Tenting for termites

Factual Questions
1

According to the newsletter, my condo building is going to be tented for termites early this summer. We are supposed to leave for three days, taking all “pets, food, etc.”

So here are my questions:

  1. What chemicals do they use? (Neither the Terminix nor Orkin sites say) Will all my upholstery be saturated with dangerous chemicals? Will my asthmatic lungs hate me afterwards? What’s this “clean heat” method that Terminix mentions but won’t describe?

  2. What’s hidden in the “etc.”? Do I have to move all my boxed food, as well as the fresh stuff? Will the gas penetrate my fridge? What about my plants? Will it damage my antique quilts and clothing? Photos?

I’m not happy about this. Not at all. I’d rather just move, but I don’t have that option yet.

2

If you know the company that is going to do it, give them a call, they should have a brochure for you.

Or call any of the people who do that sort of work & pretend that you want it done & ask them those questions. You might come back & let us know as this is one of those questions not asked before :slight_smile:

3

I e-mailed Terminix about the clean heat thing, and I should get a reply in a few days. If it’s practical in my situation, I’m going to tell the property management people about it.

4

Here’s a starting point. “tenting termites chemicals”.

http://www.pesticidewatch.org/Html/HomeGarden/Termites.htm

Scary but informative.

5

We’ve had our house fumigated several times. But it’s been several years since the last time so my memory is fuzzy.

I don’t remember the name of the gas they use, but yes, it will kill plants as well as animals. It is oderless and colorless but it dissapates very quickly and there will be no trace of it when you move back in. However, they also include tear gas in case some idiot decides to sneak under the tent. There will be traces of tear gas for several days after they let you in and this may or may not bother your asthma. (I kinda doubt it will be a problem.) The tear gas will be completely gone within 5 days or so. They should give you special plastic bags to put food in that does not let the gas in and then you can leave these bags in your place during the fumigation. Canned food does not need to be put into bags. They’ll want to turn the gas and electricty off so you won’t want to leave anything in the fridge. In fact they should prop open the door to the fridge so there is no chance of poison gas getting trapped in it. The gas will not harm any of your photos, clothing or furnishings.