Ruan's Termite Solution

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Technical Questions for Ruan's Termite Solution

Note: This page contains technical questions for how to apply Ruan's Termite Solution. For general question about termites, how to detect, and how to control, please read Frequently Asked Questions. We will update this page as needed, so please visit back from time to time.

Can I change the size of the station?
We recommend to use 18" by 18" and believe this size works very well. A little smaller or larger is acceptable. Too small will not have the advantages of this solution and too large is more difficult to build. Under-lawn stations can be reduced to 12" by 12" because humidity is normally not an issue there.

What should I consider for selecting station locations?
First, you should consider proper spacing and should select location around your property, avoid direct water path such as in the front of a water spout. Then you can move a little for more convenient locations and relatively damper locations.

Can I avoid building under-lawn stations?
We suggest to make best use of locations that are not in middle of lawn. For example, you can move the location a little if a veggie garden is nearby. After that you can try to reduce the number of under-lawn stations by increasing the distance to 20-25 feet. Also you could reduce the under-lawn station size to about 12" by 12". If you really don't want to build any under-lawn stations, you should know that the chance of fail-to-detect for termites living in your yard could increase. But you could still start without using under-lawn stations, considering that in most cases if termites live in your back yard they will likely also live in your front yard. If you do detected termites, you should use stations around your house because the termites in your front yard and back yard may belong to different colonies. Just kill the termites in your front yard may not affect the termites in your back yard.

When I inspect the stations I see cardboard consumed but no termites are seen how do I determine whether termites are active?

There are some chances that termites come to the station and left. This might be your situation. However, if you want to make things simple, you can ignore and continue to monitor. If termites do live in your yard, it will show up in some stations and it should not take long. If you are interested, we attach an image here that does indicate termite consumption of cardboard. Please look at the clean edge of the cardboard consumed and the termites droppings (pellets) which are capsular shaped solid wastes about 1 millimeter long.

When I inspect a station all cardboards are gone what should I do?
Most likely termite activity is very heavy. Add more cardboards (maybe 2-3 layers) and re-inspect after 1-2 weeks. If termites are active, apply chemical.

What should I do if I see lots of ants in a station?
Ants and termites do not live together. When you see lots of ants in a station you should use "AMDRO Ant Block Home Perimeter Ant Bait" to kill the ants. Spread about 3-5 spoons of the product around the station and about 3-6 inches away from the station. You can buy the product from HomeDepot or using our Buy chemicals/materials link.

Should I apply chemical in a station immediately when I see termites in the station?
If you have the chemical ready and see moderate to heavy termite activities, you can apply immediately. If termite activities are very light, you might want to wait 1-2 weeks, avoid making disturbances. In most cases, termites should stay there for quite long time.

Can I use chemicals which are not recommended by this website?
Chemicals can largely affect the result of destroying termite colonies. This solution does not dictate what chemical to use. However, chemicals must meet certain requirements and we recommend the chemical in this website because we believe it will have good result. When we feel needed, we will switch chemicals too. Therefore, we suggest to use what we recommend unless you have a good reason not to.

Can I inspect the stations with shorter or longer intervals?
We suggest to inspect in every two weeks for normal stations and in every 4 weeks for under-lawn stations. However, using shorter or longer intervals are normally acceptable. Try not to make big disturbances. If the interval is too long, the cardboard might have been completely consumed and termites left before inspection.

Should I add water to the station during inspection if the ground is very dry?
We don't require to add water during inspection and hope there will be some rain sometime, however if there is no termite activity in the station adding water will not harm. It does not need to be very wet, however very dry ground might make the time longer for the termites to find the stations.

How do I know whether termite colony is eliminated?
There is no easy way to guarantee that termite colonies are eliminated because their nest is deep underground. The result will depend on many factors such as what chemical is used and how much contact the termites made to the chemical. Our solution stands a good chance for eliminating the colonies or greatly reducing the population. We recommend to apply this solution next year, you should be able to notice whether termites are still active or whether the population is greatly reduced.

My house had a chemical barrier treatment, is there any reason I should apply your solution?
Yes. There are two reasons you might want to apply this solution even you had a chemical barrier treatment. First, although some chemicals claim they can eliminate termite colonies, in real life the purpose of chemical barrier is to block termites to enter your house. It is really questionable for whether it is effective in eliminating termites in your yard, simply nothing in the chemical can attract termites to the barrier to get contaminated (you could use this solution to see whether termites are still living in your yard). While termites continue to live in your yard, there are small chance that they can pass the barrier to enter your house. Combined with this solution to eliminate termites in your yard can definitely put your mind in peace. Second, most chemical barriers will no longer be effective after about 10 years. If you can eliminate termites in yard, you will not worry about the expiration of the chemical barrier and the need to spend lots of money to reapply the barrier.

Do I need to inspect a station after applied chemical?
If you are using Termidor Foam, you don't need to inspect the station again after applied the chemical. Pretty sure the termites will disappeared in about a week. However, if you are curious you can check the station by not making big disturbances. Using other chemicals might need to inspect and add more cardboard/chemical if needed.