Viviane from Cypress, California writes
I had a exterminator come for our very severe ant problem. He used Termidor on some of our grass area and near our fruit trees because we think the ant colonies are underneath the fruit trees. He was here about 12pm and told us to turn off the sprinkler for 24 hours. We thought we had it off but the sprinkler still came on around 8:30pm. We are now afraid of the runoff from the spray into the soil. Would it affect the trees and would it get into the fruits from the soil? I didn't know how concentrated is his solution but he did mention that since we are in California, the regulations are more strict so the solution are not as strong as other states. However, since we always eat the fruits so we want to be extra careful.
While we cannot comment on the services done by a professional we will say Termidor is not labeled to spray in the yard, it is only labeled to be applied next to the house as a spray for ants or in the ground for termites. As long as your fruit tree is not directly sprayed with the Termidor 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 a systemic. 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.
Answer last updated on: 09/17/2013
