Deemak (Termite) Home Remedy: Boric Acid, Neem and When to Call a Pro
You move a wooden almirah and a wall of dust falls out, fine as flour. That’s not dust. That’s deemak, and by the time you can see the tunnels, the colony has usually been working for months.
Before you start
- Boric acid: genuinely effective against termites when used correctly, moderately toxic, needs careful handling.
- Neem oil/leaves: mild deterrent at best, not a colony killer.
- DIY works for: small, visible, contained infestations in furniture.
- Call a professional for: wall voids, foundations, roof beams, or any spread across rooms.
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What deemak actually is, and why it’s a real Pakistani home problem
Deemak is the Urdu word for termites, and in South Asian climates, warm, humid, with plenty of wood furniture and paper stored in almirahs, they thrive. Subterranean termites build mud tubes from soil to timber; drywood termites live entirely inside furniture or door frames. Either way, by the time you notice hollow-sounding wood or papery wings shed near a window at dusk, the colony is established, not starting.
This is worth saying plainly: totka sites that promise a spray will “get rid of deemak forever” are overselling a home remedy. Termite colonies can number in the tens of thousands, with a queen buried deep in soil or a wall void you cannot reach with a spray bottle.
Boric acid: the one home remedy with real backing
Boric acid disrupts a termite’s digestive system and its exoskeleton on contact, and worker termites carry it back to the colony on their bodies, killing others they groom or feed. This “carry back” effect is why it can work beyond just the termites you see.
- Mix 30 grams of boric acid powder into 250 ml of warm water until fully dissolved, stirring for about 1 minute.
- Using gloves, brush or spray the solution directly onto visible termite trails, mud tubes and exposed wood surfaces. Avoid painted or polished furniture faces where you don’t want white residue.
- Leave it uncleaned for at least 48 hours so worker termites can pick it up and carry it into the colony.
- Reapply every 5 to 7 days for 3 weeks, checking for fresh mud tubes each time, which signal the colony is still active.
- For furniture with visible tunnels, drill small holes (about 3 mm) into the tunnels and puff boric acid powder directly in with a small bulb duster, then seal the hole with wood filler after a week.
Neem, the gentler but weaker option
Neem oil and crushed neem leaves have mild insect-deterrent properties, largely thanks to azadirachtin, a compound that disrupts insect feeding and growth. For light, early infestations or as a preventive rub on new wooden furniture (diluting 10 ml neem oil in 100 ml of any carrier oil and wiping it into raw wood joints), it has some genuine basis. It will not eliminate an established colony, though, and that needs to be said clearly rather than left vague.
Myth: kerosene or diesel poured into termite holes solves it
This is a common shortcut in rural households and it is a bad one. Kerosene and diesel are flammable, toxic to breathe in a closed room, and can damage wood finishes permanently. They kill termites they touch directly but do nothing to the colony behind the wall, and the fumes are a genuine fire and health hazard indoors. Skip it.
| Method | Works on colony? | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Boric acid | Yes, with carry-back effect | Visible trails, small furniture infestations |
| Neem oil/leaves | No | Prevention on new wood |
| Kerosene/diesel | No, and unsafe | Not recommended |
| Professional termiticide | Yes, whole-colony | Walls, foundations, spreading infestations |
Spotting an infestation before it’s obvious
Termites give off a handful of quieter signals long before a piece of furniture crumbles under weight. Discarded wings, thin and papery, collecting near a windowsill after a warm evening usually mean a swarm has just happened, which is how new colonies start elsewhere in the house. A faint, musty smell near skirting boards or a wooden almirah, distinct from ordinary dampness, is another early sign, caused by the moisture termites bring with them into their tunnels. Paint or wallpaper that looks slightly bubbled or warped in a straight line along a wall, rather than in a random damp patch, often means a colony is working directly underneath. None of these alone is proof, but two together are worth investigating with a torch and a screwdriver tap-test before assuming it’s nothing.
Seasonal timing matters as well. Termite swarms, the reproductive flights that start new colonies, tend to cluster around the first humid days after Pakistan’s winter or after monsoon rains, which is exactly when many households first notice the papery wings on a windowsill and only then realise a colony has been quietly active for a season already.
The honest DIY-versus-professional line
If the infestation is limited to one piece of furniture, a door frame, or a small wooden fitting you can inspect from all sides, boric acid treatment is reasonable to try first. If you see mud tubes climbing an outer wall, hear hollow sounds from more than one room, or find termites in roof beams, that is a structural problem, and it needs a licensed pest control company with proper termiticide barriers around the foundation. Trying to DIY a foundation-level infestation usually just delays real treatment while the damage spreads. In Pakistan, ask any exterminator for their PCO (pest control operator) registration before hiring.
Older households in Punjab and Sindh sometimes lined wooden trunk edges with ash or sprinkled turmeric powder as a termite deterrent. Ash has mild desiccant properties that can irritate a soft-bodied insect’s exoskeleton, but there’s no strong evidence either stops an established colony; treat these as low-cost extras alongside boric acid, not replacements for it.
Keep boric acid powder and solution away from children and pets; it is harmful if swallowed in quantity and can irritate skin and eyes on contact. Wear gloves when handling it, wash hands after, and never mix it with other cleaning chemicals. Do not use it near food preparation surfaces or on children’s furniture, cots or toys. If accidentally ingested, contact a doctor or poison control rather than waiting to see what happens.
Why cardboard boxes are a bigger risk than most people think
Stacks of cardboard boxes stored under beds or in a storeroom are one of the most overlooked termite invitations in a home, since cardboard is essentially processed wood pulp and cellulose, exactly what termites eat, and it sits undisturbed for months at a time in most households. Switching long-term storage to plastic bins, especially in ground-floor rooms or anywhere near soil contact, removes a food source that a wooden shelf inspection alone would miss entirely.
Try this
Tap suspect wood with the back of a spoon. A dull, hollow sound compared to solid wood nearby is often the first real sign of tunnelling, well before you see visible damage. Check window and door frames this way once a season.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use boric acid around pets?
Keep treated areas closed off until the solution dries and reapply only in spots pets cannot lick or chew. If you have a curious puppy or a cat that chews wood, professional bait stations are safer.
How do I know if deemak has spread to the wall itself?
Mud tubes running up an outer or inner wall, especially near the floor, usually mean the colony has moved beyond furniture. That is a signal to call a professional rather than keep treating with boric acid.
Does painting furniture prevent termites?
A good sealant coat can reduce entry points on new furniture, but it will not stop termites already inside the wood, and old furniture with existing cracks offers plenty of ways in regardless.
Is deemak damage covered by home insurance in Pakistan?
Rarely, and terms vary widely by policy, so check your specific document rather than assuming; most standard policies treat it as gradual damage, which is usually excluded.
See more household fixes in Desi Remedies, and if pests aren’t your only worry on that shelf, our piece on the desi first-aid shelf covers what else to keep stocked at home.