Four years ago I bought some termicide to be used for subterranean termite control. The termicide comes in 27oz bottles. It says it can be used for termite control, ant control and a list of other insects. I bought a total of three 27 oz bottles.
I follwed instructions, and mixed solution of 6 oz per gallon of water. Then I trenched around the property to a depth of 4 inches, drenched the trench with the solution using their amount recommended, then backfilled after done. I used less than 2 bottles. The third bottle was never opened and was left inside a cabinet in my garage.
Recently I was doing some fences and one of the older posts I removed, that is about 7 feet from the house, has rotted away with live termites. I remember the unopened bottle of the termicide I still have, why not treat the entire fence line with it?
But it has been four years. Has it expired? It is still effective?
I called the company I bought it from. I asked:
"How long is this product effective for once applied?" They said 7-10 years.
"So I should retreat the building after 7 years?" They said they would retreat after 4-5 years to be on the safe side.
"I have left over product from 4 years ago, is it OK to use the half bottle of unused product?" They said they recommend getting new ones as that product may have lost it's effectiveness after so long.
"I have an unopened full bottle, has that one lost effeciveness too? How long is the shelf life?" They said they wouldn't use it after 3-4 years.
So this doesn't make sense to me. How can a product, after diluting (6oz to 1 gallon) and application, stay effective for 7-10 years in the soil 4" deep with constant rain in Florida, but an unopened unused concentrate solution, lose it's effectiveness after 3-4 years?
Do I need to call BASF (the manufacturer) to get the straight answer?
It's not just the money (each concentrate bottle is $68) but the disposal of unused product.
I follwed instructions, and mixed solution of 6 oz per gallon of water. Then I trenched around the property to a depth of 4 inches, drenched the trench with the solution using their amount recommended, then backfilled after done. I used less than 2 bottles. The third bottle was never opened and was left inside a cabinet in my garage.
Recently I was doing some fences and one of the older posts I removed, that is about 7 feet from the house, has rotted away with live termites. I remember the unopened bottle of the termicide I still have, why not treat the entire fence line with it?
But it has been four years. Has it expired? It is still effective?
I called the company I bought it from. I asked:
"How long is this product effective for once applied?" They said 7-10 years.
"So I should retreat the building after 7 years?" They said they would retreat after 4-5 years to be on the safe side.
"I have left over product from 4 years ago, is it OK to use the half bottle of unused product?" They said they recommend getting new ones as that product may have lost it's effectiveness after so long.
"I have an unopened full bottle, has that one lost effeciveness too? How long is the shelf life?" They said they wouldn't use it after 3-4 years.
So this doesn't make sense to me. How can a product, after diluting (6oz to 1 gallon) and application, stay effective for 7-10 years in the soil 4" deep with constant rain in Florida, but an unopened unused concentrate solution, lose it's effectiveness after 3-4 years?
Do I need to call BASF (the manufacturer) to get the straight answer?
It's not just the money (each concentrate bottle is $68) but the disposal of unused product.
