| miamicuse 2005-06-16, 2:33 pm |
| I finally got her email. So I am posting it here because it has some more
information that may be helpful to others.
MC
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Let's get to the easy stuff first. Structural fumigation with
Vikane will require you to vacate the home and will require you to
protect your consumables with special Nylofume bags which should be
provided to you by your fumigator. However, because Vikane is a gas it
will not mix or interact with solids or fibers, just as it will not
penetrate or contaminate liquids. The product leaves no residual
behind, and thus there is no need to wash linens, clothing, dishware,
toys, etc once your fumigation is complete. Upon removal of the tarps
and proper aeration procedures, all levels of gas remaining in the
structure will dissipate into open air.
<B>Now the hard part</B> Is fumigation the only way to deal your
drywood termite problem? Unfortunately, the answer is "it depends".
It depends on the extent of the infestation, and it also depends on you
and what risks you are willing to take.
The objective of obtaining an inspection is not primarily to discover
treatment methods as much as it is to establish the extent of the
problem and whether or not other areas of infestation exist. A trained
professional would be able to locate areas of activity that a layperson
may not recognize. And ultimately, the extent of the problem dictates
the mode of action as far as treatment options that can be entertained.
If it can be determined that the extent of drywood termite activity is
isolated, then spot treatment with a product such as Premise Foam or
Termidor may be more appropriate and highly economical compared to
fumigation. However, if an inspection reveals that activity is not
isolated or confined to a small area, tent fumigation would be the most
appropriate means of treatment to ensure that 100% eradication is
achieved, including areas of activity that were or were not previously
visible or detected.
Drywood termites are elusive and when they infest a home, it is often
the case that colonies splinter and spread to multiple areas within the
home, thus establishing separate colonies. For example, when you first
detect droppings, typically you can assume that the termites that
caused those droppings have been present for at least 1.5 to 2 years.
So, for that amount of time prior to you sighting the droppings, you
had no indication of their presence. With that said, what else could
have occurred without you seeing or knowing about it? Did the colony
splinter and move to an area inaccessible or obstructed from your view
(such as behind double walls, beneath floor coverings, etc)?
There are pros and cons toward spot treating for drywood termites
whether you use a repellant or non-repellant product. The pros include
not needing to vacate the home, and economics. The cons include,
limited treatment of detected areas and hit or miss for undetected
areas. The pros for fumigation are 100% eradication throughout the
structure whether activity was previously detected or undetected and
peace of mind. The cons include cost and the inconvenience of vacating
the home.
The use of non-repellant spot treatment products can be relied upon for
drywood termite CONTROL but not necessarily for drywood termite
ERADICATION. Why? Because there is no way to ensure that the product
will be delivered to all areas of the gallery nor to all colonies. The
transfer effects of such products are excellent, however they are only
as good as the ability of infected termites to reach all the others.
Galleries consist of many branches and tunnels. When colonies
splinter, the splinter group may choose a branch and seal if off from
any access to the other branches of the tunnel system. From there,
they will expand their "new gallery" beyond the existing area they have
now inhabited and continue to grow their own colony. So, lets suggest
that within a single "original gallery" there are two separate colonies
formed that are now separated by a seal off. In delivering any spot
treatment product, the coverage attained may be limited (in either
direction) only as far as the location of the internal seal. In a
scenario such as this, you may effectively treat one colony, but the
other goes unaffected since they are sealed away from the affected
colony and away from the treated area. (Hopefully I made sense and
didn't confuse anybody)
Picture it this way. You have a tree stump with many branches atop.
Let's take a branch and place an imaginary piece of rubber between the
base of that single branch and the stump. You water the tree and the
roots begin to deliver the water up the stump. From there, the water
is delivered from the stump to the branches. Will the branch we've
segregated receive any of the water? No. Not unless water is directly
injected into that specific branch.
So ultimately, to make a long story longer... The right treatment
approach depends on the extent of your infestation as determined by a
thorough termite inspection of your home, and finally how much risk you
want to take. You should consider what your priorities are at this
time before making a decision on which treatment approach you want to
take. Ask yourself the following:
1. What is the extent of my problem?
2. Do I want absolute assurance that all termites are eradicated?
3. Or are the limitations of spot treatment satisfactory to me?
4. What type of costs am I able and prepared to endure?
5. Am I okay with attempting spot treatment now as a temporary
measure, under the premise that I still may need to fumigate the
structure at a later time if more activity is discovered or the spot
treatment is not as effective as I had anticipated?
Hope some of this information helps. Let me know if you have any
additional questions or concerns.
Aloha!
CP
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