Organic Ways to Get Rid of Termites

Organic Soil

• Termites love to eat dead organic matter. That's why they are attracted to the beams of your house--they can't tell the difference between lumber and dead trees in the forest. Add organic matter to the soil around your house to enrich it and give it more nutrients. Try organic mulch, as dead wood is a termite's favorite food. This should entice the termites to eat wood other than the lumber keeping your house up.

Natural Predators

• Termites eat wood. Like most creatures they also have animals that want to eat them. Introducing natural predators into the termite environment can help keep your home termite-free. Insects such as beetles, wasps and flies eat termites, as do spiders. You can also introduce more exotic animals, such as mammals like monkeys and aardvarks that eat termites. In the case of the latter, you may also get a strange pet out of the deal.

Parasites

• A special form of termite predator is particularly effective in eliminating even the most advanced termite infestations in your home. Nematodes are very small, wormy creatures that invade a termite's body parasitically. Once inside, these organisms secrete a bacteria that will begin killing termites in a matter of days. Many etymologists reject the nematode method, however there are many stories of the method working. Mother Earth News reports that some exterminators give the same guarantee with nematodes that they do with conventional chemicals--if the infestation is not eliminated, they will give you a second treatment free of charge.

Semi-Organic Chemicals

• While not strictly-speaking "organic," two brands of termite insecticides, Torpedo and Dragnet, contain permethrin. This chemical is a synthetic version of a natural insecticide used by many organic farmers. Dursban uses the active ingredient chlorpyrifos, an organic phosphate with a higher toxicity for termites than permethrin. Chlorpyrifos also lasts longer than permethrin. No matter which of these products you decide to use, make sure that they are put in your home by a qualified exterminator. Doing it yourself can prove dangerous or fatal.