If you've never had your house treated for termites before, preparing your home for the treatment can be a bit stressful. But if you start well in advance and prepare thoroughly before the treatment goes forward, you can reduce the stress and ensure that nothing gets overlooked. Check with your pest control professional for information on what to expect on treatment day and use these five steps to make sure all your belongings are ready for the treatment.
1. Identify everything that will have to be bagged
Since termite tenting involves the use of chemicals, it's recommended that you place certain items in bags before the treatment to prevent chemicals from infiltrating them. These items include not only food items but also any items that will be consumed, such as medications. Inventory all the items in your house that fall under any of these categories and aren't sealed (i.e. they came in a non-airtight box) or don't still have the manufacturer's seal:
2. Bag things up on a schedule
Of course you can't bag all your food up a week in advance or you'll be eating out of bags all week, unnecessarily increasing your stress level. However, you can start bagging up some things early; for example, things that you aren't going to use before the termite treatment can be bagged up now. Make up a schedule that delineates when you'll bag each group of items, ending with the food you plan to eat the morning before the tenting. Then follow your schedule, carefully encasing the groups of items in plastic bags, sealing them, and then double-bagging them and sealing them again for good measure.
3. Identify and make plans for everything that will have to be removed
In addition to yourself and your family, you'll need to get out everything in your house that's alive (other than the termites, of course). This includes your furry pets, any reptiles and fish, birds, and even your kid's ant farm as well as all house plants (not the fake ones, though. They'll be fine as long as they aren't alive to begin with). If you have pets you may want to consider staying at a pet-friendly hotel with them or sending them to a boarding kennel, unless you have a relative or neighbor whose house they can stay at until it's safe to go back.
4. Open doors, close windows, and turn everything off
Make sure everything is turned off before you leave, even small things like pilot lights. In addition, you'll need to make sure all doors are opened between rooms (not the outside doors) to allow circulation and make sure outside windows are closed.
Use these three steps to thoroughly prepare for your upcoming termite treatment. Be sure to create a master checklist so you can visually assure yourself that everything is taken care of before you leave for the hotel.
Share23 June 2016
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