View ChannelsFeatured: Finance
View ShowroomsFeatured: Radiantec - Radiant Solar Heating

BobVila.com

Home

Low-Dose Termite Protection

Carm DiBella from PestAgon joins Bob to explain the enviornmentally friendly Sentricon termite protection system installed at the Punta Gorda house. DiBella explains that termites are attracted to large masses that cover and cool the earth as the termites forage for food sources. The cap on each station serves as a thermal shield to cool the area around the bait source. Stations are installed every ten feet all the way around the house. Each station has a yellow pine center that serves as a termite bait that holds a small amount of pesticide. The insects take the bait back to the nest to feed and exterminate the colony. The stations are checked, scanned for readings, and renewed every two months. This system is projected to work for ten years without replacement.

Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Chapters from this episode

Sustainable Planting for Florida Landscape Now Playing

Sustainable Planting for Florida Landscape

Now Playing

Controlled Water Use for Lawns and Gardens

Sustainable Landscaping in Florida Now Playing

Sustainable Landscaping in Florida

Sustainable Plantings, Natural Fertilizers and Pesticides Now Playing

Sustainable Plantings, Natural Fertilizers and Pesticides

Low-Dose Termite Protection Now Playing

Low-Dose Termite Protection

Clip Transcript For:

Low-Dose Termite Protection

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" I -- developed from tested time and he's gonna talk to us about environmentally friendly pest control for termites. So instead of treating the perimeter of the house with some sort of termite or liquid chemical material that's correct there were installing environmentally friendly. System called the centric -- system. And what what we do as we -- we us to insert it every ten feet around the structure. And we monitoring it bimonthly. By monitoring it bimonthly what we do is subterranean termites are Thermo sensitive. Senator -- attracted to home because of the big slab when a tree falls in the force the way to find the tree. Is because it's cooling that portion of the air so termites know there's there's one there in the house does the same thing these shield this is a Thermo shield on the on the pop. And basically it it gives it a little bit of of a shade. And the subterranean termites are constantly foraging for new food -- and once they get there so they're attracted to the station we monitor it every two months. Buying lifting this as the tap we scan that was computers. Picking up information so there's a paper trail. As the termites are attracted to -- yellow pine. And we insert a bait we switch a bait called recruit and yes and that's the material that actually they deliver it to the colony and it destroys the whole colony. I'm rather it and put the chemical barrier and hundreds of gallons of chemicals. That degrades over years this constantly stays the same affect them as long as it's monitored so this can go on. For ten years since environment it's diabolical. That's correct that's great -- thanks a lot."

[-]

More Videos »Related Videos

Building a Community with Environmentally Friendly Materials

Bob interviews Gwen Noyes about the Cambridge Cohousing development constructed with environmentally friendly materials.

Environmentally Friendly Composite Shake Shingles

Bob meets with Brian Eberle from Enviroshake of Chatham, Ontario, to discuss the environmentally friendly shake shingles which are being used on a portion of the modular home�s roof. The mold, mildew, and insect resistant man-made shakes are constructed of used tires, post industrial plastics, flax and hemp fibers. The composite shakes contain additional materials that protect them from UV degradation and provide coloring to replicate the look of cedar shakes. The shake starts out almost blackish brown but quickly weathers to the look of silvered cedar and stays that color for the life of the roof. The roof is installed with standard roofing nails and follows all the techniques of installation for a standard cedar roof. Unlike cedar shakes they have 50-year warranty and testing has shown they should last much longer. This maintenance-free roofing product is priced similar to premium grades of standard roofing.

Environmentally Friendly House

John Picard, an environmental specialist, explains some of the features that make the Malibu house more environmentally friendly. Oriented strand board (OSB) used for structural wall sheathing is made from fast-growing aspen trees that reach harvest in only 12 years. The board is held together with resorcinol glue. Steel studs were used to give extra depth to some walls. Cold-rolled steel has a high-recycled content and can be recycled it self. Pre-punched holes allow wiring and plumbing to be installed quickly and easily. The extra wall thickness allows the walls to be super insulated. Nature Guard cellulose insulation, made from recycled newspapers, was used throughout the project. Material specialist Don Williams explains the advantages of Fiberbond wall board, which is used in place of drywall. Fiberbond is made from recycled newspaper. It's fire resistant, moisture resistant and provides good sound deadening. The joints don't need tape, just a special joint compound. Note, FiberBond was made by Louisiana-Pacific. That division has since been purchased by US Gypsum and the product's name has been changed to FiberRock.

Green Building Products and Technologies at the Cobb Hill Co-Housing Project

At the Cobb Hill Co-Housing Project in Hartland, Vermont Bob meets up with Susie Sweitzer and general contractor Mark Albee, an experienced "green builder". Mark notes that except for the LVLs, all the lumber used in the home is from sustainable foresting operations grown locally in New England following selective harvesting practices. The heat source for the entire 14 building complex is a large gasifying wood boiler in a remote building which sends forced hot water to all the units. Each home also has a propane fired backup unit for winter heating and domestic hot water. Homes also save energy with a GFX drainwater heat recovery system.