5 Home Remedies for Termites You Should Try

Termites are some of the most destructive pests you can have in your home. In fact, they cause billions in structural damage a year in the United States alone. You definitely don’t want these critters, especially if you have a lot of wooden structures and items on your property. If you are suffering from a termite infestation, here are some home remedies for termites you should try.

1. Vinegar solution

Vinegar is a great home remedy for a lot of pests, such as ants, fleas, and yes, termites. This is thanks to acetic acid, one of the main components of vinegar. In fact, acetic acid is so potent in high concentrations that it can be considered a pesticide.

You can take advantage of the acetic acid in vinegar to make your own termite home remedy. Here’s how:

1. Mix about two tablespoons of white vinegar and a half cup of water. There is no strict vinegar-water ratio, so adjust to your liking. As long as you think the white vinegar is still strong enough to work, you are good to go. You can also add a teaspoon of lemon juice. Lemon has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, so it will make your solution more potent.
2. Put the solution in a spray bottle and stir. Stir as hard as you can to thoroughly mix up the ingredients of the solution.
3. Spray the solution on infested areas. Look for the areas infested with termites. If these areas are not obvious, look for the signs of a termite infestation such as droppings and hollow wood. Soak the area well so it absorbs the solution and kills the termites inside. Reapply daily or every few days.

2. Soapy water

Dish soap is very effective against various insects. This is because dish soap coats the insects and ends up suffocating them. Unfortunately for termites, they are just as vulnerable to dish soap as other small pests.

Here’s how you can make a solution with dish soap and water:

1. Mix about three teaspoons of liquid dish soap and four cups of water. Again, there is no strict ratio. But you can make your solution more potent by adding more liquid dish soap. The great thing about soapy water is that it is not toxic compared to pesticides with harmful ingredients.
2. Put the solution in a spray bottle and stir. Stir until the solution becomes soapy. This won’t take a while, thanks to the liquid dish soap’s properties.
3. Spray the solution on infested areas. This is as straightforward as the vinegar solution. But do be careful of slipping. Soapy water can be a little slippery and may put you and your loved ones at risk of slipping accidents. Reapply as you see fit.

3. Diatomaceous earth

A list of home remedies for termites will not be complete without diatomaceous earth. It’s one of the most well-known home remedies for various pests because of its dehydrating properties. Diatomaceous earth is considered safe, so you don’t have to worry about small children and pets accidentally consuming them, but still supervise them as necessary.

Here’s how you can use diatomaceous earth to get rid of the termites bothering your home:

1. Buy diatomaceous earth. The product may have a weird-sounding name, but it’s more common than you think. You can even find it in the biggest retail stores like Walmart. You can also find it in gardening supplies because it is used as a non-toxic pest controller.
2. Sprinkle the diatomaceous earth on infested areas. Sprinkle a generous amount of the diatomaceous earth on areas with the signs of a termite infestation. The properties of diatomaceous earth will dehydrate the termites and eventually kill them.
3. Be patient in reapplication because it may take a while. It will take a lot of days and reapplication of diatomaceous earth before you see significant results. Be patient. Diatomaceous earth is not fast-acting, but it gets the job done in one to three weeks.

4. Salt

The best thing about salt is that it is almost always available. You can make your termite home remedy the very minute you finish reading this article. That’s how accessible it is. Salt works like diatomaceous earth. It dehydrates termites and eventually kills them.

There are a lot of ways to use salt to get rid of termites, and here is just one of them:

1. Mix an equal amount of salt and hot water. The hot water will dissolve the salt and create a potent salt solution.
2. Put the solution inside a syringe. Fill the syringe with the solution. If you have created more of the solution, you can also fill a spray bottle instead. But using a syringe is better because you will be able to control precisely where you can put the solution.
3. Empty the syringe on infested areas. Look for holes in the termite colony and empty the syringe there. You can spread out your batch of the salt solution across different holes in the colony. The salt is not diluted enough because of the 1:1 ratio with the water. It will be potent enough to dehydrate the termites.

5. Boric acid

Boric acid is another home remedy for various pests. It is particularly effective against ants and other small insects. In fact, it’s so effective that you can use it as an alternative to ant baits. Boric acid is basically poison for pests.

Here’s how you can use boric acid for your termite problem:

• Sprinkle boric acid on infested areas. This is just as straightforward as diatomaceous earth. Simply sprinkle the stuff on the areas with termites and wait for it to do its magic. It will kill termites upon ingestion.
• Reapply whenever necessary. Boric acid will only work if the termites actually consume it. It may take a while to get significant results, so make sure to reapply.
• Be careful of ingesting the stuff yourself. Boric acid is often suggested as a DIY solution to pest problems, but what many websites fail to say is that it can be toxic not just for pests, but also for you and your loved ones.

Take home remedies for termites with a grain of salt

Preventing a termite infestation is always better. But if you do happen to have an infestation, there is nothing wrong with trying home remedies for termites. The great thing about home remedies is that they are accessible and usually non-toxic. But home remedies have their problems too. They may not be as effective as artificially made pesticides that are specifically made to kill these pests.

Home remedies may work for small infestations, but for severe infestations, it’s better to get the help of professional pest controllers.