Preventative treatment of termites in homes

The Watercooler
1

Hello everyone,

So my parents own a freestanding house that was built in 1984. I remember many years back when I was not taking the 5 precepts I called an exterminator company to take care of the termite problems for my parents. However, lately I have been thinking about that termite treatment and how its expiration date had probably passed. Currently, we do not think we have a termite problem but if I were not taking the 5 precepts I would have called them back for a preventative treatment by now. I have talked to a monk over the phone regarding this issue and he said for any active termite infestation at their temple they would remove the affected wood and would throw it away and let the termites have the wood.
While this solution sounds ideal for such a problem, I was wondering if it it would be too demanding for people who have limited financial means to resolve termite infestation this way. I would also want to mention that looking for an active termite infestation is beyond our know how as well.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? Should we just wait and see and hope for the best? Is preventative treatment of termites ok? or is it a subtle form of lying to oneself by calling it preventative and it is still considered killing. (Honestly I do not wish to call the pest control man but I do not want to find myself in this predicament in the future as well.)

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Do you know how the preventative treatment works? Does it form a barrier they won’t cross but doesn’t kill them? Are there different kinds of treatments?

We had a terrible termite infestation at a monastery i was staying at. The local larger ants infested the place to try and eat the termites. Unfortunately the termites managed to eat a large portion of the flooring in the meantime. We were able to claim the flooring on insurance but they came back and started eating the new mostly plastic floor! At that point someone in the community decided to call for pest control. As part of the treatment they installed a physical barrier in the ground around the building. It is inspected by the company every 6 months or year. Maybe this is an option for your parents’ place? If the building is on stumps you may be able to install some termimesh yourself.

I hope that you find a kind solution.

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