Is orange oil termite treatment a good idea for your home
Trends and fads exist within any industry, even the termite treatment industry. Currently, one of the hottest trends is the use of orange oil as a drywood termite treatment. The benefits of orange oil seem to be compelling. Advocates claim that orange oil can be used to treat drywood termite infestations without forcing the family to leave their home. It is also a non-toxic and eco-friendly termite treatment method.
It would seem like orange oil is the perfect termite removal solution, especially compared to the more traditional tent fumigation approach. Is it?
The Downsides of Orange Oil
If orange oil was indeed an effective termite treatment, then every termite treatment company would ditch their fumigation tanks and start investing in orange orchards. The truth, however, is that orange oil termite treatments have a very spotty success record. Orange oil is primarily a spot treatment method. To use orange oil, a termite extermination expert will need to discover exactly where an infestation is located in your home, drill holes into your wood, and place the orange oil treatment (d-limonene) directly in the path of the termites.
Sounds easy enough, but it is actually extremely difficult to pinpoint a termite infestation. Remember, termites live inside your walls, attic framing, and substructure. Their colonies can include millions of termites that are spread out throughout your home. In the spring, termites “swarm,” which means that they fly to different locations to start new colonies. It is not uncommon for an infested home to host multiple colonies. Orange oil simply cannot treat a large termite infestation if it has not been identified and made accessible. In fact, there is always the risk that even an experienced termite exterminator could miss parts of the termite colony when applying orange oil, which will allow the colony to reform.
The Benefits of Fumigation
The only current way to guarantee the destruction of a drywood termite infestation in your San Diego home is to use full tent fumigation. The fumigation chemicals will penetrate all of your wooden structures, hitting all of the termites regardless of how spread out the colony is. It can also kill multiple colonies within the same home.
The downside to fumigation is that you and your family will have to leave the home for several days. Tent fumigation doesn’t have the same trendy cache as orange oil, but it is still the most thorough drywood termite treatment available. Also, fumigation does not require the drilling of any holes in your walls or wooden floors.
Is There Any Place Or Orange Oil Termite Treatment?
While I do not believe that orange oil is a good choice for most large drywood termite infestations, that is not to say that orange oil termite treatment can never be effective. Homeowners with a small, localized infestation may benefit from orange oil treatments, especially if they do not want to leave the home. They should, however, always consult with an experienced termite treatment company like Wild Wild Pest Control before making a final termite treatment decision. A termite treatment company can provide a homeowner with a variety of treatment options so that the homeowner can make an educated and empowered decision.