Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 07:13:06 -0600
From: Wendy Holdaway
A question for the cedar oil spray idea:
Any ideas to get rid of termites in wood?
The pesticide sold here in Mexico is so highly toxic that my liver hurts
for days after application.
Also the worst infestation is in the door frames in my pantry.
Obviously I don??t want pesticides in my food. The frames and doors in
my house are mahagany, probably the only reason they have withstood the
infestation. Changing them is not too feasible. Any natural oils I
could spray?
The problem with spraying natural oils is they only repel, they don't
kill. And with an infestation like you describe, you're gonna want them
dead and gone...not moved to your underflooring where the sprays don't
reach (though they're probably already there).
I was going to say that there are tons of companies doing alternative
termite eradication but that's in the US...doesn't help you much. Things
like freezing them or superheating them are used here. Whether or not
they're used depends on the type of house and type of infestation.
A less toxic termite pesticide is Timbor. It's based on boric acid, which
should be reasonably safe, and I believe even organic. But I have no idea
what else is mixed in there too.
I suggest you spend some time in internet search engines. I've seen
several excellent articles on termites over the years in print so there
must be some on the net. By the way, if you find you also have carpenter
ants, I have a good article on nontoxic ways to get rid of them on my
website. Since they're also wood eaters, some of the methods may be the
same.
Good luck,
Cyndi
_______________________________________________________________________________
Oakland, California Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
_______________________________________________________________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me. Maybe there's Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG) cyndi@consultclarity.com
http://www.consultclarity.com/
_________________ Owner of the Immune Website & Lists http://www.immuneweb.org/
Timbor is a product produced by U.S. Borax Company and, as described below=
,
is intended as a preventative treatment on unprocessed/unfinished timber.
Timbor is water soluble boric acid powder. I am not sure if there are any
additional additives.
Boracare, a product made by Nisus Corporation, is 40.0% Disodium Octaborat=
e
Tetrahydrate (Na2B8O13 =95 4H2O), 60% Inert ingredients. What makes Boraca=
re
such a great treatment for active infestations is that holes can be drille=
d
into
finished lumber and the material can be injected into the wood where it
dissipates and protects the treated wood from termites. Termites that cons=
ume
Boracare treated wood will likely die of starvation because the boric acid
kills
the insect digestive system. Also, foraging termites that take treated woo=
d
back
to the colony will share the boric acid with others. Boracare is available=
in
a
convenient syringe type applicator under the product name Jecta.
There is extensive information on Boracare, including information in Spani=
sh
on
our web site at http://www.biconet.com/crawlers/boracare.html
Entomopathogenic nematodes which Bill Evans referred to are very effective=
against termites as well, but the typical application is to the soil to ta=
rget
subterranean termites. I have associates whom have pumped nematodes in
water into active termite galleries in infested wood, and they have report=
ed
excellent results, but they were experienced applicators using professiona=
l
pest control equipment. It is not hard to do, but experience helps know wh=
ere
to perform the treatments. Application to the soil is much easier.
Information about beneficial nematodes, a paper on using beneficial nemato=
des
as a biological termiticide and links to academic sites that provide
additional
images and data can be found at http://www.biconet.com/BO3.html
I'll be happy to field any questions.
Cheers,
Eric W. Acosta - Director
Biocontrol Network
Bio-rational Alternatives for an Ever Shrinking Planet
*********************************************
URL http://www.biconet.com Email: ebugs@aol.com
*********************************************
> Sat, 9 Jan 1999 Wendy Holdaway wrote:
> A question for the cedar oil spray idea:
> Any ideas to get rid of termites in wood?
> The pesticide sold here in Mexico is so highly toxic that my liver hur=
ts
> for days after application.
> Also the worst infestation is in the door frames in my pantry.
> Obviously I don=A5t want pesticides in my food. The frames and doors =
in
> my house are mahagany, probably the only reason they have withstood th=
e
h
> should be reasonably safe, and I believe even organic. But I have no ide=
a
Guide
> Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and
neccessity
> _______________________________________________________________
> "There's nothing wrong with me. Maybe there's Cyndi
Norman
> something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG)
cyndi@consultclarity.com
http://www.consultclarity.com/
> _________________ Owner of the Immune Website & Lists >http:/ this helps =
,
but you might be able to innoculate soil
