Termite Bait Stations vs. Liquid Treatment
In the pest control industry, there exist many proven and reliable DIY products available to consumers that completely eliminate infestations. When the pest in question is termites, the complexity of these elusive creatures can sometimes prove difficult for DIY efforts alone.
Termidor SC is one of the best home remedies available at destroying termites, but the Sentricon System is a professional-grade termite solution that may be the best method known for controlling termites. Let’s explore.
Which Product Is Best?
Sentricon is one of the most popular professional termite solutions available and utilizes bait stations. Termidor is a termiticide spray that works as a perimeter barrier. Sentricon is consistently ranked as one of the best termite solutions.
Differences Between Sentricon and Termidor
Sentricon reviews consistently rate this service as a powerful and trusted termite elimination solution. The product is essentially a termite trap, which work by inviting foraging termites inside of an entrapment that poisons and kills them on contact. Termites find Sentricon stations through their relentless search and continuous foraging for additional food sources.
Once they discover the stations, inside they’ll find the patented and highly desirable lethal food source the termite workers readily feed on and take back to the colony to share with their nestmates. Termites die off but are not able to identify the cause. This leads ultimately to the death of the colony and the queen.
Termidor SC uses a different approach for killing termites. This product differs from other termiticides in that it adds an innovative level of elimination by causing fipronil to be spread to the colony at a much more rapid and deadly pace. Termidor works in the same way as other termiticides, by providing a strong residual dose of fipronil to worker termites as they crawl through it.
Worker termites take the poison back to the colony, where rapid elimination occurs as the poison is spread. Termidor SC contains a much more potent formulation of fipronil, which clings to worker termites easily due to the absence of a repellent scent. Much like a deadly pathogen, this product spreads like a plague throughout the colony. Termidor is certainly worth the investment.
Differences Between Bait Stations and Termiticides
Termiticides, like Termidor, work to eliminate termites by addressing the structures in which termites have already infested. Termites typically invade homes through the soil below and even dry wood termites may crawl from the ground below to enter a home.
Even more so in preventative measures, but also during active infestations, the soil underneath and around your home needs to be saturated with a strong termiticide spray. You will want to saturate the soil immediately surrounding your home with the termiticide. Once the soil is imbedded with the chemical, you can then move into your home and begin looking for signs of termite activity in wooden structures.
Once you have identified infected wood, or if you decide to just begin treating all the wood, you can begin spraying the structures. This is the basic way in which termiticide sprays work against termites, but bait stations may very well offer even superior effectiveness in eliminating and preventing termites, of which Sentricon reviews consistently point out.
"With baits, small amounts of product are deployed like edible ‘smart missiles’ to knock out populations of termites foraging in and around the home. Termites consume the bait and share it with their nest mates, resulting in a gradual decline in termite numbers.”
Bait systems, therefore, address termites before they are able to infest wood structures.
Sentricon uses a bait station housing in a hollow plastic cylinder with slits along the sides for termites to enter. Termites tunnel through and out of the perforated tube, reuniting with their nest mates in the soil.
In doing so, they leave behind a colony-specific scent that promotes the recruitment of other termites to the station. Stations are inserted into holes in the ground, with the cover flush with the soil surface.
The differences between bait stations and termiticides are numerous, but you can always remember that bait stations seek to address preventative ways to eliminate termites, whereas termiticides are more effective for active infestations.
Related Sentricon vs. Termidor Questions:
Q. Are the Sentricon Reviews Accurate?
You only need to look at customer reviews to determine a solid and reliable answer to this question. Sentricon is now widely practiced and is proving to be more effective than previously established methods.
Although customer reviews from a company website may be skeptical for the casual observer, alternative reviews also rate the system highly.
One reason for this product’s reverence is that the system has consistently produced superior results for homeowners. With a little cross-referencing of customer reviews, the positive results always seem to outweigh the negative.
Q. How Does Sentricon Work?
Instead of injecting chemicals into the soil which will only last a few years and potentially contaminate the environment, Sentricon baits are placed directly into the ground around the outside of a structure.
Wasting chemicals is just not cost-effective, or generally ineffective as a means of termite control in the first place. To blindly inject the soil with chemicals, without even knowing if termites are present, is not a comprehensive method for termite prevention. Sentricon baiting is simple and can also be used as a preventive measure to detect termites before they become a problem.
Sentricon baiting by a pest control professional also allows termite control in situations where the structure is untreatable with soil termiticides and is an added benefit when there is concern about pesticide use and/or in structures where soil treatments have failed.
Although patience is essential, Sentricon bait stations represent the best line of defense in terms of termite prevention and are definitely recommended, especially if termiticides have not produced adequate results.
Q. Has Sentricon Had Any Complaints?
Although Sentricon reviews consistently rank the product and service highly, not all experiences can be expected to be stellar. One of the main complaints against Sentricon is the regular service inspections that must occur roughly four times a year. These follow up inspections are not free and sometimes have homeowners reaching for DIY bait stations due to the monetary inconvenience of follow up inspections.
Sentricon complaints are also targeted at the time it can take for termites to find the stations and die off. The timetable for the discovery of Sentricon bait systems varies from property to property, depending on the size, number, and foraging intensity of the colonies, which in turn is influenced by soil moisture and temperature/time of year. This is particularly important in terms of how long a particular bait station’s attractants and poisons will last.
Although having to call a pest control professional to receive this service is not ideal for everyone, Sentricon complaints are consistently varied, and what works for one property, may not work as well for others.
Q. Does Sentricon Kill Ants?
Termites and ants are two very similar species of insects. Both species are attracted to sugary substances, except that termites prefer to extract a sugary substance called cellulose from wood. If you are wondering will Sentricon kill ants, then the answer is yes and no. Sentricon’s poison does not really stick out to an ant’s sensory disposition.
Many users of Sentricon are confused as to how the system doesn’t use a cellulose attractant within the trap to attract worker termites to take back to the colony. Meaning termites have to wander into the traps by accident to discover the poison. Ants also share these same traits and will also wonder into Sentricon traps repeating the same process as termites.
Sentricon will also kill ants that happen to discover the poison bait and take the bait back to their colonies. Ants can be a bothersome pest for many homeowners and Sentricon’s usage in this manner will be an added benefit.
Q. Is Sentricon Better Than Termidor?
Sentricon and Termidor are both superior products in the termite field. Termidor works wonders for homeowners who decide to take matters into their own hands, but is only a good choice if an infestation is discovered. Sentricon is also an amazing product and service and the efficiency of killing and preventing termite infestations cannot be beaten.
If you are looking to completely eradicate termites from your yard before they can enter your home, Sentricon is simply the best service on the pest control market. The powerful chemicals that are utilized by this company have proven time and time again to be effective. Additionally, Sentricon can also be placed indoors in specially constructed systems that also seek to address indoor infestations.
Termidor is more well-suited to address interior termite infestations, although many users do prefer to inject the liquid into the soil surrounding their home. The problem with this is the degradation of the chemical over time, which calls for frequent retreatments. However, Termidor is perfect if you are looking to address an active infestation, which Sentricon cannot readily do.
Sentricon is our choice in this comparison. However, do not hesitate to contact a pest control professional for a free consultation to discuss the product's efficiency for your home.
The Bottom Line
Sentricon is a professional service that works to painstakingly prevent and kill termites before they can ever enter your home. Termidor is a DIY product that uses a liquid formulation of fipronil to destroy termites that have already infested wood structures.
Both of these products are effective, but if you are looking to prevent termites year-round, Sentricon is the best option on the pest control market.
References
- Sentricon System for Termites–Is It Worth It? (2013). City-Data.com. Retrieved from: http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-island/2018687-sentricon-system-termites-worth.html.
- Termite Baits: A Guide for Homeowners. (2019). University of Kentucky Department of Entomology. Retrieved from: https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef639.
