Termite Dusting and Foam Treatments
While dusting and foaming methods have their limitations, they can still serve as valuable tools when combined with other approaches. These techniques are commonly employed to eliminate active termites from specific areas. However, it’s important to note that they may not effectively prevent future termite attacks on your property. This is because these products typically do not eradicate the entire termite colony and its queen, which may survive and continue to reinfest the building. Conversely, baiting programs are generally considered to offer a more dependable and predictable means of eradicating the entire colony, including the queen.
To achieve long-term protection against termites, it is necessary to implement a management system around the home or building. Such a system typically involves either a chemical soil treatment or a termite baiting/monitoring system. These methods provide a more comprehensive and proactive approach to termite prevention, ensuring lasting effectiveness in safeguarding your property.
Termite Dusting Treatment:
This approach involves the gentle application of dust toxicants into termite-infested areas. The dust adheres to the moist bodies of the termites, but its effects are not immediate. The termites themselves then spread the dust throughout their workings via trophallaxis, a process of mutual feeding, which eventually leads to the death of a greater number of termites than those directly exposed to the dust.
In the past, before modern baits were available, “dusting” was the primary method used to eliminate hidden termite colonies and queens. Some pest controllers specialized in this delicate and precise technique, employing expert skills and care to repeatedly apply the dust gently. While the results vary, in the cooler environment of Melbourne, dusting often doesn’t yield optimal results, and greater reliance was placed on chemical soil treatments.
At Professional Termite Control Melbourne, we generally utilize dusting to reduce termite populations in an infested building before applying protective chemical treatments. However, for comprehensive colony control, we primarily rely on termite baiting programs, which offer more predictable and consistently effective outcomes compared to dusting.
Considering the discreet and subtle nature of termite attacks in the Melbourne area, dusting should seldom be used as the sole method of termite management. Dusts are most effective when there are high levels of infestation during the warmer months, allowing a significant number of termites to come into contact with the dust. Typically, we employ dusting as an initial step in reducing termite activity within a home.