Research Confirms Duration and Dosage Necessary for Colony Elimination

It’s a question every pest control technician has had to answer from a customer who’s just discovered termites: How long will it take to get rid of them? And while there’s no one-size-fits-all answer — especially if we’re talking about Formosan termites, with colony sizes potentially in the millions — peer-reviewed research along with 30-plus years of real-world experience offers customers of the Sentricon^® system plenty of reassurance. 

The Colony Is the Goal

So you’ve finished your inspection and you’re sitting down with your customers to explain what you’ve found. “Termites,” you say to the two panicked faces sitting across the table — one of whom immediately answers with some version of “I don’t care what you do. I want them all gone as quickly as possible.”

As a pest control technician, you need to explain to your customers that, while you can eliminate a lot of insects quickly, the ultimate goal is to eliminate the entire colony. After all, a mature Formosan termite colony can reach a population of several million; you could remove a million individuals and still be left with a colony of well over 1 million insects. Elimination of the colony, not just elimination of individuals, is the only way to stop the damage.

And that’s where the Sentricon system shines. The key to the effectiveness of the Sentricon system is found in the natural actions of the worker termites. The workers’ only job is to consume and digest cellulose and then feed the entire colony through a process called trophallaxis. Because the active ingredient in the Sentricon system is undetectable to termites and doesn’t affect insects immediately, worker termites have time to ingest and spread the active ingredient to other termites, initiating the collapse and elimination of the colony. 

Liquid termiticides can eliminate large numbers of termites quickly, but in doing so, liquid treatments can create a “barrier” of termite bodies around the structure. Research has demonstrated that living termites will then simply avoid the area and reroute their pathways around this barrier and back into the structure. 

Backed by Research

The Sentricon® system removes that concern while still allowing for elimination of the entire termite colony. 

For their paper “Subterranean Termites Feeding on CSI Baits for a Short Duration Still Results in Colony Elimination,” Dr. Thomas Chouvenc and Dr. Nan-Yao Su exposed laboratory termite colonies averaging 59,000 individuals each to Recruit^® HD termite bait for one day, three days and 10 days. They found, “Colonies which fed for a single day and consumed as little as 1.1 g of bait matrix were eliminated within 90 days.” 

Based on their findings, the researchers estimated, “If a field-mature colony of 1 million individuals consumes more than 18.6 g of bait in a relatively short period, it would already have acquired a colony-wide lethal dose and reach a point of no-return for colony elimination.” 

The takeaway? Less than 20 grams of bait — not even an ounce — and only a short feeding duration are necessary to initiate the collapse and elimination of a million-strong termite colony. Termites continue feeding after they ingest the bait, but that continued feeding is what allows the workers to spread the active ingredient throughout the entire colony. 

And Real-world Experience

Greg Holley, Zone Pest Solutions, Buford, Georgia, turned to the Sentricon system when he and his team treated the area’s first confirmed Formosan termite infestation. After inspecting the home and finding mud tubes on all three levels, Holley installed six Recruit^® AG FlexPack^® bait stations; feeding began almost immediately.

“We’ve been very successful getting them into the above-ground stations,” Holley said. “At about five weeks into the treatment program, we’ve easily fed them over 100 grams of bait, which we understand is enough to eliminate the colony by quite a bit.”

Considering the age and potential size of the colony — specialists at the University of Georgia estimated the colony was at least 5 years old — as well as the distribution of termites throughout the home, Holley was thrilled with how quickly he and his team have seen results. 

“We’re already starting to see areas that had damage initially where we’re not able to find termites anymore,” Holley said. “And in areas where we are finding termites, we’re finding very large numbers of soldiers. When we’re struggling to find workers in the colony, we know we’re gaining traction.” 

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