In article k.net,
says...
It takes at least 12 months to eliminate a colony. The Sentricon system
is VERY effective. I would continue with it. Don't let anyone tell you
otherwise. The baiting system is actually sterilizing the colony. There is
no need to do any other treatment as long as there is no interior
infestation.


I guess the effectiveness can be perceived differently under different parts
of the country where termite pressure may be different. In the Dallas area I
have yet to see a baiting system go five years without termites being found
on the structure...not just in the baits, but tubes on the home. The problem
with baits is you are relying on the nature of the termite. It doesn't
sterilize the termite but effects the chitin when they molt and kills them.
You are waiting for the workers, who do most of the damage and bring food to
the colony, to die out so that a colony of several hundred thousand, will
have no food base and will slowly die out. The reason the large companies,
even many smaller ones now, use baits..it generates termite throughout the
year that was never there before. You can check into parts of the country
like the NE where even Terminix, who made Sentricon a household name, is now
abandoning it where it has played out it's customer base and charging their
existing bait customers more money to now go with Termidor...the same ploy
they did when baits came out and had a charge for an "upgrade" to the
baits....for what it's worth it can take 18 months to control a
colony..termites do not share with other termites so if a colony shows up
(most areas have 7-14 established colonies per acre) the new group sure won't
be in the baits for awhile. The benefit of Termidor is you are relying on the
nature of the termites. The reason most exterminators are moving to Termidor
is that it effects the termite immediately and then in turn they spread it
through out the colony to get control 6 times faster than the baits.
--
It is said that the early bird gets the worm,
but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!