Many people were drawn to orange oil because it seemed like a more natural way to treat termite activity. The trouble with orange oil is it’s a contact killer, meaning it has to come in contact with a termite to put it out of your misery. The problem with that is, you might kill a lot of termite workers, but if you don’t kill the queen, she’ll just make more termites. 

Termites can be difficult to reach. They’re often in inaccessible wood members. The reason why termiticides, like Termidor, are so effective is that termites can’t taste or smell the substance and it can stay in wood for years. 

An experienced termite tech will drill multiple holes, fill them with Termidor and then seal each hole with caulk. What he’s doing is setting traps. Eventually, the termites will reach the treated wood and because termites are a communal insect, the workers will bring the treated wood back to the colony and the termiticide will complete its task.

Because termites can taste and smell orange oil, they avoid it. Instead of killing the termites, the substance drives them further into your home’s wood framing. And, unlike Termidor, orange oil dissipates in less than six months. But, it gets worse. Not only is orange oil smelly, not effective and a quitter, it’s flammable. Injecting orange oil into wood is almost as bad as using lighter fluid to kill termites.  

Most of us want to do what we can to help the planet. Most people recycle, many people have solar, but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your house to reduce the amount of not so dangerous chemicals in the environment.