Learning About Natural Pest Control

How Do Termite Bait Stations Kill Termites?

22 October 2020 by Norah Slieker

The subterranean termite is one of the worst and most destructive types of termite. This species of termite creates a series of satellite colonies that work to feed the main colony. The scout termites locate food sources, mainly wood or paper, and then leave a pheromone trail to guide workers to the food source. And because they attack from below, they often go undetected for a long time.

Termite bait stations are an effective way to destroy a termite colony that has its sights set on your property.

Bait stations contain termite food like wood

Termites only eat materials that contain cellulose, a compound found in plants and trees. This is why pest controllers add a material that contains cellulose, like wood or paper, to the bait stations before placement.

Bait stations are placed around your property

To be effective, a pest controller needs to identify high-risk areas of your property and then place the bait stations into the ground in those areas. Bait stations don't protrude from the ground. Instead, the only part of them that is visible is the flat, removable top.

If the bait stations are placed intelligently, the scouts of a nearby termite colony will eventually stumble upon one of them.

A growth inhibitor is added to the bait stations

Pest controllers add hexaflumuron, a compound that inhibits growth, to the bait stations either when placing them or once termites have been detected. This growth inhibitor softens the exoskeleton of termites and prevents them from eating wood or even from molting during their growth phase.   

Termites eat the contaminated wood and begin to die

When worker termites find wood in the wild, they eat that wood, and then travel back to their nest, where the other termites then eat their feces. This cycle could eventually destroy an entire colony.

Hexaflumuron doesn't kill termites immediately. It takes time, which means that the workers will have already carried the growth inhibitor back to the nest in their feces before it begins to cause any damage to them. By the time those workers die, the other termites in the colony, including young termites, have already ingested the contaminated wood.

As this cycle continues, the termites gradually begin to die. And once all the workers have died, the remaining termites, including the queen, starve to death.

Regular inspections are necessary to check for termites

To work effectively, bait stations need to be checked regularly. This way, the pest controller can determine if the bait stations are working or not and add more wood or hexaflumuron to them if need be.

If your home is under threat from a nearby termite colony, a baiting system can help you to eradicate that nest.

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