Anti-Termite Treatment Before Building a House in Delhi: The IS 6313 Stages, the Chemicals Allowed, and How to Check It Was Done

Pre-construction anti-termite treatment is a continuous chemical barrier in the soil under and around a building, laid in stages as the foundation, plinth and floor go in. The Indian standard for it is IS 6313 (Part 2):2022, which the Bureau of Indian Standards' sales portal lists as active and which replaced the 2001 and 2013 editions. It allows three chemicals, chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid and bifenthrin, at fixed dilutions, and sets minimum doses: 5 litres of diluted chemical per square metre on horizontal surfaces such as the top of the plinth filling, and 7.5 litres per square metre on vertical surfaces such as the soil against the foundation. The treatment has to be done at the right moment in each stage, because once the floor is laid the only way back in is drilling, under a different part of the standard. Delhi's building bye-laws do not name IS 6313, so in practice the treatment is in your construction contract or nowhere. This guide sets out the chemicals, the stages, the rules on weather and timing, how to check the work, and what treating an existing house involves.

Is Anti-Termite Treatment Compulsory in Delhi?

Not by name in the bye-laws. The DDA's compendium of the Unified Building Bye-Laws 2016 does not mention termites or IS 6313; clause 9.1 lists the Indian standards that structural design must follow, and IS 6313 is not among them. IS 6313 is a code of practice from the Bureau of Indian Standards in three parts: Part 1:1981 on constructional measures (reaffirmed in 2020), Part 2:2022 on pre-construction chemical treatment, and Part 3:2022 on treating existing buildings. So the protection a new house gets depends on what you write into the contract: treatment to IS 6313 (Part 2):2022, at every stage, with the chemical and dose named. Part 1 adds that its measures 'will only be effective if both external and internal protection are adequately provided', which is why the stages below run from inside the foundation to the outside of the finished building.

Which Chemicals Does the Code Allow?

Three, in Table 1 of Part 2:2022. Chlorpyrifos 20% EC at 1.0% active ingredient, which means 50 ml of the concentrate in 1 litre of water. Imidacloprid 30.5% SC at 0.075%, which is 2.1 ml in 1 litre. And bifenthrin 2.5% EC at 0.05%, which is 20 ml in 1 litre. The 2022 revision added bifenthrin; the foreword records that in 2013 'the chemical lindane was removed and imidacloprid was introduced'. Lindane is now banned for manufacture, import and use in India, on the Central Insecticides Board's list as on 1 October 2022, so a specification that still names it was copied from an old edition. The code's notes add that only chemicals on the Board's approved list 'at any point of time, shall only be used', and that all of them are 'insecticides with a persistent action and are regarded highly poisonous', to be avoided where a well or other water supply could be contaminated. Its comparison table describes imidacloprid as non-repellent with 'No smell', and chlorpyrifos and bifenthrin as repellent with an odour that can be felt. One development to watch: in 2025 the parties to the Stockholm Convention listed chlorpyrifos for elimination, with a specific exemption for wood preservation against borers and termites in building foundations. India declared in 2006 that such amendments take effect for it only once it ratifies them, and as of 2 October 2026 the UN treaty record showed no Indian ratification of this one, so chlorpyrifos remains in the current Indian code.

What Are the Stages, and How Much Chemical Goes in at Each?

Most new houses in Delhi are RCC-framed, and for an RCC-framed building without a basement, clause 7.3 of Part 2 says the treatment 'shall start at a depth of 500 mm below the ground level', measured from the finished level where the ground is filled or cut. The vertical surfaces of the soil against the foundation get 7.5 litres per square metre. The top of the plinth filling gets 5 litres per square metre, applied before the sand bed or sub-grade is laid, and the code says the same treatment 'shall also be carried out on DPC provided on plinth wall'. Where the filling is too hard for the liquid to soak in, holes 50 to 75 mm deep are made at 150 mm centres with a 12 mm rod. At the junction of wall and floor, a 30 mm by 30 mm channel is cut and rod holes made 150 mm apart, and treated at 7.5 litres per square metre of wall or column surface. After the building is complete, the soil along the external perimeter is rodded at 150 mm intervals to 300 mm deep and treated at 7.5 litres per square metre, after any final grading. Soil around pipes and conduits is loosened for 150 mm around each one and treated, and expansion joints, which the code calls 'one of the biggest hazards for termite infestation', get a further 2 litres per linear metre through the joint.

For a load-bearing masonry building, the bottom and sides of the foundation trenches up to about 300 mm get 5 litres per square metre, and the backfill against the foundation 7.5 litres per square metre of vertical surface on each side, treated in layers as the fill goes in; where the building has an apron, the soil below it is treated for up to 1 metre from the building's face. For a building with a basement, the soil under the raft gets 5 litres per square metre before the soling and PCC, and the retained soil 7.5 litres per square metre of vertical surface, as the backfill goes in 'in stages of 300 mm'.

The numbers add up quickly. The code's own worked example, for a masonry building 50 m by 20 m on a 1,000 sqm plinth, uses 9,360 litres of diluted solution across its five stages, which is 468 litres of chlorpyrifos concentrate, 19.64 litres of imidacloprid or 187.2 litres of bifenthrin. On a house the arithmetic is the same: a 100 gaj plot covered to 90% has a ground floor of about 75 sqm, so the top-of-plinth stage alone takes about 375 litres of solution at 5 litres per square metre, which is about 19 litres of chlorpyrifos concentrate, under 1 litre of imidacloprid, or 7.5 litres of bifenthrin. Ask your contractor for the stage-by-stage quantities on your own plinth before the work starts; it is the simplest check that the dose will be right.

When Should the Treatment Not Be Done?

On wet ground. Clause 6.2 says the treatment 'should not be carried out when it is raining or when the soil is wet with rain or subsoil water', and that concrete should be laid only after the chemical has soaked into the soil and the surface is 'quite dry'. A waterlogged pit is pumped out and treated once the soil is absorbent again. Before treatment, formwork, pegs and timber off-cuts are removed from the area, clay soils and sloping sites are scarified to at least 75 mm, and sandy soils are moistened first. Once laid, the treated soil 'shall not be disturbed'; if a plumber or electrician digs through it, the barrier must be restored at once. In Delhi that makes the dry months the easier time for foundation work, which our guide to when to start construction covers month by month.

How Do You Check Your Contractor Did It?

Six checks, all of them on site. First, the applicator: Annex A of the code says the treatment 'should be carried out by a professional agency which is trained and possess a valid licence issued by the respective state/central government department of agriculture as required under the Insecticides Act, 1968', so ask to see the licence. Second, the chemical: one of the three in Table 1, in its sealed container, with the strength on the label matching the specification. Third, the mixing: measured from graduated containers into a hand or electric pressure pump with a sprayer, which the code prefers to a watering can. Fourth, the quantity: the code says 'Proper check shall be kept so that the specified quantity of chemical is used for the required area', so reconcile the empty containers against the area treated at each stage. Fifth, the stages themselves: be on site, or have someone there, for the foundation, plinth, wall-floor junction and perimeter treatments, and photograph each one with the date. Sixth, safety: the code requires gloves, goggles, masks, safety shoes and caps for the workers, and keeps the chemical away from wells and water tanks. Our site quality checklist places this inspection alongside the other foundation-stage checks.

What About Termites in a House Already Built?

That is Part 3 of the code, IS 6313 (Part 3):2022, and it starts with 'a thorough inspection'. The same three chemicals are injected rather than sprayed. Along the floor-wall junction and at construction and expansion joints, 12 mm holes are drilled at 300 mm intervals and filled 'until refusal or to a maximum of one litre per hole', then sealed. Voids in masonry are reached through holes drilled at about 45 degrees from both sides; in a normal 230 mm brick wall the holes go 150 mm deep. Woodwork in contact with masonry gets 6 mm holes taking up to half a litre each, door frames get fine 3 mm holes, and switch boxes are dusted inside. Outside, the soil along the foundation is treated through a channel or, where there is an apron, through holes about 300 mm apart. The signs that call for it are the ones in our post-monsoon checklist: mud tubes on skirtings and door frames, and hollow-sounding wood.

How Long Does the Treatment Last?

The code does not say. Neither Part 2 nor Part 3 of the 2022 standard gives a service life or a re-treatment interval for the barrier. What the code does say is that inspection is ongoing: Part 1 says that for complete protection 'regular and periodical inspections of the barriers are always necessary', and Part 3 says periodical inspection and vigilance are needed after treatment, with follow-up action in later hot and humid seasons if termites appear. Any figure in years you are quoted is the applicator's warranty term, which is a contract promise, not a property of the chemical, so read what it covers and what re-treatment it commits to.

What Does It Cost?

Our pest control page lists anti-termite treatment at ₹5 to ₹8 per sqft as a one-time treatment. On a new house the chemical and labour are a small line next to the foundation and plinth work, and the quantity at each stage matters more than the rate, so ask for the treatment as a separate line in the estimate with the chemical, its concentration and the dose for each stage written in. Nirman Ved carries out pre-construction treatment to IS 6313 (Part 2) as part of the foundation and plinth work on the houses we build, and our house construction packages start from ₹1,500 per sqft of built-up area. For an existing building, post-construction treatment to Part 3 is quoted after the free site visit. We are trusted by DAV Pitampura and DPS Dwarka for campus civil repairs and maintenance. Call +91-7838355055 or book a free site visit.