The Evolution of Termite Eradication Over Time

Ever since people started residing in structures made out of wood and other cellulose materials they have had to deal with the problems created by one of the most numerous insects on earth, the termite. Termites are a highly social insect that reside in vast colonies and subside by eating any sort of dead plant material; this includes things such as leaves and wood, including the timber used in houses and other structures. Due to their relentless ingestion and digestion of such material, they can cause drastic damage to any building they infest, often going unnoticed until it is too late to prevent serious problems.

Termites cause as much as 5 billion dollars of damage to structures each year in the United States. An average homeowner who finds and has to fix damage done by termites will be faced with the prospect of spending a minimum of several thousand dollars to have the damage repaired. Not only is the cost of termite damage high, but also the fact is that many homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover termite damage, or at the very least will not fully cover the cost of repair. The desire to prevent and remove termite infestations has led to a several billion-dollar industry related to their eradication.

The history of termite control has been fraught with problems related to the chemicals used. In the late 1960s the primary products previously used in termite removal and elimination such as Chlordane and Heptaclor were removed from the market due to environmental and health concerns. Although they had been reasonably effective in killing termites, they had several drawbacks such as messy application and unintended consequences on other types of animals or vegetation. In the decades following the removal of these products there was a void left in the market for effective termite elimination. Of the many attempts that were made to find or create products that could match the effectiveness of the earlier termiticides, most were unsuccessful.

However in the 1980s, new products were discovered and marketed that gave homeowners the same level of termite control as before without the drawbacks of earlier insecticides. Due to the introduction of new products such as pyrethroid based long-term insecticides, the homeowner once again has the upper hand in the battle against termites. The latest brands of termite control products are based around the strategy of using termite’s social nature against them by introducing individuals to a toxin and having them track it back to their nests, thereby eliminating the vast majority of termites at any one location with a single application.

To learn more about effective termite control products and supplies, please visit www.domyownpestcontrol.com.