Orange oil and Termidor are both liquid termidicides that are used to control and/or eradicate Drywood termite infestations however the only real similarities between the two products are that they are both a liquid.
Orange oil has the characteristics of pesticides used in the many years ago which are very outdated and far surpassed by the technology used in modern products. For example, Orange oil is a repellant and has no transfer effect. This means that termites can sense the Orange Oil and will be “repelled by it” rather than eradicated so instead of treating the termites the will just be driven deeper into the structure, away from the treated areas. Unfortunately, the only termites that Orange Oil will eradicate are the ones that happen to be in the actual area treated at the time it is treated; since the Orange Oil is a repellant to termites they will almost always avoid the treated areas. Orange oil is also flammable! A substance that helps wood burn easier is not really something you want to be injecting into your wall framing!
Termidor on the other hand is a Non-Repellant product that the termites are unaware of. This means that once an area is treated, termites other than any that happened to be in the area at the time of treatment will also visit the treated area to be exposed to the treatment. Once contacting the Termidor in the treated site, termites will “pass on” lethal doses of the product to other termites in the colony every time they touch other termites; this is the “Transfer Effect” that helps make Termidor so incredibly effective. Other than complete “whole house fumigation” or opening up walls to make infestations more accessible, Termidor is the only product that has a chance of getting to the infestations in inaccessible areas for control becasue of its unique Transfer Effect.
Although there are many other methods advertised and attempted today, our experience and research has shown that either local treatment with Termidor or whole house fumigation are the most effective choices. The products and services that we offer to our customers is based strictly on the unbiased research and findings of the Entomology Department at the University of California Riverside along with our own field test trials; we will not offer it unless we would be both comfortable AND confident with the treatment being applied in our own homes.