Termidor and spade fork?

I've read the proper ways to use Termidor -- by trenching on injecting with machine.
I'm curious, since injecting works, then wouldn't poking 6" holes in the ground with a spade fork then pouring correctly mixture of Termidor work too?

The reason for my question is I'll be doing it myself, and plan to trench in most places, but there are some places that will be hard to trench.

 

Possibly. The trench is important in that it contains runoff and keeps it near the perimeter where it's supposed to stay. Also, flooding the trench and having it soak in goes toward establishing the continuous chemical barrier that termite treatments call for.

A lot will depend on how porous the soil is. If the soil readily accepts the termiticide, then the chances of success are much better. If the soil is not porous, possibly clay-like, then deeper holes will probably be needed. In places like that, consider using long re-bar or equivalent and hammer it in, so the holes are deeper. Hopefully you won't have to do much of that. You'll get a feel for it soon after you start pouring. It can even be different from one side of the house to another.

The professional equipment has longer "soil rods" and pumps to apply pressure when the rods are injected. You will be depending on gravity, which is fine, but it will take longer as you are "pouring and soaking". You don't have to do the treatment all at once either. Won't hurt to spread it out over days/ couple weeks.

Is there a basement or crawl space? Or slab construction? These are important to know in order to determine how much termiticide to be used. The proper volume is important. This is where porous soil is much more desirable than less porous. The formulas are usually 4 gal of termiticide per 10 linear feet times feet in depth to footer. In reality, most houses with a basement get treated with 80 to 120 gal of finished product. Slab construction much less. Not using enough and not getting it down at least a couple feet can cause failure even though you are using the best termiticide active ingredient.

 

Thanks for the reply, PAbugman.
It's a crawl space house, and is red clay type dirt, in NC, but it's very similar to Georgia red dirt.
Since it's red clay do I use the same 6" x 6" trench and 4 gallons per 10'?

 

Yes, that's correct. When you get your product, read the part of the label for "post construction treatment" as that applies to what you are doing. Wouldn't hurt to read some of the more general advice/statements as well. If you haven't already purchased, consider buying Taurus SC. Same active ingredient as Termidor but it is/was cheaper. We used it in place of Termidor when Taurus came out and offered same warranty. We got the same results and no more warranty issues than Termidor. Labeled directions are the same.

 

Thanks again, PAbugman, for taking the time to help.

 

I would like to use a natural soil pretreat before I pour my slab
Any Suggestions?
Regards,
Rex

 

Rex, I have no knowledge of any termiticides other than EPA approved insecticides/termiticides for treatment of termites. "Soil Pretreat" typically means a liquid insecticide. The baiting systems are certainly are less chemical intensive, but they aren't a "pre treatment" per se.