# Termicide "EFFECTIVE" duration



## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

Use it for the fence line, it couldn't hurt. Depending on the product it can also be used for perimeter spray around the base of the home outside. As always follow instructions.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

Use it, what do you expect the mfg to say, no it is ok. No they want you to buy more.
If you have live termites that close to your home you need professional help. Homes are to expensive not to protect.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Why do you think companies put expiration dates on soft drinks and beer, now??? Will it not last longer than a year? C'mon. They sell the stuff and want you to rotate it out faster to buy more. I had a footing done back in the 80's for a log home. They backed their truck up on the high side and opened the valve filling the footing with the gosh awful smelling stuff. I asked how long it would last and he said best estimates was 100 years. It crystalized when it dried and stayed stable. Termites must go to ground to seek water every day. Once they touch the termiticide they die.


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

chandler48 said:


> Why do you think companies put expiration dates on soft drinks and beer, now??? Will it not last longer than a year? C'mon. They sell the stuff and want you to rotate it out faster to buy more. I had a footing done back in the 80's for a log home. They backed their truck up on the high side and opened the valve filling the footing with the gosh awful smelling stuff. I asked how long it would last and he said best estimates was 100 years. It crystalized when it dried and stayed stable. Termites must go to ground to seek water every day. Once they touch the termiticide they die.


Sounds like it was chlordane


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

Funny....I just had the same question......6 year old Taurus SC opened bottle but kept in conditioned space (not hot garage).

I just had these small ants I could not get rid of with other treatments, when someone on here recommended Taurus SC and then I remembered that I had some.

So I hit those ant hills with a mix of Taurus.....and they are GONE within 3-5 days. Guess it worked good.


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

Just a suggestion if you have leftover, If you suspect an area to have active termites, dig a hole 1 ft deep, tightly roll up some corrugated cardboard (it's like candy to termites)
Prepare a mix of the termicide in a bucket and fill the hole with the cardboard in it. Cover with a rock/slab of cement/ etc etc. It will wipe out the colonies feeding off of the cardboard.
This works with a termite killer that they can't tell if it is there or not, like termidor or it's generic forms.
I have used this method to kill off termite colonies not on my property but near it that lived and sent out it's fliers every year from a hollow stump.
They live no more.


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## miamicuse (Nov 13, 2011)

SW Dweller said:


> If you have live termites that close to your home you need professional help. Homes are to expensive not to protect.


That was my opinion, until I realized the "professionals" are really not doing anything special and the warranty they offer is worth just a tad less than zero.

Over the last twenty years I have hired professionals to do tented fumigation for drywood termites, as well as perimeter ground treatment for subterranean termites. I have hired national chains (Hulett, Terminix) as well as local family owned companies. I have had nine properties gone through these treatments and about half of them came back, and with a vengeance, and the warranty I paid every year did nothing.

For drywood termites, they evacuate the entire building. Put a tarped cover over the whole thing, then put in vikane gas to kill the infested termites. I had three properties where the termites came back after a few years, at the same exact spots - ON THE INSIDE. I called them and they sent a tech out, and I showed them where it is, they do a spot treatment, that's it. I said I paid a yearly warranty, wouldn't you do a retent to get rid of everything? They said no, spot treatment should be OK. Another company also when I called after they did the tenting, I said I see another circle of coffee grounds here, this is 12 months later, I think the fumigation did not kill everything. They said those are not new termites, those are termite dropping left in the wood, after they died, ants crawl through the same galleries and pushed out the coffee grounds, it doesn't mean there are termites. I opened up the ceiling cut out a piece of wood myself and slice it open. I saw live termites. I took pictures and I sent it to U of Florida's termite experts and they confirmed that yes, the vikane gas will kill all termites, BUT may not kill the freshly laid eggs. Those eggs when hatched will become the new generation of termites and will appear as a reinfestation.

For sub termites, I had that too, and sometimes had both drywood and sub at the same properties. They do a trench and drench, and all of them used Termidor SC. They will trench around the house about 4" deep and soak the trench with it. If there is no soil to dig like a sidewalk or brick deck than they drill a hole 16" deep every 24" along the perimeter and inject the same chemical solution with the idea to form a chemical envelope around the house. Again most of the time the tech is the most important component, and often times they will not do as good a job as I would not because I am better, but because they do not care about a house as much as the owner. So what you end up with is the guy is drilling every 24", but then they come to an exterior door with a 42" landing. Hmmm...what to do? Skip over. One time I had an extension ladder laying down blocking 12' of the lower wall, he skipped right over that, I noticed there is no trenching there. I moved the ladder and asked him, only then he trenched the 12' reluctantly. Termidor SC says no application if it's raining, they don't care. One time I had the fascia directly above an exterior door came off. I took it apart and found sub termite mud tubes inside the roof. This is 12 months after a perimeter treatment! What did they do? Spot treatment. "could this be the tip of the iceberg? where else are they infesting?" The tech said "no idea, but you have the warranty, pay us the $250 a year, if there is any more infestation, call us and we will come spray".

For the entire perimeter treatment you pay about $1500, for about 2 hours work. I can do a better job. I can get the chemicals online. The warranty is a joke.


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## miamicuse (Nov 13, 2011)

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> Funny....I just had the same question......6 year old Taurus SC opened bottle but kept in conditioned space (not hot garage).
> 
> I just had these small ants I could not get rid of with other treatments, when someone on here recommended Taurus SC and then I remembered that I had some.
> 
> So I hit those ant hills with a mix of Taurus.....and they are GONE within 3-5 days. Guess it worked good.


I have used Taurus SC as well, also Dominion 2L, and Phantom, but I mostly used Termidor SC in liquid and in foam.


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## miamicuse (Nov 13, 2011)

Steve2444 said:


> Just a suggestion if you have leftover, If you suspect an area to have active termites, dig a hole 1 ft deep, tightly roll up some corrugated cardboard (it's like candy to termites)
> Prepare a mix of the termicide in a bucket and fill the hole with the cardboard in it. Cover with a rock/slab of cement/ etc etc. It will wipe out the colonies feeding off of the cardboard.
> This works with a termite killer that they can't tell if it is there or not, like termidor or it's generic forms.
> I have used this method to kill off termite colonies not on my property but near it that lived and sent out it's fliers every year from a hollow stump.
> They live no more.


Never tried corrugated card board. What about regular card board, say something like a sonotube inserted into a hole and drench with the termite liquid?


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

miamicuse said:


> Never tried corrugated card board. What about regular card board, say something like a sonotube inserted into a hole and drench with the termite liquid?


No idea why, except maybe it's because of the natural galleries in the corrugations. I always have lots of it around to get rid of, so I use it.
I had been hunting for that nest for over 10 yrs, in the spring swarmers are everywhere, impossible to tell where they were coming from no matter how much I looked while they were flying. Last spring I looked over into the woods across the fence, about 25 ft in was a 5' high hollow rotted stump, literally glistening from the reflected light off their wings.
Looked like the stump was moving.
I did my hole and cardboard thing 1 ft on my side of the fence that day.
This year, no swarmers, cept for one or two here and there in the air.
Looked at the stump... just a lifeless stump. 

EDIT... I forget where I heard about corrugated cardboard for termite bait, so I did a search and found this...







*Food* for termites is cellulose--in just about any form. Some of their favourite foods are paper and cork. The bait in the bait box should be shaped and placed so that the maximum number of termites can be quickly removed with the minimum of disturbance. Alternating layers of corrugated cardboard and thin strips of wood are often successful. Corrugated cardboard offers ready-made tunnels that are similar in size to those which the termites would make for themselves, but you can use newspaper, wood veneer or even old fence palings if you can't get cardboard. (_Don't use manufactured woods as these often contain repellent chemicals and pesticides_). The termites will move rapidly through this material and the wood strips provide just enough regular food to keep them coming back. Be sure that the cardboard has not been exposed to any





 repellent chemicals. It is best to use single-sided corrugated cardboard (as sold in rolls for packaging) as this gives the termites little room to hide and they can be easily removed by tapping the sheets over a large tray (like a cat litter tray).

Source... http://drdons.net/bbox.htm


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

> How can a product . . .stay effective for 7-10 years in the soil 4" deep with constant rain in Florida, but an unopened unused concentrate solution, lose it's effectiveness after 3-4 years?


It seems to be a contradiction. 
They're allowed to contradict themselves.
And you, if it comes to that.

Perhaps the material the bottle is made of
is constructed to render the pesticide useless
so you are compelled to buy new.
This you can research if they tell you what the bottle is made of.

Regarding "effective", radioactive substances have a "half life." 
Maybe something like this applies to pesticide.
Ask them to define "effective".

Good luck with this.


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