Any experience or opinions with Sentricon (mod edit)?

[Carpediem]

It seems most of the pest control companies down here in the South are now pushing Sentricon as their go-to choice for termite control. Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on its effectiveness vs. cost. I'm wondering if it's just part of the scare tactic some companies use to get you to sign up for useless/needless service.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I may be a bit confused, but this is a product for heartworm prevention in cats.

I have done a bit of DIY termite wrestling, but can't find any termiticide with this name.
Do you currently have swarms around your home? Most of the time, you can find where they live and try to eliminate favorable conditions--woodpiles, old buildings, damp and unprotected wood, etc.

What's your situation?

 

[Carpediem]

I may be a bit confused, but this is a product for heartworm prevention in cats.

Oh gosh - sorry. I meant "Sentricon". Can you change the title from Centragard to Sentricon?

Thank you!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oh gosh - sorry. I meant "Sentricon". Can you change the title from Centragard to Sentricon?

Thank you!

Sure. And that does make more sense. I didn't think that heartworms and termites had much in common.

So if you feel you need to do bait stations, there are a couple of other options, none of which I have tried. Termidor is probably the best of the cheaper bait station systems, and can be DIY if you are willing to check the stations and replace the monitoring cartridges with bait ones when activity is detected.

Otherwise you can use fipronil, which is a barrier type treatment, and doesn't require monitoring, although you should always be on the lookout for the little devils.

Coastal SC resident and inveterate DIYer here.

 

[savory]

I worked in the residential product business and the commercial PC business but we did not treat for termites. Having said that, treatments are similar in many ways.

As a rule of thumb, treatment for insects can be done with contact poisons (liquids, powders) or bait form (designed for consumoption). Sentricon is a bait. The advantage of contact poisons is they are spread all over and make it easier for insects to contact the poison. The disadvantage is the poison is spread all over and its life is more limited.

Baits, like any food, need to be located and consumed. Contact with the poison (finding it) is more difficult which may lengthen the time before the poison works. Once located and consumed, they are equally and perhaps more effective.

When it comes to most pest control products, I prefer the longer lasting baits for their safety (why spray poison everywhere)and longer term effectiveness. The key to good pest management is the operator knows the insect behavior. With that information, the operator places the poisons in an area where it is most likely to be discovered and consumed.

This is not so much a better or worse product choice. But being confident the training of the operator is well done. I would spend more time talking to a company about their personnel training, their internal technical support and the experience of their employee who is making the application.