FirstLine Defender
Firstline is a bait for termites made by FMC Corp., whose big selling point is that it has larger individual bait stations with more wood in each one. As compared to other products, that means that pest control professionals you hire have to spend less time checking stations, which ultimately costs you less.
It also uses a "slotting" system where the wood has little slots cut into each side, requiring a termite to crawl over more surface area to get around it. In effect, it convinces the termites that there is a larger and better source of food, making them more likely to come back to the bait station. You also get to own the stations, which means that if you decide to cancel your contract with the company, you can keep using them on your own. Since monitoring is easier than getting rid of termites once they are there, this is a good way for do-it-yourself types to save on at least some of the costs. A study from the University of Arizona found that it was as effective as Sentricon, but used up fewer baiting stations to achieve the same results. Of course, with both these systems, a lot depends on whether you like and trust the local company that will be applying them.
FirstLine uses an ingredient called sulfluramid, which is a stomach toxicant that can kill all different castes of termite. It acts slowly enough that the termites that eat it will spread it throughout the colony. Termites that come into contact with it die within a few weeks.
Sources and Useful Links:
http://www.epestsupply.com/defender.htm
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1421/az1421.2.pdf
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ent/ent65/ent65.htm
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/advance_termite_bait_system.htm
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