June 16, 1998
Terminate is "guaranteed to protect your home." But the guarantee covers only the cost of the product, not the cost of repairing termite damage -- something reputable pest control companies will do.
With Terminate, instead of treating the house directly, you insert
stakes around your home. They contain insecticide-treated bait.
Experts are concerned consumers will see Terminate as a quick and easy
termite fix.
Experts Question Claims of New Do-It-Yourself Termite Protection
A hot new product on the market claims
it's a do-it-yourself alternative to costly professional termite
control. But, as 5 On Your Side's Monica Laliberte explains, a couple of
local pest experts are raising questions about the product called
"Terminate."
Terminate, made by Spectracide, hit store shelves this past spring.
After getting calls from consumers wondering about the product, state
entomology experts contacted us. They want folks to know Terminate may
not be the end all answer to your termite problems.
If undetected, termites can eat your home from the inside out. That's
why a lot of homeowners hire pest control companies to inspect and
chemically treat their homes.
An ad for Terminate, a product from Spectracide, says it's
"do-it-yourself termite protection for a fraction of the cost of
professionals."
With Terminate, instead of treating the house directly, you insert
stakes around your home. They contain insecticide-treated bait. The idea
is "worker" termites eat the bait and die. That leaves the
rest of the termite colony without a food supply, and eventually, they
all die.
Dr. Mike Waldvogel is an entomologist at North
Carolina State University. Carl Falco heads the Pest Control
Division of the Department
of Agriculture. Both men question the claims of Terminate.
Dr. Waldvogel says there is no evidence to back up the claims.
On the box, Terminate warns, if your home has "active (termite)
infestation..." you should have it inspected by "an authorized
pest control firm" and have "some type of treatment"
applied to the infested areas.
And although Terminate is "guaranteed to protect your
home," the guarantee covers only the cost of the product, not the
cost of repairing termite damage -- something reputable pest control
companies will do.
And at a cost of about $80 for enough Terminate to
"protect" a 3,000-square-foot home, Dr. Waldvogel feels the
money could be better spent.
We want to make it clear that neither Dr. Waldvogel nor Carl Falco is
saying that Terminate, or professional products like it, don't work.
They say the research available at this time is inconclusive.
"The data that the company has made available is mainly from
studies they've done either in the lab or in limited situations. The
question is whether these work in a full blown situation such as
around your house."
Carl Falco is concerned consumers will see Terminate as a quick and easy
termite fix.
""We are concerned that people will believe that all they
have to do is put the product in the ground and there are no worries.
The label, of course, doesn't say that, but the promotional materials
we've seen certainly imply that."
"I'd save it. I'd get my house inspected by a professional and if
I needed to have it treated, that's what I would use that money for
rather than spend it on this particular product."
Spectracide stands behind it's research and claims. A spokesman says,
now the "consumer can treat and protect his home from a termite
attack," saying that "Terminate is proven, tested, effective
and affordable."
Reporter: Monica Laliberte
Photographer: Lori Lair
OnLine Producer: Michelle Singer
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