In Australia around 30 of our 350 termite species are classed as pests and two of the most common species the White Ant Man deals with are Schedorhinotermes and Coptotermes. You don’t have to be able to pronounce the names but it does pay to know about what can happen if you let termites run rampant in your home.
We visited one home recently whose garden structure and materials led to termites getting into the house and causing some serious damage. This is a good example of what you don’t want to happen when it comes to termites but it also shows how we can treat the problem.
The house was situated in Forest Lake, a Brisbane suburb that we do a lot of termite work in, 19 years old and a low set brick veneer set on a concrete slab with built up rockery gardens. The owner had called us on discovering termite damage in the house.
On first inspection we discovered a number of issues. One of the issues was that the house had dry logs lying around the property’s fenceline which had attracted termites. Old cardboard lying around had also proved irresistible to the termites and they’d had a good munch on that too. We dug a trench down to the footing of the front entrance of the house and discovered the entry point where the termites had got in.
We found damage right through two window frames, and two walls in the garage which had termite activity in them as well. Not good news for the homeowner.
What was the plan of action?
We started by treating the logs outside that had active termite workings with Premise by Bayer, a very safe product which we use to control termites but wouldn’t affect anyone living in the house nor the nearby chickens the owner had. We then dug a trench down to the footing and 50 mm below that and treated the soil with five litres of Premise per lineal metre. We replaced that soil, and also treated the soil that went back in on top.
Building nests under concrete slabs is a favourite pastime of termites so we created a termite management system by drilling holes in the patio, an 8 millimetre hole every 300 millimetres apart, and injecting Premise into the holes. Our intervention should stop the termites in their tracks but we will revisit the home to check on progress and the owner is currently lowering the garden and clearing any old wood and cardboard to prevent further infestation.
The steps in this checklist will help you protect your home from termites but if you suspect you have a termite problem then get onto it immediately by calling the White Ant Man today.
