and Flooding Q&A for more information on this. Also, here is the full product label so you may review complete application instructions and methods.
Professional companies usually will not dig a trench, but they will use the rodding method because they have the truck rig to be able to do so. This method is a much faster process. Rodding will still help to control termites.
If your home is built on piers or wood beams, then you could use Termidor SC to trench the soil around each wooden pier/beam at the same rate that you would use to treat around a foundation (4 gallons of solution per 10 feet in a 6 inch x 6 inch trench).
