We ordered Nematodes at Terra Sol on Sunday Aug 29, 2010 and they arrived on Tue Aug 31, 2010 (pretty fast). The Nematodes came from a company called Tip Top Bio-Control. The packaged is supposed to contain 5 million Nematodes (in a sponge), which should cover 2000-3000sqf. We decided to cover a little less: 1500sqf.
I got some instructions from the web that suggested using non-chlorinated water to make the Nematode "solution." So we left 3 gallons of water standing on a bucket for a couple of days to allow the chlorine to "gas off." Tue Sep 2, 2010 was the big day.
In the early evening (about 5pm) we started soaking all the areas where we wanted to apply the Nematodes:
- all around the house
- in the area where the sandbox used to be (basically the whole back/left corner of the backyard)
- along the new back fence
- along the (old) fence by the Juniper's
When all the "pre-soaking" was done, I squeezed out the sponge thoroughly into the 3 gallon bucket and figured out how much area I would cover with a full watering can (about 15sqf). This would mean 100 watering cans to cover 1500sqf -- that's a lot of watering cans. Since I had 3 gallons of Nematode "solution," each watering can should get about 3gallons/100 = 1/2 cup.
It took me many hours to get this done and, at places, I used a larger concentration of Nematodes just to go over the solution quicker. However, I don't think I ever used more than twice my original goal.
After all the Nematodes were released I went back and "post-soaked" all the areas where Nematodes had been applied.
It was past 11pm when I finished. Most of the time I was using an LED light in my head to see what was going on. By the end was I totally wet and probably full of Nematodes. Next time: NO WATERING CAN. It will be done with a hose applicator.
Now we just have to wait and see. Perhaps in a few months we'll bury some pieces of wood and see if the termites are still there.
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