Eastern subterranean termites — the species responsible for virtually all structural termite damage in Missouri — live in the soil and forage from underground into structural wood above. Both major treatment methods target the soil, but through different approaches that have meaningfully different timelines, maintenance requirements, and appropriateness for different structures.
Liquid Soil Treatment
How Liquid Treatment Works
A non-repellent termiticide — typically imidacloprid, fipronil, or chlorantraniliprole — is injected into the soil around and beneath the foundation at regular intervals, creating a treated zone that termites pass through and pick up a lethal dose without detecting the product. The non-repellent characteristic is critical: repellent products cause termites to reroute around the treatment zone; non-repellent products are passed through forager-to-colony contact, ultimately eliminating the colony. Treatment involves drilling through concrete slabs, treating exposed soil in crawlspaces, and injection into the soil adjacent to the foundation exterior.
Termite Bait Systems
How Bait Systems Work
Bait stations are installed in the soil around the perimeter of the structure, initially containing untreated wood monitors that are checked periodically for termite activity. When termite activity is detected in a station, the monitor is replaced with a bait matrix containing a chitin synthesis inhibitor (typically noviflumuron or diflubenzuron) that prevents termites from successfully molting — effectively stopping colony reproduction and causing population decline. Foragers carry the bait back to the colony, achieving colony elimination over a period of months. Systems require ongoing monitoring service contracts.
D&D Pest Control offers termite inspection, liquid treatment, and bait monitoring programs for Franklin County and rural Missouri. Visit ddpestcontrolmo.com or see the Missouri provider directory.