Termidor SC Termiticide/Insecticide - Questions & Answers

The best way to protect yourself when using any type of insecticide is to read and follow the product label. Page 2 of the Termidor SC product label specifically tells you what precautions need to be taken before, during and after the application. You only need to wear a face mask if you will be doing the application in a poorly ventilated or enclosed area. All other applications will require you to wear long sleeves, long pants, shoes and socks and gloves. Be sure to wash your hands after the application before you eat, drink, chew gum or use the restroom.

The most effective way to get rid of ants will be to use a product that will not only kill the ants that actually come into contact with treated surfaces but will also be transferred back to the nest. There are a variety of liquid concentrates that work with a transfer effect such as Termidor SC, Taurus SC, Dominion 2L and Adonis 2F. All of these products are for use outdoors only and should be sprayed directly on or immediately adjacent to the structure for ant control (they cannot be used indoors and they cannot be broadcast sprayed outdoors and they cannot be used on edible vegetation). You can also use ant baits indoors and outdoors for ghost ant control. Ant Baits will be picked up by the foraging ants and carried back to the nesting area and shared. Most folks choose to use a combination of products. They use ant baits indoors and in sensitive areas and they use the liquid concentrates outdoors.

Both Termidor and Dominion work the same way and are great on ants.  We offer Dominion 2L in our carpenter ant kit mainly because it is cheaper than Termidor and many of our customers are looking for low cost alternatives.  Both products work great for carpenter ants.

Termidor SC can only be used on or immediately around the foundation of a structure and does not offer a fast knockdown.  When dealing with spiders most folks will use a residual product with a broader application area, like the Talstar P. It is widely used by pest control companies because it is labeled for almost every insect you could have a problem with and you can use it outside the home as well as inside, it is odorless and very safe for use around children and pets once dried.  It is a liquid concentrate that you mix with water in a one gallon hand pump sprayer.  It will last for 60 to 90 days outside in between treatments.  It is also labeled for lawn and ornamental use, and can be used on trees, plants, bushes and shrubs for all sorts of ornamental pests including Japanese beetles, mosquitoes, and other leaf eating pests.  If you dog eats the grass that may have been sprayed, there should not be an issue as the small amount of active ingredient once diluted is not enough to harm anything larger than insects.

If the holes are at least 10-12" apart you can use the same holes to apply a termiticide such as Termidor SC. We do carry hose end sprayers but we do not recommend that you apply the product with this application. It will be much easier to place inexpensive funnels in the holes and pour the finished solution in. If you have additional questions on treating for termites, please contact us at 866.581.7378 M-F 9-5 PM EST.

With the superior technology behind Termidor, you only have to trench the outside of the foundation and around each pier/post under the crawlspace. If you were using Dominion 2L you would have to trench the inside and outside wall of the foundation and the piers/posts. You can spot spray in wall voids and you will likely want to drill into the center of the piers as well as doing the trench around them. Everywhere you dig you will follow the method of digging a 6x6 trench and use 4 gallons to every 10 linear feet. 

Termidor SC will be applied in drilled holes and in a trench. The best protection for your home would be a dual treatment with a liquid non-repellent and a bait.

Since you have drywood termites in your attic it would be highly recommended that you go with a product called Bora Care. Bora Care is a wood preservative used to treat active wood destroying insects and prevent them from reinfesting treated wood in the future. BoraCare can be sprayed or painted on the wood in the attic and will penetrate the entire piece of wood and erradicate an active infestion. The great thing about Bora Care is that it is natural, last for the entire life of the wood (never goes away), and dries completely clear. Termidor would not be recommended because it doesn't penetrate wood and injections directly into the affected wood would be neccessary for treatment and it doesn't last very long.

As long as you use the Termidor SC as directed by the label around the home, it will be safe to reptiles and other animals. You may notice a decrease in the amount of lizards and frogs you see around the home however as they are feeding on the pests that are around your home that the Termidor will be eliminating. If they dont have enough food sources around your home to sustain themselves then they may migrate to other areas to try and survive. 

Termidor SC is only labeled to be applied around the outside perimeter of structures. You want to spray 1-2 feet up and out around the foundation. After the treated area has completely dried, it is safe for people and pets to re enter the area.

Termidor SC is not labeled to be used indoors unless you are using inside wall voids and are treating an active infestation. If you are unsure of what type of termites you are treating for, we would recommend getting them identified before doing any type of treatments.

You would use 0.8 oz of Termidor SC per gallon of water. You would then use 4 gallons of diluted solution per 10 linear feet of trench. You may read over our Termite Treatment Guide for further assistance.

When treating a block foundation with Termidor SC, you should drill a hole in each void so there would be 2 holes per block.  The holes should be no more than 18 inches high.  Usually, you want to drill on the second row of blocks high from the ground.  In addition to drilling the holes, you should also trench and treat the outside foundation wall and the inside foundation wall if you have a crawl space.  After drilling the holes, you are supposed to apply 2 gallons of solution per 10 lineal feet into the blocks.  For filling trenches and drill holes going vertically into slabs, you should apply 4 gallons per 10 lineal feet.  Please let us know if you have any further questions. Click on the link below for more information on treating termites.

How To Perform A Termite Treatment

If the equipment has been tripled rinsed and the nozzle and wand have been rinsed out, you can use them in the same sprayer just not at the same time. Termidor SC is a non-repellent insecticide. This means the insects cannot tell that it is there and they will readily walk over treated areas. Termidor SC also has a delayed reaction time and a transfer effect which allows them time to get back to the colony and spread it around before they succumb to the effects of the product. Talstar P on the other hand is synthetic pyrethroid which many sensitive insects such as ants can detect. Insects may avoid the areas treated with Talstar and those that do cross over treated areas are the only ones that will be killed by the product. Talstar P does not have a transfer effect so it will not be transferred back to the colony. While the Termidor SC will not actually be deactivated by Talstar P, it will be much less effective if it is over-sprayed with Talstar P. You can spray Talstar P on your trees, bushes and lawn for mosquito control as long as you are not actually overlapping the areas where Termidor SC was applied.

You should wear chemical resistant gloves, long sleeve shirt, long pants and close toed shoes when applying Termidor. If you are applying the product in a non-ventilated area, a respirator is will be needed. Termidor is a safe product for most folks to use. We do encourage our customers to read the product label and the MSDS before they purchase a product to be sure they will be comfortable using it. 

It is not necessary to make a re-application of Termidor SC if it was treated 48 hours prior to rainfall and had a chance to completely dry.

It is completely up to what you prefer, some people are more infatuated with the name brand product Termidor SC but they are the same product and work in the same manner so it is completely left to what you prefer to go with.

The number of times Termidor SC is applied depends on the ratio that is used. At the .03% rate, the product can be used four times a year. The other option is to apply three times a year at the ratios of .03% twice and .06% once. We would recommend checking out the Supplemental Document for this product for any more information.
 

Termidor SC is not labeled for mosquito control in addition to not be able to apply in lawn areas for treatment. We suggest looking into our terrific guide provided on how to get rid of mosquitoes that further instruct you on what items to use as well as instructional videos on how to do a proper treatment for elimination. 

Termidor SC contains fipronil, which is not well absorbed by plants when it is applied to the soil.  If fipronil does get into plants, it can partially break down, reducing any risk of translocating. According to the maufacturer, it is best to not apply Termidor within one foot of the drip line of edibles but does not mention ornamentals.