What are some facts about orange oil termite treatment?
- It has a low termite mortality rate
- It is not harmful to the environment
- It is flammable and should not be ingested
- Kills termites on contact only
- Larger treatments are more expensive
- It doesn’t have a long-lasting effect
The havoc that termites wreak on any of the wooden parts of your home needs to be controlled before causing too much damage. Sure, we have pesticides and such, but these products can be quite harmful to humans. But some people discovered the orange oil termite treatment that we know today.
Its fame quickly grew as an effective, easy-to-make, and easy-to-apply termite solution. Orange oil is easy to come by because it is an extract that comes from orange rinds. It is the D-limonene in orange oil treatments that is believed to kill termites. But how effective is it really? What do you need to know about this termite treatment? Keep reading to learn more!
It has a low termite mortality rate
For something considered a termite control option, orange oil has a surprisingly low mortality rate. A study showed that an orange oil treatment only has a 77% mortality rate among termites. Anyone who knows anything about termite control would know that this number is very low.
To put that number in context, it would kill only 770 in 1000 ants. Only 2 are needed to restart the colony. The average colony size is 60,000 to 1 million. It is safe to say that orange oil treatment is not enough to wipe out a termite colony.
It is not harmful to the environment
The good thing about orange oil is that it isn’t harmful to the environment. Commercial aerosol pesticides are known to be toxic to people and animals. When applying the typical pesticide treatment, people should stay out of the room for some time. You should cover your things and remove all food. You don’t have to do this with orange oil.
The substance itself isn’t toxic to humans. You don’t need to stay away from the room where you apply the treatment. Your food, plant, and pets are all safe, and your tiles and walls will not be damaged at all. It also doesn’t contain CFCs that might be harmful to the environment itself.
It is flammable and should not be ingested
Orange oil is highly flammable. You should be wary of open flames when applying orange oil treatment inside the house. You should also avoid combusting the oil at all because its fumes are not good for your health. For this reason, you should also avoid ingesting orange oil all in all.
Being exposed for an extended time to either the oil or its fumes can cause the following symptoms: skin and eye irritation, nausea, vomiting, lung irritation, and others. So even though you don’t need to leave the room, try not to stay in contact with it or get too close to it for too long.
Kills termites on contact only
The effectiveness of this treatment depends on how well it kills termites. It works as a pesticide because orange oil itself is toxic to termites. It can break down the termites’ exoskeletons and also kill their eggs. But it needs to make direct contact with them.
This also means that they are only effective for spot-specific infestations. If you want to clear a certain spot of termites, then you can apply orange oil treatments to kill them. But if you want to get rid of whole dry wood infestations, or even some subterranean colonies, orange oil treatment would not work as well as other pesticides.
Larger treatments are more expensive
What makes orange oil treatments charming to many households is that it is easy to make. You can get an extract from orange rinds that you have around the house or from oranges you’ve eaten. But that small amount can’t cover larger areas of infestation.
Many termite infestations, especially if it has gotten more severe, can cover large areas of the wood foundation of the house. If you want to end this infestation with only orange oil treatments, you would have to acquire many more oranges and extract oil from all of them. All of the expense wasted on that could have gone to real pesticides or hiring professional pest control services.
It doesn’t have a long-lasting effect
Commercial pesticides can stay on the area where you sprayed them for longer times. The chemicals are absorbed by the soil or wood so that termites wouldn’t easily be able to return. Once they’ve been killed or moved away, the area is more or less free of infestation.
Orange oil treatments don’t linger in the area of application. They can simply kill termites that come in contact with them. This adds to the list of reasons why they can’t be used to exterminate severe infestations. How could orange oil prevent the threats of re-infestation, after all?
Key Takeaway
A termite infestation is more often than not a persistent problem. Like all animals, they try to survive no matter what we do. By using an orange oil termite treatment, you can kill a majority of termites and stop small spot infestations. But if you really want to get rid of these pests, the best thing to do is to contact professional pest control services near you.
Are you plagued by termites in your home? Are your DIY treatments not strong enough to fight the infestation? You’re in luck! Topbest is the best pest control solutions provider in the Philippines, and we offer FREE consultations! Just send us a message here and we’ll talk about clearing your house of pests!