davidmbernstein asked a question

What's the best way to get rid of drywood termites in an attached townhouse unit? The Orkin inspector says we have drywood termites, and he found evidence of them in two spots on opposite sides of the house. He says the only 100% effective treatments are fumigation and heat treatment. Fumigation requires the entire structure to be tented -- and that means all 5 units attached to ours. And that probably isn't a viable way to go since it would be very difficult to get all of the other owners to go in on this together and to move out during the time of the fumigation (plus, the Orkin guy said it would cost something like $15,000). Orkin is recommending heat treatment. They use propane to raise the temperature of the areas to 160 degress F. But I'm concerned about the heat damaging items in the rooms (furniture, clothing, etc.). And I'm concerned about the $2,500 price that I was quoted.

taskeinc answered davidmbernstein's question

The fact that you live in an attached townhouse unit, all the units will need to be treated if
you are going to get rid of the termites once and for all. Otherwise, if termite treatment
is only done in one unit it's equivalent to putting a band aid on a bullet wound. The termites will quickly return.

Here are the best known treatments for Drywood Termites:

Fumigation: 1-2 days
Heat: 4-12 hours
Cold: 30 min, wall voids between studs
Electrocution: 2-30 minutes
Microwaves: 10-30 minutes
Drill-and-Inject: 5-20 minutes
Borate Surface Spray: 10 min - 2 hours
Wood Replacement

None of the aforementioned treatments will work unless it's a collective effort. I'm sure your neighbors don't want termites, so run this list by them and see what they think.

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davidmbernstein asked a question

taskeinc answered davidmbernstein's question