This can be helpful if you’re wondering how to treat termites in a house naturally. Readily available from hardware stores for purchase, diatomaceous earth is a fine powder with naturally abrasive properties that can puncture a termite’s exoskeleton, leading to moisture loss. You can sprinkle this around the perimeter of your home, as well as potential entry sites and areas with high termite activity.

A slow-acting but versatile termite treatment option, boric acid damages a termite’s outer shell, and can be purchased in a powdered form. You can sprinkle it directly around the perimeter of your home to prevent termite entry, where it will also penetrate deep into small crevices. Or, mix it with just enough water to form a thick paste and spread it over infested timber with a brush. You can even dissolve a teaspoon in a cup of warm water to make a spray.

With natural insecticide properties, the following essential oils are effective against termites as well as a range of other crawling insects:

Clove oil

Use a few drops of clove oil mixed with water to spray around termite hotspots.

Neem oil

With an unpleasant, bitter smell, neem oil disrupts termite growth hormones and developmental processes. It can be injected directly into damaged wood to target termites, or you can make a spray with 1 tablespoon of neem oil to 2 litres of water, with a dash of liquid detergent. You can apply this directly to termites, hollow timber structures and potential entry points such as door and window frames.

Orange oil

Containing d-limonene, an active ingredient which breaks down termite exoskeletons and metabolic processes, orange oil can be diluted with water and sprayed over termite hotspots, mud tubes and affected timber.

Thick, impermeable and sometimes laced with phenol, petroleum jelly is a surprisingly useful termite deterrent as it starves termites of oxygen. You can apply it liberally to timber-based surfaces and structures to create a tough physical barrier to termite entry.

As one of the best and most easily accessible dehydrating agents around, salt will draw water away from termites, who rely heavily upon moisture to survive.

You can simply sprinkle salt around problem areas or make a strong saline spray by dissolving a large amount of salt in warm water.

The best way to combat termites is to prevent them from venturing near your home in the first place. While you can do your best at reducing sources of moisture around your yard and removing dead tree stumps and woodpiles, subterranean termites happen to be very discreet in their movements. You could still miss the earliest signs of an outbreak.

 If you’ve tried DIY options and are still wondering how to treat termites at home safely and for good, professional intervention is the most reliable solution.

Yearly termite inspections

At Allstate, we recommend yearly termite inspections by licensed termite inspectors, per government regulations, to ensure that you and your family stay safe from infestation. More frequent inspections may be required if your property is considered as high risk, for example, if you live near a creek, or your home has previously had a termite issue.

Premise termite treatment spray

If termites are detected at your inspection, we offer a fast-acting treatment that can be applied directly to the soil and foundations underneath your home. Premise non-repellent termiticide spray contains imidacloprid, a targeted active ingredient that works within days to disrupt the termite nervous system and reduce the termite population.

Sentricon Always Active termite bait stations

For the best long-term protection, we recommend having a Sentricon termite barrier installed around your property. With stations positioned underground, 30 centimetres away from the walls of your home, spaced 3 metres apart, the baits are embedded with a powerful termiticide called hexaflumuron. When our clients ask us how to best treat termites at home, you can’t beat a Sentricon system.