Your House Has Termites, Now What?

by Susan E. Kegley

So the pest-control service found termites and recommended that the building you live in be fumigated with Vikane. You ask yourself, is Vikane safe? Are there alternatives?

If you own your home, you can join the growing number of people who say no to chemical treatments and still protect their buildings from termite damage. However, apartment dwellers or condominium owners are often simply informed that the management or owners’ association has decided to fumigate. Here is information about Vikane you can use to propose alternatives to controlling drywood termites, especially if you don’t own the building.

What is Vikane?

Vikane is a colorless, odorless gas with the chemical name sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2). An acrid-smelling fumigant called chloropicrin (used for tear gas) is released into the structure with Vikane to provide a noticeable warning when leaks occur. Vikane is made exclusively by Dow AgroSciences and is used in homes primarily to kill drywood termites. Sulfuryl fluoride is also sold under the name ProFume and used to fumigate stored grains and dried fruits and nuts.

Will Vikane hurt me and my family?

Yes. Symptoms of exposure to Vikane include stinging eyes as well as nose, throat, and lung irritation. Exposure can cause fluid to collect in the lungs, a complication that can lead to serious respiratory illness. Other effects include nausea and vomiting, as well as neurological symptoms such as slurred speech, slowed gait, weakness, irritability, numbness, tremors, and seizures. Chronic neurotoxic effects observed in fumigant applicators include tremors, inability to concentrate, and reduction in cognitive skills. There are several reported poisonings in California where people have died after trying to enter a tarped house while it is bfumigated, and even one reported death when the house had been approved for re-entry. [1]

What can I recommend instead of Vikane?

Work with your neighbors to explore all other options before anyone commits to a Vikane fumigation. There are several effective non-chemical techniques that you can use to treat infestations of drywood termites. [2] The heat method works well for treating the entire structure, heating it to a minimum of 120°F and holding this temperature for half an hour or more to kill the termites. There is no need to wait before entering the structure after the treatment and no need to move out of your home for days at a time. Heat treatments can also be used to treat just a part of a home or a single apartment or condominium. Spot treatments of known infested areas can also be done using microwave applications or through injection of liquid nitrogen to kill the termites by freezing them. In easily accessible areas, replacing the infested wood with new wood is effective and inexpensive. Detection devices are now available to make it easy to find all active termite colonies.[3]

What if I can’t talk them out of using the pesticide—how long should I stay out of my home after the fumigation is over?

Because Vikane is a gas, it doesn’t leave surface residues behind, but the gas can become trapped in insulation, plastics (including the rubber in baby bottle nipples), mattresses, cushions, pillows, sleeping bags, ventilation ducts and closed-in spaces. These residual amounts of gas can be hazardous, especially for small children, pregnant women, or people with asthma or other respiratory illnesses. Vikane is also absorbed by foods, plastics, wood, and other materials, and off-gasses from these materials continue for some time after the fumigation is over. This process has been measured to last as long as forty days after fumigation. The manufacturer of the chemical, Dow AgroSciences, suggests that re-entry can take place as soon as the space is aerated and levels test to less than five parts per million (ppm) in the air, [4] but a recent risk assessment from the state of California suggests that the levels should be much lower before re-entry. [5] A level averaging more than 0.12 ppm over a 24-hour period is anticipated to be harmful to infants.

Serious illness and death have occurred because of continued off-gassing from permeable materials. Ideally, you should stay out of your home for at least four to five days, and even longer if you have infants, small children, or family members with asthma or other respiratory illnesses. You’ll also need to remove (preferably) or securely package food items, pillows, cushions, clothes in closets, and any other items that can trap air.

What if my neighbors are having their house treated—will it cause problems for me in my home?

It’s a definite possibility, especially if your home is very close to the home being treated. In California where poisoning incidents are tracked by the state, there are several reports of neighbor poisonings.1 Measurements of Vikane in air near treated structures show extremely high concentrations that are quite hazardous.3 Show your neighbor the information on the alternative treatments and ask them to reconsider. You might also consider asking them to pay your hotel bill if you have to leave your home.

Dr. Susan E. Kegley is a Senior Scientist at PAN.

References

1. California Department of Pesticide Regulation. California Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program Incident Database 1996–2002.

2. University of California IPM Online. 2002. Pests of Homes, Structures, People, and Pets: Drywood Termites, UC ANR Publication 744, September. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7440.html.

3. Termite Detection Systems, Inc. Search and Destroy. http://www.termitedetector.com/home.php.

4. Dow AgroSciences, Vikane Gas Fumigant Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.dowagro.com/ppm/vikane/questions.htm.

5. California Department of Pesticide Regulation. 2005. Sulfuryl Fluoride Risk Characterization Document. http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/empm/pubs/tac/draftrcd.htm.