Evil poison death gas

Last year, the termites in the garage conducted a heavy attack on a couple of C's books that were boxed up in the garage. The termites went straight through the covers and on into the pages. They were embedded (like reporters in Iraq? They certainly faced instant death once we found them.).

Ewwww.

I previously thought that termites were small and hard to notice. I was wrong. They're maybe 3/4" long. They're brown and shiny, and when they die, their wings fall off and drift down onto whatever's underneath them: some bikes, some books, a drill, a box of sandpaper, some furniture... the usual garage stuff.

When the termites ate the books we decided it was time to do something. We called the property management co; they sent out an inspector. The inspector said, "yup, termites." (We could have told them that). And after the holidays, and some confusion, and so on, we finally got the house scheduled to be tented.

Then we read up on the chemicals that would be blown into the house to kill the termites. And we realized there weren't really any good non-scary solutions that we could find.

So we moved out C's books. And most of both our clothes. And all the food in the kitchen. And the cast iron griddle, because it's porous. And all the wooden spatulas, for the same reason. And the seeds I've been meaning to plant. And the cushions & slipcovers from the furniture. And the comforters and blankets from the bed & linen closet.

And we picked all the lemons, so they wouldn't be within reach of the fumes (the only upside here is that B. still owes me lemon bars).

And we went to stay in my in-laws' guest cottage (thank you!) which is only a few minutes away from our own house, so not too much of a hassle.

And I pulled off all the weatherstripping we added last winter, so that our house would once again leak like a sieve, letting fresh air in and (I hope) helping the gas dissipate.

And I decided I wasn't going back in that house until a full four extra nights after it was officially cleared for safety by the termite-tenters, because that will give the gas still more time to get the hell out.

And I'm still trying not to think too hard about chemical half-lives and rates of dissipation and all of that, because the air has been tested and it's OK, and tenting is normal, and this chemical has been in use for sixty years, and one version of it is used on food for crying out loud, and I'm sure half the buildings I've lived in have been tented, and this is normal, and there isn't any other good solution.

But why isn't there?