What kills termites immediately?

What kills termites immediately on direct contact includes several professional chemicals, heat, and certain household products, but killing a few termites immediately does not eliminate the entire colony which can have millions of members underground and requires colony-level treatment. For immediate contact kill, professional non-repellent liquid termiticides containing fipronil or imidacloprid kill termites within hours after contact when applied directly to visible termites or injected into infested wood, though their main advantage is colony transfer. Direct chemical treatments like Termidor foam injected into galleries kill on contact within minutes to hours. Whole-structure fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride gas kills all termites including eggs within 24 to 72 hours but requires tenting and vacating. Heat treatment raising wood temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit kills termites instantly at 122 degrees. For DIY immediate kill, 91 percent isopropyl alcohol sprayed directly can kill on contact by dissolving their outer coating but evaporates quickly and does not reach the colony. Orange oil containing d-limonene kills drywood termites on contact when injected into wood but has limited reach. Boiling water poured into small subterranean nests can kill on contact but rarely reaches the queen. While these kill immediately, the fastest way to eliminate entire colonies is professional liquid barrier that spreads through grooming and bait systems that take 30 to 90 days for full colony elimination, because immediate kill of surface foragers alone causes budding where surviving termites create new colonies elsewhere.