Liquid termiticide is the most commonly used method of controlling termites. Liquid termiticides are insecticides that have been specifically developed for termite control. These products are diluted in water and applied to the soil immediately under or around the foundation of a building to establish a zone of treated soil that will control termites that attempt to tunnel through it. This takes advantage of the foraging behavior of subterranean termites, as well as their normal need to constantly return to the soil for moisture. In addition to safety and efficacy against termites, one of the most important criteria for a good termiticide is the length of residual control the product will provide. Some of the better soil-applied termiticides will provide control for 8 to 12 years or longer. Active ingredients of products recommended for use as liquid termiticides include: fipronil, imidacloprid, chlorantraniliprole, permethrin, cypermethrin, and bifenthrin. Liquid termiticides are widely used both for preconstruction and postconstruction termite control.

Foam termiticide treatments are insecticides that are diluted in water with a special foaming agent to form an end-use product with a consistency similar to that of shaving cream. Foam treatments are primarily used to supplement control provided by other types of termite treatments. They can be injected into wall voids and other voids in buildings and foundations where their consistency allows them to spread laterally and even upward to reach areas that could not be easily treated with a liquid termiticide. The foam breaks down quickly, leaving the insecticide residue on the inner surfaces of the treated void. Many of the insecticides used as liquid termiticides may also be mixed and used as foam termiticide treatments. Foam termiticides can be mixed and applied using special foam applicator tanks and are also available in premixed aerosol cans. Foam termiticide treatments are especially useful for control of aerial colonies of Formosan termites. Active ingredients most often used as foam termiticide treatments include fipronil and imidacloprid.

Borate treatments are products that are diluted with water and applied as a preconstruction treatment to the lower two feet of studs, sill plates, exposed inside surfaces of exterior sheathing, and other framing elements in contact with the concrete slab. The treatment must be applied only after the building is in the “dried in” or “blacked in” stage of construction and before insulation and interior wall coverings are installed (see label for additional detail and complete instructions for treating basements and crawlspaces). Currently, disodium octaborate tetrahydrate is the only active ingredient that is approved for use as a termite preconstruction borate treatment. Buildings treated with a preconstruction borate treatment must also receive a final exterior perimeter treatment with an approved liquid termiticide. Essentially, the borate treatment replaces the sub-slab/sub-foundation horizontal barrier portion of a preconstruction treatment.

Termite baiting stations use low doses of specially selected, slow-acting, non-repellent insecticides that are impregnated into wood or some other attractive substrate to control termites. There are two different types of baiting stations, in-ground stations and aboveground stations, but in-ground baiting stations are most common. In-ground baiting stations are installed in the ground at periodic spacing around the outside perimeter of the building. Foraging termite workers discover the baiting stations, feed on the treated bait, and share this poisoned food with their colony mates, including the immature and reproductive stages. Bait treatments are slow-acting but ultimately result in the destruction of the colony. When properly installed and maintained, in-ground baiting stations are an effective long-term method of protecting buildings from termites.

Dry termiticides are specialty products that are occasionally used to control, or for supplement control of, drywood or subterranean termites. Dry termiticides consist of a dry granular bait substrate impregnated with a small amount of termiticide. Dry termiticides are injected directly into active termite galleries with the goal of having the termites feed on the bait and distribute the toxicant throughout the colony. Such treatments are most useful for eliminating small, isolated infestations of drywood termites, or possibly as supplemental treatments for Formosan termites. Dry termiticide treatments are not recommended as stand-alone treatments for typical structural infestations of subterranean termites (eastern subterranean termites or Formosan termites).

Fumigation involves enclosing a termite-infested object inside a gas-proof enclosure and exposing it for a prescribed period of time to sulfuryl fluoride gas (Vikane or Termafume). Small objects, such as furniture, can be fumigated by placing them in special fumigation chambers. It is also possible to fumigate entire buildings by fully enclosing or “tenting” them in gas-proof coverings and releasing the fumigant inside the building. However, tenting and fumigation is sometimes the only effective method of eliminating infestations of drywood termites that have spread to multiple locations within a building. Tent fumigation is also used to treat boats infested with Formosan termites, and is sometimes used to treat Formosan termites in buildings.

Several types of physical termite barriers can be installed during initial construction of a building to make it more difficult for termites to enter the building and to make detection of subsequent termite infestations more likely.