Will vinegar kill termites? Yes. But it is not the best approach.
Have you had a termite infestation before or currently do? This is a serious pest issue that could lead to damage to your property.
Using Vinegar For Termites
Most times, homeowners only notice damage symptoms when it becomes too late.
By then, significant damage has already been caused. Your best approach to controlling termites is to have them killed when an infestation is discovered.
While this is true, knowing what works and what doesn’t is crucial to successful treatment. This article takes a look at vinegar. In your quest to find solutions, you might have come across vinegar as a possible pest killer or repellent.
Here, we’ll be going beyond the hype to find out whether vinegar is a handy treatment for termite issues.
About Vinegar
If you have a limited understanding of what vinegar is, you aren’t alone. This is simply a sour-tasting liquid that doubles as an acid.
This acetic acid-containing product has wide uses including car care, laundry, pet care, weed killer, food production, cleaning product, among a long list of other uses.
One of its uses we’re most interested in is pest control. Does vinegar kill termites? This is an interesting question because a lot of homeowners have a preference for effective DIY extermination strategies.
Plus, vinegar is among the commonly found products in many homes.
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Types of Vinegar
While using the term “vinegar”, it’s important to understand that there are different types available.
The different types include apple cider vinegar, distilled vinegar, white wine vinegar, cane vinegar, rice vinegar, and champagne vinegar.
Other types include apricot vinegar, raisin vinegar, malt vinegar, sherry vinegar, red vinegar, beer vinegar, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, and black vinegar.
If vinegar is found to kill termites, we’ll find out whether all types or a particular type is most ideal for use.
Does Vinegar Kill Termites?
Vinegar has been used on termites with significant results derived from such treatments. Vinegar will be effective to the extent or level of efficacy of your treatment methods.
In other words, how well you apply vinegar on termites will determine the results you get.
In a nutshell, termites are killed when vinegar is applied directly as a contact treatment. For this to be possible, you’ll need to use a spray.
The mode of application significantly impacts the types of results obtained from the treatment. In other words, termites are quite difficult to access especially when burrowing through roots.
Also, these destructive pests might have colonies that go deep into the ground. For example, subterranean termites can have colonies that go as far as 15 to 20 feet deep into the ground.
Here, treatment using vinegar will be quite difficult as it means you’ll have to figure out how to cover as much of the colony as possible.
How Does it Work?
Our discussion won’t be complete without making mention of how vinegar acts on termites when applied.
Remember we said vinegar contains acetic acid which is known to be corrosive on termite exoskeletons. This acid destroys termites when sprayed on their body.
You’ll need to spray directly on termite bodies for this treatment to take effect.
In a situation where you can’t reach a majority of the termite population, you’ll have to drench or soak their colony in a strong vinegar solution.
Fully Solving a full Blown Termite Infestation with Vinegar isn’t Possible
You’re likely to be wasting time if your vinegar treatments are applied when there’s a full-blown termite infestation. The same is applicable for mild infestations.
First off, you’re unlikely to know for sure the extent of termite infestation or how widespread the problem is.
This is especially true for the untrained eye. Vinegar has limitations for treatments mainly because there isn’t enough acetic acid is commonly available vinegar products to kill termites.
Due to this reason, the efficacy of your treatment is likely to be limited.
It also means you’ll need to use vinegar mostly in its concentrated form for treatment. This makes it impractical as you’ll have to purchase a large amount of vinegar when dealing with a severe termite infestation.
Types of Vinegar For Termite Control
We earlier made mention of the different vinegar types.
Since we’ve confirmed the exterminating effect of vinegar, it’s important to know what type of vinegar can best be applied for termite treatments. Is there a specific type to use?
Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar are among the best used for termite extermination.
These are among the most common types found in homes. As such, it’s never difficult to get a hold of any of these.
Time is of the Essence
With termites, you should take urgent steps to have them exterminated. Trying out ineffective DIY treatments like the use of vinegar does little to resolve the problem.
Termite damage on your property will worsen with every passing day.
Call For Professional Extermination
Your best bet at overcoming termite infestation isn’t by applying DIY extermination methods like vinegar use.
Instead, treatment is much more effective when it’s professionally done. Pest control specialists have a thorough understanding of termite behavior and to what extent their colonies spread.
The result of professional treatment is the significant elimination of these pests. To ensure they never return, reputable pest management companies offer scheduled inspections and treatments to interested clients.
This is the best approach to take as your home is frequently checked for termite issues.
You have a Role to Play
As a homeowner, you have a role to play in keeping termites away. These pests are attracted to your home by several favorable conditions that include clutter, moisture, and food.
Termites feed on cellulose-rich materials like wood, cardboard papers, and just about anything with cellulose.
What more? Termites will be drawn to areas with dense foliage, overhanging trees, and limbs that touch your roof, mulch, and clogged gutters.
You’ll need to trim back these overhanging trees and limbs to remove the possible pathway that might be used by these pests.
Although vinegar will kill termites when properly applied, it doesn’t do enough to provide comprehensive relief from termite infestation.
In other words, vinegar won’t resolve tough infestations. You’ll need to look for an alternative that works. DIY treatments aren’t the answer.
Consider professional termite extermination.