Isothermics Inc

Walter Ebeling, author, inventor, university professor and bug assassin, unveiled Wednesday his latest weapon in the never-ending war against termites and other creatures that can burrow into wood and destroy entire houses. It's called Thermal Pest Eradication, and it uses heat to literally melt termites away. Ebeling says it's the most effective nontoxic way of killing drywood termites, carpenter ants and powderpost beetles.

Walter Ebeling, author, inventor, university professor and bug assassin, unveiled Wednesday his latest weapon in the never-ending war against termites and other creatures that can burrow into wood and destroy entire houses. It's called Thermal Pest Eradication, and it uses heat to literally melt termites away. Ebeling says it's the most effective nontoxic way of killing drywood termites, carpenter ants and powderpost beetles.

Drywood termites are the kind most often found in Southern California, and exterminators usually kill them with chemical fumigation. But new methods using heat, cold, microwave energy or electricity applied directly to infested areas have sparked a debate in the pest-control industry. Fumigation's proponents point to its effectiveness at killing every termite in a house, but foes say alternative methods are effective--and safer.

When Donna Conder learned she had termites in her 28-year-old house in Orange, she was worried. Allergies and health problems made the 38-year-old nurse want to avoid traditional fumigation, where a tent is placed over the house and toxic gas pumped in. So she was happy to try a new method--Isothermics' Thermal Pest Eradication--that kills termites with hot air.