Patent ID: 7497047

Claim:
A method for detecting the presence of termites and killing termites by exposing the termites to a termiticide, comprising: locating a monitoring device in ground adjacent a building structure; the monitoring device comprising a tubular housing having an upper end, a lower end, and a tubular sidewall extending between the upper end and the lower end of the housing; the upper end of the housing having an opening therein; the tubular housing having opening means therein to permit below ground housing ingress and egress by termites; a closure component closing the opening in the upper end of the housing; the dosure component having a top side, a bottom side, and a hole passing from the top side to the bottom side; the closure component including the termite indicator mechanism that is actuated by a trigger mechanism; the trigger mechanism comprising a rod means that is secured to and extends from the termite indicator mechanism into the tubular housing; means maintaining a signal component of the termite indicator mechanism in a first position when the rod means of the trigger mechanism is intact comprising a spacer means that extends between the bottom side of the closure component and a lower portion of the rod means and engages a lower portion of the rod means to maintain the lower portion of the rod means in a spaced relationship to the closure component; the rod means of the trigger mechanism comprising, at least in part, a termite food source portion of the trigger mechanism that when being consumed by termites weakens until the rod means is separable at the termite food source portion by a force applied to the trigger mechanism at least in part by the termite indicator mechanism; the signal component of the termite indicator mechanism having an upper portion, a shank portion, and being at least partially housed within the hole of the closure component; and the termite indicator mechanism including a spring, housed within the hole of the closure component, that is a force applying means for applying a force to the rod means of the trigger mechanism to separate the rod means at the termite food source portion when the rod means is weakened at the termite food source portion and, when rod means of the trigger mechanism has been separated at the termite food source portion, for urging the signal component upward from the first position to a second elevated position where the upper portion of the signal component projects above the top side of the closure component to provide a visible signal above the closure component that termites are present within the monitoring device; and introducing a termiticide into the monitoring device and/or the ground adjacent the monitoring device, after the termite indicator mechanism of the monitoring device has been actuated to provide the visible signal that termites are present within the monitoring device, to expose the termites to the termiticide as the termites pass between a termite colony and the monitoring device and/or feed within the monitoring device.