Texas Administrative Code › Title 4 - AGRICULTURE › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Chapter 7 - PESTICIDES › Subchapter H - STRUCTURAL PEST CONTROL SERVICE › Division 5 - TREATMENT STANDARDS › Section 7.173 - Subterranean Termite Pre-Construction Treatments

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12,
					 2024
(a) Subsections (b)
					 - (f) of this section do not apply to baits or baiting systems and subsections
					 (c) - (d) of this section do not apply to wood applied termiticide
					 products.
(b) All pesticides used
					 for pre-construction termite treatments must be registered with the
					 Environmental Protection Agency and the department. All pesticide liquid
					 applications must be made by using the application rates and methods and by
					 following the precautionary statements on the labeling of the pesticide being
					 used.
(c) For a full treatment, the
					 entire structure must be treated to provide a continuous horizontal and
					 vertical pesticide barrier. The final treatment shall be performed within
					 thirty (30) days of notification of completion of landscaping or one (1) year
					 from the date of completion of construction, whichever comes first. However,
					 when construction has proceeded to the point that all areas cannot be treated
					 before the company providing the treatment is called to perform the
					 application, a partial treatment is permitted if the owner of the structure or
					 the person in charge of the construction and the licensee for the pest control
					 company sign a statement attesting to the construction conditions, and attach
					 it to the contract with an amended diagram or blueprint or building plat
					 showing the exact areas to be treated and send copies to the owner of the
					 property within seven (7) days of the application. A copy of the disclosure
					 with an amended diagram or blueprint or building plat showing the exact areas
					 to be treated must be made available to the department upon request. A partial
					 treatment will also be permitted if allowed by label directions and if the
					 licensee proposing the treatment issues a Wood Destroying Insect Treatment
					 Disclosure Document prior to the treatment.
(d) In order to comply with subsection (c) of
					 this section, it will be necessary to return to the pretreatment site after the
					 slab has been poured and/or piers and support beams have been placed to
					 complete the treatment for the vertical barrier.
(e) A primary treatment of the wood framing
					 (such as a borate treatment) must follow full label application instructions
					 and must be performed with a termiticide that has specific label instructions
					 to be used as a primary treatment to offer protection for prevention of
					 subterranean termites in new construction. This treatment may be used in lieu
					 of a full, partial, or bait treatment and must include application instructions
					 to exposed surfaces of wood framing with exterior sheathing in place but before
					 any walls are enclosed to a height of not less than two (2) feet above a
					 contact with a slab foundation or a (2) foot horizontal and vertical treatment
					 of wood above contact with a concrete crawlspace or basement foundation. Label
					 instructions must provide application instructions for the prevention of
					 subterranean termite intrusion and tubing onto non-cellulose areas around
					 bath-traps, plumbing penetrations, and concrete foundation areas.
(f) Notice of all pre-construction treatments
					 with contracts requiring treatment of a structure other than a single family
					 dwelling must be submitted between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. using
					 the department's designated notification system at least four (4), and no more
					 than twenty-four (24) hours prior to a termiticide application. The licensee
					 must provide address and site location, type of treatment (partial or full),
					 date and time of treatment, approximate and appropriate unit of measurement
					 used under contract, and the name, license number, and physical address of the
					 pest control business. If the treatment is cancelled, notice of cancellation
					 must be sent using the department's designated notification system within one
					 (1) hour of the time the pest control business learns of the
					 cancellation.
(g) For all
					 commercial pre-construction treatments other than baits, baiting systems, wood
					 applied termiticide products or physical barriers, the licensee must maintain
					 records of the appropriate unit of measurement treated per application site,
					 amount of termiticide used per application site, rate at which termiticide is
					 mixed for each application site, number of application tanks which were in use
					 for the treatment, the capacity, in gallons, of each application tank, and the
					 start and stop time for the treatment. The business license holder or, in the
					 case of the certified noncommercial applicator, the applicator must keep and
					 maintain a correct and accurate copy of the pre-construction treatment and
					 disclosure records for a period of two (2) years. A baiting system may be used
					 in lieu of a pre-construction treatment if installed within thirty (30) days of
					 notification of completion of landscaping. All termite baiting system
					 applications must be made using the methods and following the precautionary
					 statements on the product label. If a physical barrier is used, the appropriate
					 unit of measurement of the physical barrier must be recorded and a diagram
					 describing the installation must be provided.