Planet Orange offers a range of treatment options to fit any termite problem. We are most widely known to be the pioneers of the XT-2000 Orange Oil process in Northern California’s Bay Area, but we offer a full range of options and each individual property requires a customized termite treatment plan to ensure the best result. We offer services throughout the Bay Area, including San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz, Monterey and everything in between!
Termite Treatment
Termite Treatments are completed by state-licensed termite technicians. These individuals have passed the state examination and are licensed as “Registered Applicators” for Termites and General Pests. This means they have passed the required tests to assess their ability to complete termite treatments. Planet Orange then passes these technicians through a certification program to become a Planet Orange Certified technician. Our training program includes both classroom and field-based training to expose our team to the widest possible range of scenarios to help them rehearse situations they will most likely encounter in the field. All Planet Orange technicians complete training and then are placed onto a termite crew with an experienced senior member of the team. This ensures the proper oversight and continued education for at least the first 6 months with the company.
A termite treatment can be very different from property to property. There are many different ways to treat each type of termite and this is the reason to ensure an experienced and licensed Termite Inspector has documented accurate findings into the report. The termite crew will work from this report and treat each item, to ensure a successful eradication of termites. The crew will be responsible for the correct and accurate product-preparation, in addition to the application of such products. Your crew will also have local knowledge to the geography, given that they have treated thousands of homes all over the bay area. A home in Santa Cruz may have very different characteristics and infestations than a home in Concord or Fremont.
Subterranean Termite Treatment
Subterranean termites live in the soil and travel to the wood of a property through mud tubes that they build to protect themselves. This creates a basic tunnel between the soil and the home. These tunnels will get more elaborate with time and it is critical to remove these tunnels during treatment, as they may give the mistaken impression that the termites are still active at a later date, if not removed at the time of the termite treatment. The crews job in this instance will be to knock-down and destroy any tubes that they can access. In addition, to treat the infestation, they will have to create a barrier around the perimeter of the building, which ensures that any termites currently feeding off of the structure will come into contact with the selected product. This is achieved by laying a diluted product into the soil around a structure or by injecting the product into drill holes beneath the concrete perimeter. The goal is to ensure a complete and uninterrupted perimeter around the property to ensure that any current or future termite infestation is quickly eliminated. The technicians will fill any drill holes with mortar after the treatment. Many of the products we use will continue to protect a home from subterranean termites for 5 to 10 years, if the treatment provided a complete perimeter that ensures ongoing protection.
Subterranean termites are very common in the San Francisco bay area and colonies can grow very large and cause damage very quickly.
Drywood Termite Treatment
Drywood termites do not travel from soil to wood and instead solely live in wood members of a structure. They feed continuously and are far more difficult to treat, as they do not travel on a predictable path from soil to wood. When attempting to treat drywood termites, a qualified inspector is essential. Drywood termites can multiply without detection by a homeowner and an inspector with the tenacity and the experience is needed to completely understand the structural elements of a building and the behavior of the drywood termite.
Once identified, the inspector will mark the infested areas (normally with chalk) as a way to indicate to the termite technicians where the termites are contained. Although they typically spread slowly, it is important to surround the infestation and treat to the extremes of the infestation to ensure a 100% kill. To do this takes teamwork between inspectors and technicians and a consistent treatment methodology acquired through training and certification.
Most local termite treatments for drywood termites involve injecting a product into the infested areas. This is done by drilling a small hole into the wood and then injecting the product into the hole, allowing the product to spread throughout the wood members and saturate the termite colony. A properly trained and qualified crew will know how much product to use and where to apply for the best effect.
Drywood termites are very common in coastal areas, especially with mild climates, such as the one we have in the Silicon Valley. They will be commonly found from cities like Monterey, all the way into Marin County and beyond.
Most drywood termite treatments are centered around wood areas that are accessible from the exterior of the structure (as this is how they initially entered the structure). Drywood termites can enter extremely small gaps and so around window frames and roof eaves are a favorite entry point. Once in the wood, they can typically spread unchecked by homeowners, as the crawl space and attic are not often checked. It is important to make sure the treatment is thorough and uses sufficient product to ensure a complete eradication of all termites. If some are left untreated, this can sometimes lead to the survival of a colony. In the event a colony survives, the problem has simply been slowed and not fully treated. For this reason, Planet Orange offers a complimentary checkup for all customers, following treatment to ensure that every termite has been eliminated. In the unlikely event that termite activity is noted after a treatment, the team will treat an additional area, as needed. These additional check-ups are typically completed on the anniversary of the initial treatment.
In summary, the termite treatment with Planet Orange will typically be a low-stress ordeal. We strive to offer customers convenience and flexibility and back up every treatment with a warranty to provide peace-of-mind for the future.