How To Get Rid Of Termites in Furniture

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Termites don’t just infest the gardens, walls and floors of your home, they will also eat the any wooden furniture that you own. Valuables such as antiques are especially at risk to termite problems and are likely to be damaged if they are not protected. Termites will eat wooden chairs, tables, wardrobes, chests, bookcases, shelves – you name it! If it’s wooden and you’re got an infestation then you need to protect these items. Fortunately it’s relatively easy to protect furniture from termites.

The process for protecting furniture from termites is as follows:

  • First you need to take any of the infested furniture and place it outside the house when the weather is good. Ideally this should be in a place with fresh air as you will need lots of ventilation, an alternative place to use could be the garage but be prepared for a mess. Lay down lots of newspaper underneath the piece of furniture.
  • Next take use a spray can of termiticide (such as the Terror spray shown below) and apply it generously to all of the item. Quickly leave the location once you have done this so that you don’t inhale any of the toxic fumes.

  • Return an hour or so later and you should notice several dead termites on the newspaper, but this may not always be the case as some of the termites may be still inside the furniture.
  • Now it’s time for the inspection. Look at all of the furniture and try to see any holes or cracks where the termites are likely to have gained entry into the item. Remember to look on the bottom of the feet of the furniture as termites often gain entry through these points.

More steps to protecting your furniture from termites

  • Put on some rubber gloves and take out a syringe full of liquid termiticide (such as the Termidor termiticide listed below). Inject the liquid termiticide into any of the holes or cracks that has been discovered on the furniture.

  • Return after a day or so once the termiticide has dried so you can perform the last optional step. This step is optional because it may damage the look of your furniture if you’re not careful, so only do this if you feel comfortable about using the technique. Take some wood sealant and apply this to any of the cracks or holes that you discovered, helping to prevent termites from entering this piece of furniture again.
  • Once the sealant has fully dried replace the piece of furniture to it’s original position in the home.

That’s it! You’ll have now eliminated and protected all of the termites that were eating their way through your possessions.

Just as a side note you may also want to consider using the freezer method on smaller items of termite infested furniture. First make sure the wood is strong and of the type that can be frozen. This is so it will not split or crack when the temperature is lowered. Next bag the item in an air tight plastic bag. Place the item inside a freezer for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, take the item out of the plastic bag and any of the termites that were inside the furniture will now have frozen to death. The air tight plastic bag is used to stop any mould growing on the furniture when it is thawing.