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Termites
What You Need To Know
About Termites
Subterranean
termites are commonly known as white ants. However, they are
distinctly different from ants in their lifestyle and
appearance.
In Nature, termites have an important role in recycling rotten
timber in the forest and returning nutrients to the soil.
When they get into our homes they are then declared pests and
the damage they can cause to a home is substantial.
Many people fail to realise, until it's too late, the extensive
amount of damage that termites cause to modern homes. Since
they remain concealed in the wood, and enter your home through
underground leads, it is often not until the damage is extensive
and timbers collapse, that you realise you have a problem.
The workers are the ones who do all the damage. They are
wingless, blind and sterile and are responsible for foraging for
food, constructing tunnels, building the nest and feeding the other
members of the colony. They feed on wood and other cellulose
materials, but have a preference for some timbers over others.
As they feed they may hollow out timbers and often move from
one area to another by constructing small tunnels made from
mud-like combination of faeces and saliva over non susceptible
materials.
They make these tunnels to protect themselves from predators and
from the heat, light and lack of humidity in the outside
environment. The soldiers responsible for the protection of
the nest and in some species have a pair of mandibles on their head
to attack predators. Termites can travel long distances to
find food. The nest may be fifty meters away from where the
workers are foraging.
They can work their way into a house from under the floor, up the
wall cavity, alongside plumbing penetrations or through
construction joints in the concrete.
This
diagram is a representation of how termites can travel many metres
underground and attack your home before you are even aware of their
presence.
What do you do if you find
termites?
What ever you do, do not open up the workings any further and don't
let anyone, even so called "experts" attempt to look for the extent
of the damage. Should you uncover termites, try to put things
back as they were. Surface spraying and ripping out
floorboards, architraves or other building material may kill a few
termites in those timbers but in doing so you have lessened the
chances of an expert effectively treating the main nest. The
termites will re-group and probably choose to attack another
section of the house structure
Inspection: The first stage of any
pest management program is the inspection. This should be
carried out by an experienced technician. The inspection will
determine the extent of the infestation, if present, identification
of the termite species, where the termites are entering the
building and also what steps need to be carried out to eradicate
any termites present and protect the building from further
attack.
Eradication: Eradication of any
existing termite infestation is important to stop the damage
spreading. This is usually done by applying an insecticidal dust to
the active workings. The termites then take this back to
their nest and as they groom themselves, pass it through the nest.
Once this is done, the nest will quickly die off.
If the nest can be located by the technician it may be physically
destroyed by breaking it up or an insecticide can be applied to the
nest, killing it directly.
Once the nest is eradicated, any termites remaining in infested
timbers should die out quickly. However, the home is not
protected against re-infestation especially if other nests are
located nearby.
Protection: The best protection your
home can have is a barrier system to impede and discourage the
concealed entry of termites into your home. This should be
carried out in accordance with Australian Standard AS3660-1993 for
existing buildings and AS3660.1-1995 for buildings under
construction. Chemical barrier systems should be installed by
a licensed pest control operator using termiticides approved by the
National Registration Authority. Physical barrier systems
should be installed by an accredited installer.
What can
you do as a homeowner to prevent termites:
As a home
owner or builder, there are many things that you can do to reduce
the risk of termite attack to your home. These
include:
Removing
all loose construction timbers from around and under the
house
Don't
stack timber or firewood next to or under the house
Ensure
that ventilation is adequate beneath suspended floors. If the
soil is dry, termites are less likely to be attracted to this
area
With
many concrete slab homes it is important that you ensure the edge
of the slab is left exposed. Weep holes in between the
bricks, found immediately above the slab, must also be left
exposed. By building up gardens or soil levels over the edge
of the slab or over the weep holes you may allow termites to gain
undetected entry into your home and bridge Treated
Zones.
With
suspended floor homes, any material that may be conducive to
termite infestation, including any form-work, timber, tree stumps
and similar materials must be removed from the sub floor and away
from the external walls of your home.
Ensure
that termite (ant caps) shielding are not damaged or breached in
any way (metal strips around the foundation). Termite shields
do not prevent termite entry. They do force termites out into
the open so as they can be detected by regular
inspection.
Ensure
leaking taps, showers, pipes, etc under the home or adjacent to it
are repaired immediately in order to reduce moisture levels in the
sub floor.
Do not
use untreated timbers to form garden beds or retaining walls as
these will attract termites. Untreated timber retaining walls
should be replaced.
Ensure
you have a termite inspection carried out by our experienced
technicians at least every twelve months
If you would like to
download a document by the Building Commission regarding "What you
need to know about termite management" please click on the icon
below.
