Should I plant vegetables after spraying for termites?

Question

I just planted my spring vegetable garden (lettuces, herbs mainly). The garden area is about 14 feet away from my house, along the side of a paver patio, and slightly downhill from the house.

I just found out I may have termites (we found mud tracks in the basement and a few other hints of their being around). So I want to treat the house, but this means drilling holes to spray the soild around the foundation of the house, including around the area that is 14 feet away from my new garden.

So should I worry about growing veggies so close to the house that has just been treated?

thanks in advance

Answer 1

Ok, first of all, don't try and treat the termites yourself. Call a professional to do it. They will know how to treat the termites, and chances are they won't need to spray that much, instead they could install systems that would kill the termites without having to treat them with certain chemicals. I sell insurance to pest control companies, and the majority of them who do termite work use a Centricon system, and it would be virtually harmless to your vegetables. The reason I say call the professionals is, they have insurance in case they poison you or your family accidentally. They also are trained in pest control and deal with these insects on a daily basis, you do not. You say that you've found traces of them already, in that case, the termite problem may be bigger than you think, so please call your local pest control operator soon.

Answer 2

Without knowing what will be used to treat, I really can't answer.

Contact your Cooperative Extension Service, easy to find if you Google (your state) Cooperative Extension Service and follow it through until you get a phone number for your county agent. Give him a call. He'll probably want to know what is being used (and you should know by asking your pest control specialist ahead of time). If the agent doesn't know, he'll contact the appropriate agency such as the state pest control specialist (who licenses the pest control operators).

There are now so many termite control options includng baits, that is hard to come up with a single answer.

Personally, I'd be hesitant for fear of leaching or misapplication by the PCO. I'd move the garden!

I once mentioned I used glyphosate around my vegetable garden perimeter and our state pest control specialist blanched and said, "I'd suggest you cease doing that."

Answer 3

Just a few of the advantages: - raised beds make it very clear where you can and cannot walk. The soil inside the bed is then never compacted by people walking on it, so plants find it a lot easier to push roots. - because the plants grow better, you need less of them... and so less soil to turn over and weed. - the edges of the bed will catch the sunlight and warm the soil (a little) faster. This lengthens the growing season. - the pathways become hard and compacted, so you'll be trailing less mud on your feet, especially if you throw some stones down. - and finally, it's more aesthetically pleasing. Which is always important! :-)

Answer 4

no you shouldn't my husband worked for servall for 4 years and he said it would be dangerous if you ate anything from the garden because the chemical will get in the garden through the ground, the chemical spreads through the ground making sure the termites all die and do not come back

Answer 5

Absolutely call the exterminator on that.