What Are Termites & Why Termite Control Is Required?

Termites are social insects living in colonies that may include several hundred to several million individuals depending on the species and the habitat. Termites mainly feed on cellulose-based materials like wood and paper products. Termites often infest landscape and building structures and cause damage to trees, wood panels, flooring, furniture, paper products, utility facilities, etc. (Click here for termite biology and identification)

With the extensive developments in Hong Kong in the past years, many natural habitats of termites have been destroyed and replaced by new ones in landscapes in parks, buildings, roads, etc. As a result, report of termite damages has been increasing and termite threats are not uncommon to homeowners or property management.

Termite control and management are complex jobs that require specialist knowledge, experience and equipment to ensure termite activity is detected and systematically eliminated.

What Services Can Baguio Provide?

We can serve you with a complete and systematic termite control program including the inspection, treatment and protection phases. Alternatively, you may only order any one of the services of inspection, treatment or protection.

TERMITE CONTROL PROGRAM

If your premises are under termite threats, your best choice is to undergo our TERMITE CONTROL PROGRAM including INSPECTION, TREATMENT and PROTECTION.

INSPECTION

Once your order is confirmed, our termite control specialists will visit your premises to conduct a thorough inspection to detect termite activity, evidence of damage and potential areas of risk.

Our specialists are well trained and experienced and they will use sophisticated skills and tools in performing the inspection. Special equipment of latest technology such as moisture meter, borescope, infrared camera, and sound or microwave detection devices may also be deployed in locating termites.

The main signs of termite infestation to be looked for during the inspection include the following:

• Winged swarmer termites or their shed wings.
• Termite mud tubes extending over tree trunks, walls, flooring, doorframes, woodwork, etc.
• Active infestation with the presence of small, white insects with an "ant-like" appearance when mud tubes or infested structures are opened.
• Termite damage.

Our specialists will usually inspect the termite-prone areas such as wood-soil contact zones, baseboards, door/window frames, ceiling and basement voids, walls, skirting, flooring, raised paint or wallpaper, cabinets, showers and tubs, wash basin slabs, closets, timbers, trees, fences, landscaping and areas with moisture problems.

TREATMENT

The scope of treatment will vary depending on the findings in the inspection and conditions of the premises. It may include one or more of the following methods:

• Destroy the termites in the infested areas with contact insecticides.
• Destroy the colony with termite baits.

After the inspection, our termite control specialists will recommend a most suitable treatment method for you.

Destroying Termites and their Nest with Contact Insecticides
A selected insecticide will be applied to the infested areas or directly into the nest to destroy a termite colony. Application method of the insecticide varies with the seriousness of damage and infested structures. It may be a spraying of emulsion, dusting of powder or pressurized injection of the insecticide. Drilling may be required if infestation occurs behind or underneath surfaces.

Destroying Termites with Baits
Termite baiting systems use non-repellent baits with slow-acting insecticides in areas with termite activity. The delayed action of the insecticide enables transmission of the lethal agent to other termites and the entire colony could then be destroyed. Above-ground and/or below-ground bait stations will be installed at key points of areas with termite activity or potential risk. Baiting systems require continuous monitoring and sometimes, need re-baiting. EXTERRA^TM, a recognized effective termite baiting system, will be used in our Termite Control Program.

PROTECTION

Elimination of one termite colony does not guarantee future attack by other colonies in the vicinity. A basic method to prevent re-infestation is to eliminate favorable conditions that attract termites. There are several options for the PROTECTION:

1. Ongoing monitoring and inspection.
   Our termite control specialists will visit your premises at regular intervals to conduct thorough inspections to check for any termite activity or potential risk of infestation.
2. Chemical and/or mechanical barrier.
   For chemical barrier, a selected insecticide will be applied to all areas that are usually the soil-wood/soil-structure contact zones to create a termite barrier. Several methods are used to apply the insecticide barrier depending on the nature of the structure involved. For example, soil areas can be trenched and treated with the insecticide whereas concrete areas need to be drilled and injected with the chemical.
   
   For mechanical barrier, termite resistant materials (e.g. stainless steel mesh) will be used to create a physical barrier against termites.
3. Monitoring and baiting system
   Bait stations with termite preferred food will be strategically placed around your premises where termites are likely to forage for food. The stations will then be checked periodically for their integrity and any termite activity.
   
   Once termites are attracted to any bait station, a selected termiticide (insecticide used to kill termite) will be added to the bait to eliminate the new colony.

PRE-CONSTRUCTION PROTECTION

For owners of building projects, you may consider pretreating the land, buildings or other susceptible structures to protect them from termite attack. The objective of the pretreatment is to create a continuous barrier that can either stop termites getting into buildings/structures or kill them as they attempt to cross the barrier.

Pretreatment methods include chemical and/or mechanical treatments:

Chemical Pretreatment
A selected insecticide will be used to treat soil under and around the building, and if applicable, to treat construction materials such as wood.

Mechanical Pretreatment
Termite resistant materials such as stainless steel mesh, sand, granite or basalt of suitable size will be used to establish a physical barrier to prevent the entry of termites into the structures.

LANDSCAPE TERMITE CONTROL

Old trees, landscape timbers or wooden decks, if infested with termites, can be a source of a building infestation. Therefore, good landscape practices together with a professional termite control program could not only avoid property damage but also minimize risk of body injury caused by landscape defects.

Our professional arborists and termite control specialists can help if you have termite threat in your garden and landscaping.

To learn more on Baguio Termite Control Services, please contact us.