How to Choose Between a Conventional and a Baiting Termite Protection System

Currently for those wishing to protect their home form subterranean termites there are two choices that can be had. The first, conventional or liquid, involves trenching around the structure to be protected and applying the chemical to the soil. The second, baiting, involves placing stations around the structure to monitor termite activity and eliminate the activity when observed. There are several advantages and disadvantages to both systems.

For those considering conventional treatments there are the following advantages. First there is reliability, once applied a conventional treatment will continue to work, with little or no maintainance for several years. The system is hard to damage, requiring massive soil errosion or landscaping to disrupt. Typically the insurance rate on conventional treatments (the annual renewal costs) are also lower.

However, conventional treatments do run out, typically in about ten years. The initial installation is very disruptive to landscape and poured concrete, uses potentially hazardous chemicals, and many structures are less suited for this type of treatment, such as houses with basements or on slopes. Also, since a conventional system kills only those termites who come into contact with it, the system will protect against termites but currently no termiticide on the market can be said to eliminate an entire termite colony. It is also important to note which types of termites are covered under a conventional treatment. For example, Formosan termites, a particularly aggressive species of subterranean termite, are usually not covered by a liquid treatment.

Baiting systems, in contrast, can be used on just about any type of structure, are much less disruptive during installation, use no hazardous chemicals, provide continual protection for the structure for as long as the system is in place, since most termite contracts are transferable to a new ower, this can be a good selling point to a prospective buyer, and because the system uses special baits tailored to termite metobolic processes, the system provides elimination of entire termite colonies, not just general protection from termites.

The system requires at least quarterly maintainance however, and as a result the annual renewal cost of the system is higher than that of the conventional treatment. Baiting systems can be severely damaged by removal of a majority of the stations, or by moderate landscaping, and the potential for human error on the part of the station inspector is always a possibility.

What kind of guarantee you get from either system should not vary greatly, so choosing a system is largely a matter of personal preferance, If you are enviromentally concerned, have a lot of plants around your home, have low decks or patios, do not wish to have your poured slabs drilled, live in a home with a basement, or on a slope, wish for protection that does not have to be reapplied after ten years or just prefer the added security of eliminating termite colonies instead of deterring them, then the baiting system would probably be the best choice for you.

If however you prefer to have a system you don't have to think about, prefer a lower annual payment, do not have many plants around your home, do not like the idea of someone coming by every three months to walk around your home, do not plan to be living in your current home in ten years, or live on a monolithic (single slab) home then a liquid treatment would probably be the better choice.

In either case, the smart consumer should know which system would better suit their home and lifestyle, and not just what the sales person suggests. Knowledge of the differances between the available systems can mean the differance between a system that you are comfortable with and a system that does not meet your needs.