Returning home after termite fumigation. The most common question people ask the fumigator before they fumigate their homes is to get rid of termites.
Exposing yourself, your children, and your family to these chemicals isn’t worth it and won’t do anything but cause you undue stress.
The exact time it takes will vary from treatment to treatment depending on many factors that we’ll reveal later in the post.
Returning Home After Termite Fumigation
The answer is 24-72 hours. You’d need to keep out of your house for 24 to 72 hours after termite tenting or fogging treatments.
Because it takes this long for all the chemicals in the building materials to break down or dissipate.
Is Termite Fumigation Necessary?
When dry wood termite infestation becomes severe, dry wood termites not only inflict damage to your furniture.
They also damage your home’s floor, walls, and even structural wood parts, including joists and timbers. When infestations become severe, these dry wood termites will have spread through the nooks and crannies in every corner of your home.
Making it impossible for an exterminator to get anywhere near them with pesticide spray as they are highly inaccessible!
That’s why you need fumigation. It’s the last resort when you can’t afford to take risks anymore because there is a great risk that dry wood termites will cause irreparable damage to your home.
What is the process of termite fumigation?
When the termite inspector places a tent over your home, he uses an odorless, colorless gas to eradicate your termites. It’s called sulfuryl fluoride, also known as Vikane.
The fumigation can be pretty stressful for many people and is therefore only advised to be performed during nighttime hours when people aren’t present at their residence.
Although the process is generally considered safe and relatively harmless to humans, residue remains within your home’s essential wood and structural walls after the fumigation process has been completed.
This means that although you can still access your residence right after fumigations have been carried out, it’s always recommended to wait several days before returning.
So that you don’t run into any complications down the line as a result of having breathed any unnecessary fumes in too soon after treatments have been performed.
How can you Prepare Your House for Fumigation?
During fumigation for termites, you may sometimes have to prepare your home for the tenting process.
You need to protect any possessions which can’t be fumigated, such as items made of paper or cardboard, antiques and some furniture.
Here’s a point checklist to prepare your house for fumigation.
- Make Accommodation Arrangements For Your Family And Pets.
- Cancellation and reinstatement of Schedule Gas Service.
- Cancel or reschedule any incoming mails or deliveries/
- Packaging of foods and consumables, etc.
- Plants and pets should be evacuated from the house.
- The soil should be watered up to 18 inches from your home’s exterior walls.
- Unplug electrical appliances and turn them off.
- Your home should have all of its doors and windows open.
- Take all valuables and expensive items out of the house.
- Your home’s main entry and all exterior doors should be secured.
- Satellite dishes, antennas, and security cameras should be removed from the roof.
- Hand over the keys to the fumigator.
How Often Should You Fumigate Your Home Against Termites?
You don’t need to hire a fumigator to spray your home every few months. Termite control strictly needs to be done once and can last for four years because the termite threat is not as severe after this treatment.
But it’s still wise for homeowners who know their homes are in good shape and have been treated recently against termites and other pests – a very worthwhile investment – to inspect their properties at least once a year as a precaution.
Conclusion
Termite tenting or termite fumigation is the process of gassing your home to get rid of dry wood termites from your home. You have to stay away from your home 24-72 hours after termite tenting. The exact time to return to your home depends on the house’s size, the severity of termite infestation, and the overall damage that the dry wood termites have caused.
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