Best Ways to Kill Termites With Common Household Products

Termites are nasty critters that can cause significant damage to a home if not dealt with properly.  Though it takes years for major damage from termite infestation to occur, there are steps you can take to kill termites using household products if professional help isn’t an immediate option.

Borax

Borax is a household cleaner used primarily in detergent and cosmetics, but it can also be purchased by itself. It is considered to be relatively safe compared to other pesticides, but should not be ingested by children or pets. Spray all infested wood with a solution of 1.5 cups borax per gallon of hot water multiple times using generous amounts. Wait several hours before reapplication. It’s also a good idea to sprinkle borax powder around any areas you have seen termites gathering. Termites walk through the borax, bringing it back to their colony and killing the termite along with the colony.

Bleach

Ordinary laundry bleach will kill any termites that make contact with it very quickly. Wearing rubber gloves and safety glasses, search your yard for any termite colonies, especially in areas with looser, mulched soil. Pour the bleach directly onto any colonies you find.  Bleach most likely will not exterminate entire colonies of termites, but it can aid in slowing down infestation. Spraying bleach on live termites is an effective means of killing them, but will not eliminate the colony.

Salt

Salt is also deadly to termites and can be used for extermination. Mix a very concentrated batch of salt water by slowly adding warm water to salt until all the salt is dissolved. Adding too much water, not enough salt, or mixing with water that is not warm will be ineffective at killing the termites. The salt-water solution can be dumped directly into termite colonies, used as a spray to kill visible termites or used to treat the insides of walls that have been eaten away with the help of a syringe or baster.