There is no way you can treat termite infestation with home remedies. I know from personal experience. When we lived in the south we had termites. We saw them swarming in a bathroom. My husband "treated" them and we were sure they were all dead.
About two years later, we saw them again and had to call in a professional. Unless you have seen the damage termites can do, you can't believe it. They had destroyed an entire outer wall. The 2 x 4's crumbled like tissue paper. It ended up costing us way more than it would have if we had called a professional in the first place.
By Joan from Chesterfield, MI
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does anyone have a homemade remedy for getting rid of termites?
Wow, a homemade remedy for termites? Home Depot or Ace should have the boric acid that you need. I understand and sympathize with you. Now, you and I both know that professional treatment is best but, in these times, who can afford it?! As for the treatment that I learned from a "bug guy" here in St. Augustine, it is boric acid. That's it. That's the active ingredient in 20 mule team borax. You want as high a percentage of boric acid as you can get.
If your house is built above ground, with no basement, you can sprinkle boric acid on the ground under the house. I don't prefer this method, because other beneficial insects could get into it. Because my house is all wood, built about 1925, with no sheet rock or plaster, I drill between the studs with a 1/2" bit, a hole, about 2 feet off the sill or floor. Then I force the boric acid into the hole, a teaspoonful per hole.
Hotshot powder may be one with a container you could put the tip into the hole and squeeze powder into the hole. I then, caulk the hole and paint. This treatment is great for roaches and ants too!
Are you old enough to remember your Mom putting what looked like cookie crumbs into bottle caps, and putting them under the stove, refrigerator and under furniture where we couldn't reach? That was a type of boric acid. The roaches ate it and died. It works! Good Luck!
I use d'limonene the highest concentration is in Organic orange TKO the only thing is it's very expensive so I buy big O cleaner at smart and final.
What I do is I put it straight into a garden pump sprayer and I walk around the outside of the house as spray all the eve's the wooden patio and any place that I might have seen termite droppings, I pop open the crawlspace (I don't have an attic) and spray the roof on the inside, a good sprayer can hit everything.
It has a real nice orange smell and it's supposed to penetrate the wood for 20 ft.
I do this about 6 months and if I forget as soon as I see droppings, it kills ants and wood boars also.
I have been doing this for several years now, it seems to be keeping them under control
Borax acid spread it behind appliances furniture. Not harmful to people.
Home depot products will do nothing. I rented a house that had severe termites for 15 years (the rented time not the time of the termites as I am sure they were brewing long before I seen them) Make sure to have all your yard areas cleared of ALL lying wood. You need to call a professional and even they told me that most of them "control" not get rid of the problem.
Good luck!
I would not rely on home remedies to get rid of termites. I know it is expensive but I'd call a termite company - check around for rates.
I had a friend spray for termites at my house with a spray I bought at a hardwood place - wrong decision. A couple of years later, when I sold my house, the lady who bought it had it inspected and found termites. I had to replace a part of the bottom door frame (from underneath the house - could not be replaced from the up side). Cost over $1500.
For subterranean termites:
First follow all the suggestions about removing wood, making sure no dirt contacts wood, etc.
Also, take advantage of the free termite inspections from several companies (you wouldn't believe the different reports you'll get from different companies.) You'll learn useful stuff about your particular situation. Our inspections didn't see any termites in the building, but of course they can be there for years without a sign. And they can get in a spot smaller than a pencil lead. We knew we had them right outside the house though, from some cardboard we had put down for mulch.
Find your termite colonies by putting damp cardboard down. Look under there every so often. They'll be more than obvious if the termites found it. Moist areas, areas with wood (like old tree stumps) and so on are more likely. (Although I wonder if they'd bother with my cardboard if they had a well-rotted tree stump?)
We bought Termidor SC for 20oz. Costs $60 but it makes I don't know how many gallons (about 2T per gallon.) Took large coffee cans, filled with cardboard, soaked with the diluted Termidor solution. Sealed & locked while it was absorbing.
Then took other coffee cans (the 3# size) and punched a bunch of holes all over except the top 3" or so. Put the soaked cardboard in them, put the lid on and taped. Buried them where the termites are, with the lid about level with the ground. We also put a piece of soaked cardboard below the can, just to entice them to explore that can. Covered the lid with a big rock. The area will be more attractive if there is some moisture (we live in the desert) and they'll tend to find it. If you've identified the areas the colony is in, though, it shouldn't be hard to get them to find the cans.
Within a month or so the termites should find it, eat it, and take it home. You can look through the lid to see if there's any activity. Within 3 months the colony should be dead or close to it, if you've fed them enough poison. (Use a few cans to start; you can get an idea after a while. If they're eating all the cardboard, give them more cans.) It's a biological poison and they don't get sick immediately; it gives them time to get back to the colony and spread the poison with their grooming habits. Hopefully it will get as far as the queen.
My best guess is that one bottle of Termidor will last for years if we keep on top of it. Colonies start and grow; if we can catch them when they start we can stop them. I think. And termites are vitally important in the ecological scheme of things; it is just the colonies chomping at our house I want to interfere with.
A. This is serious poison. Use outside, be very careful, use gloves, eye protection and masks, work slowly and carefully. Send the kids to grandma's. Read all the directions about not using near waterways and stuff like that. Rinse according to the directions and throw everything away carefully. Lock your supplies, your soaking cans, and all that.
B. This is just what we've done. There are no guarantees. This is not an approved use of Termidor. If you do this then you are responsible for any injuries.
For dry wood termites, boric acid is probably the best. I think a liquid spray would be better to adhere to the wood even after it dries, especially if there is some sort of thing you could put into it to help it adhere. Or soak sawdust in boric acid (or just mix it in?) and put it in the wall cavities... I just think termites would like sawdust better than chomping into hard wood... Its one reason why I used cardboard instead of pine boards. As far as boric acid, I buy it at the dollar stores. The quantity isn't large, but all I've ever used it for is to keep a line of dust in the crack outside of the exterior doors, and it goes forever used that way. (Mostly to prevent cockroaches and ants, which it does.) Worth price checking anyway.
Some pest control companies use Termidor by drilling holes every 18" or so between studs around eye level more or less, and they have special equipment that sprays all around inside the studs, then they caulk the holes. I wouldn't try anything like this; goes way past my safety standards since we have no training, no right equipment, not that kind of safety clothes. I might be willing if a wall was already opened to dilute the Termidor, paint it on the wood the termites are already eating, and close it up. Although in that case the boric acid would do just as well, and be less toxic.
Spray diesel fuel on it. My put it in a hand sprayer and sprayed directly on infected areas and around the house creating a barrier. It does work. In some places it is illegal to spray diesel on the ground so be sure and check in your area with EPA.
I need to get rid of termites. Does anyone know of any household products that will work? I'm looking for a way to get rid of them without buying the termite treatment in stores.
By Donna
I advise not to go with any home remedies. Your investment in your home is much more important to trust any "home remedy" with. The damage done by termites will cost you more and if you sell your home you will need an inspection done by a professional anyway. Do it right the first time and save money.
Look for an orange cleaning product with D'limonene in It and use it in a spray bottle undiluted.
Is the termites the kind in your furniture or your house?A home/organic remedy is great for if in furniture, antiques etc. orange, citrus spray diluted in water usually works. If not I have used a mixture of baking soda and vinegar (told to me by my grand mother yrs. ago) I think the acid in vinegar is what does it. I agree with your house don't take the chance, it is too risky. They destroy everything fast. Call in an expert. May need to be tented you can get an inspection free from most good companies.
Is the termites the kind in your furniture or your house? A home/organic remedy is great for if in furniture, antiques etc.orange, citrus spray diluted in water usually works. If not I have used a mixture of baking soda and vinegar (told to me by my grand mother yrs. ago) I think the acid in vinegar is what does it. I agree with your house don't take the chance, it is too risky. They destroy everything fast. Call in an expert. May need to be tented you can get an inspection free from most good companies.
As others have said, this is not something to mess around with yourself. Call a professional. Also, some types of termites live in the ground and will move on to the next structure if they need to.
One of my homes had termites because the house next door had been exterminated but the grounds around their home had not been exterminated. (the neighbors had not told us they had a case of termites until after they saw our exterminators truck in our driveway)
The exterminator we hired not only exterminated inside but also drilled holes and placed the chemicals to kill them all around our home and even the perimeters of our property including drilling holes in the concrete in strategic areas (yes, they plugged the holes with fresh concrete). And, yes, we did see the termites in the ground when the exterimantor showed us where to look for them.
Get a professional! There is no way you can be sure of treating all the affected areas. The professional will know how. Depending on the infestation it might take a few trips followed with annual checks.
Get a professional! There is no way you can be sure of treating all the affected areas. The professional will know how. Depending on the infestation it might take a few trips followed with annual checks.
DAWN DISH DETERGENT DIG A TRENCH AROUND YOUR HOUSE & FILL WITH DAWN OR TRY DIESEL
How do I get rid of termites naturally?
By Tonia M.
I don't think there is a way to rid of them naturally. Think it requires chemicals.
Will Tide detergent work? I know they use it on killer bees.
By Paul H.
Insects are often repelled from capsaicin. Using cayenne pepper for termites is a common way to make them uncomfortable in your home.
