termite control
- Thread starter alpina
- Start date
Hi Julie,
Since organo cholorides were banned some 8-10 years ago termites are a real problem for timber houses.
Potential solutions;
Sentiguard uses poisons bate stations and seems effective but must be monitored and topped up regularly at a cost (approx $400 + pa).
There is an asenic dust the pesty's use which they spray into the tunnels/chambers. Not sure of effectiveness or cost - seems they carry the dust back to the nest on their bodies and kill their mates.
Build in steel or Australian cypress pine.
Ring a reputable pest control co. and ask their 'solutions'.
Any others?
Regards, MC
Since organo cholorides were banned some 8-10 years ago termites are a real problem for timber houses.
Potential solutions;
Sentiguard uses poisons bate stations and seems effective but must be monitored and topped up regularly at a cost (approx $400 + pa).
There is an asenic dust the pesty's use which they spray into the tunnels/chambers. Not sure of effectiveness or cost - seems they carry the dust back to the nest on their bodies and kill their mates.
Build in steel or Australian cypress pine.
Ring a reputable pest control co. and ask their 'solutions'.
Any others?
Regards, MC
We recently had some major termite activity in one of our ips. We're using a new system called Exterra, which is a baiting system. It's been several months since it was installed and it seems to be working. It's fairly expensive compared to the other methods, but it seems to be an effective long term control as well as being more environmentally friendly. Their web address if you want to have a look is:
http://www.exterra.com.au
Good luck,
Kathryn
http://www.exterra.com.au
Good luck,
Kathryn
There is a product called Termimesh which is a physical barrier of mesh (obviously) put between the concrete slab and wooden frame. don't know how long it is effective for and would assume it can only be installed when building.
Of course - the good old 6ft concrete stumps work a treat...
Of course - the good old 6ft concrete stumps work a treat...
Julie having only a few days ago discovered termite activity
in my carport i have been scouring the web for info myself,
I spole to a pest exterminator and the going rate seems to be around 400dollars for inspection plus an arsenic treatment but i cant be specific as they havn't inspected yet.
I did come across a couple of sites though,
http://www.termite.com/nsw/termite_control.html
http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=faq&id=TermiteControl
All I know about termites is that they see a house just as a square tree!!
in my carport i have been scouring the web for info myself,
I spole to a pest exterminator and the going rate seems to be around 400dollars for inspection plus an arsenic treatment but i cant be specific as they havn't inspected yet.
I did come across a couple of sites though,
http://www.termite.com/nsw/termite_control.html
http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=faq&id=TermiteControl
All I know about termites is that they see a house just as a square tree!!
Hi Julie,
are you building a new place or protecting an existing property ?
- new place with concrete slab: Termimesh is a stainless steel mesh that is placed in the slab, and is totally joined to all pipes and other holes through slab. Mesh has holes too small for termites to get through. www.termimesh.com No poisons, so your kids stay healthy and so does the environment.
or..... Granitgard ( yep, strange spelling), is small chips of granite. gaps between are too small for termites to 'crawl' and chips are too big for them to move and granite is too hard for them to eat/dissolve. www.granitgard.com.au
or.... reticulated pipes under slab, connected to a tank on side of house. Each year or so the tank is topped up, and the pipes have weepholes, so poison is constantly soaking into all ground under slab. I forget if poison is barrier to deter termite passage, or is fatal to termites.
read about the above at http://www.termite.com/builders-termite-control-products.html, and look at the entire www.termite.com site
google search 'termite prevention building', lots of good sites found.
existing house:
with concrete slab. trouble. regular inspections, drilling & poisoning. not fun.
brick piers. regular 6 month inspection by a inspector who someone has personally recommended ( I've had termites inmy PPOR, and I've got rid of them naturally with a little spot poisoning, half the inspections we had were useless )
good under house ventilation. should not be damp, humid or still under house. if you inspect yourself, crawl around every ( yes, every ) pier and check all 4 sides. go especially to the point where ground is closest to house floor, this is usually the darkest, dampest, stillest subfloor point. ( it's also the hardest to get to, I hate less than 300mm crawlspaces and I hate cockroaches ).
I use a 500W halogen flood, don't just use a battery torch.
look carefully at every brick, it's amazing how you can look & look and then an old mud trace is visible where you've looked 10 times before.
Arsenic trioxide dust is used when termites are found. The trick is to get enough termites coated before they realise they are being poisoned. Termites groom themselves and others constantly, arsenic is passed to many others, lots die, they get eatenby other termites, they die, hopefully enough termites die to cause entire nest to crash ( i read somewhere, 40% deathrate is the aim ) and take years to rebuild
worth reading Dr. Don at http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~dewart/
google search 'sentricon' - it's a bait & posion system that stops termites shedding their shell skins as they grow, so they die.
sodium borate solution ( Borax powder from supermarket ) painted onto wood makes it termite resistant. super cheap do it yourself extra protection, esp. if building new house, mix up buckets and spray framing.
whoops. waffling on here. To answer your question, to eliminate termites and setup preventive program, depends on type & style of construction, the final solution is a combo of good design, regular inspections and appropriate action to kill them if they get in, and it's still not 100% fool proof. ( ok, a house with no wood at all is 100% safe )
I've had them through my house, and I ripped out kitchen and laundry and the slab, and the brick walls supporting slab, and removed the dirt from under the house ( 70 box trailers worth ! ) and built new brick piers and rebuilt floor and some internal and external walls, new kitchen, new laundry and so on. Spent $45k. Wife happy and house now termite free - I check every 4-6 weeks, but that's because I often work under house in pseudo workshop.
rgds,
Richard
are you building a new place or protecting an existing property ?
- new place with concrete slab: Termimesh is a stainless steel mesh that is placed in the slab, and is totally joined to all pipes and other holes through slab. Mesh has holes too small for termites to get through. www.termimesh.com No poisons, so your kids stay healthy and so does the environment.
or..... Granitgard ( yep, strange spelling), is small chips of granite. gaps between are too small for termites to 'crawl' and chips are too big for them to move and granite is too hard for them to eat/dissolve. www.granitgard.com.au
or.... reticulated pipes under slab, connected to a tank on side of house. Each year or so the tank is topped up, and the pipes have weepholes, so poison is constantly soaking into all ground under slab. I forget if poison is barrier to deter termite passage, or is fatal to termites.
read about the above at http://www.termite.com/builders-termite-control-products.html, and look at the entire www.termite.com site
google search 'termite prevention building', lots of good sites found.
existing house:
with concrete slab. trouble. regular inspections, drilling & poisoning. not fun.
brick piers. regular 6 month inspection by a inspector who someone has personally recommended ( I've had termites inmy PPOR, and I've got rid of them naturally with a little spot poisoning, half the inspections we had were useless )
good under house ventilation. should not be damp, humid or still under house. if you inspect yourself, crawl around every ( yes, every ) pier and check all 4 sides. go especially to the point where ground is closest to house floor, this is usually the darkest, dampest, stillest subfloor point. ( it's also the hardest to get to, I hate less than 300mm crawlspaces and I hate cockroaches ).
I use a 500W halogen flood, don't just use a battery torch.
look carefully at every brick, it's amazing how you can look & look and then an old mud trace is visible where you've looked 10 times before.
Arsenic trioxide dust is used when termites are found. The trick is to get enough termites coated before they realise they are being poisoned. Termites groom themselves and others constantly, arsenic is passed to many others, lots die, they get eatenby other termites, they die, hopefully enough termites die to cause entire nest to crash ( i read somewhere, 40% deathrate is the aim ) and take years to rebuild
worth reading Dr. Don at http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~dewart/
google search 'sentricon' - it's a bait & posion system that stops termites shedding their shell skins as they grow, so they die.
sodium borate solution ( Borax powder from supermarket ) painted onto wood makes it termite resistant. super cheap do it yourself extra protection, esp. if building new house, mix up buckets and spray framing.
whoops. waffling on here. To answer your question, to eliminate termites and setup preventive program, depends on type & style of construction, the final solution is a combo of good design, regular inspections and appropriate action to kill them if they get in, and it's still not 100% fool proof. ( ok, a house with no wood at all is 100% safe )
I've had them through my house, and I ripped out kitchen and laundry and the slab, and the brick walls supporting slab, and removed the dirt from under the house ( 70 box trailers worth ! ) and built new brick piers and rebuilt floor and some internal and external walls, new kitchen, new laundry and so on. Spent $45k. Wife happy and house now termite free - I check every 4-6 weeks, but that's because I often work under house in pseudo workshop.
rgds,
Richard
Hi Julie, sounds like you'd need one of these tools :
http://cmms.cat.com/cmms/servlet/ca...dsfFlag=0&subfamilyheader=Track-Type+Tractors
Richard
http://cmms.cat.com/cmms/servlet/ca...dsfFlag=0&subfamilyheader=Track-Type+Tractors
Richardrichard,
perhaps if we werent planning on buying the place that might have been funny
The vendor supplied building inspection estimates:
roof structure repair - $15k
intermediate floor repair - $12k
ground floor repair - $32k
full adequate preventative barriers - $5k
lucky for us, the rest of the building is masonary. those termites sure do a lot of damage. the report suggested that the termites are not longer present, but not as a result of the preventative measures being employed by the vendor. it suggested that its most likely that a neighbouring house has taken action and that this action has killed many of the colonies that were in all likelihood infesting a number of neighbouring houses.
julie
perhaps if we werent planning on buying the place that might have been funny
The vendor supplied building inspection estimates:
roof structure repair - $15k
intermediate floor repair - $12k
ground floor repair - $32k
full adequate preventative barriers - $5k
lucky for us, the rest of the building is masonary. those termites sure do a lot of damage. the report suggested that the termites are not longer present, but not as a result of the preventative measures being employed by the vendor. it suggested that its most likely that a neighbouring house has taken action and that this action has killed many of the colonies that were in all likelihood infesting a number of neighbouring houses.
julie
G'day Julie,
In my limited experience with this pest, I think I recall hearing that a nest can be up to a kilometre away (that figure is the bit that I DON'T actually recall - but whatever was the true figure, it was FAR MORE than what I had expected....)
So, your comment about neighbours is probably pretty close to the truth !!!! And those "neighbours" might be further removed than you expect........
Regards,
In my limited experience with this pest, I think I recall hearing that a nest can be up to a kilometre away (that figure is the bit that I DON'T actually recall - but whatever was the true figure, it was FAR MORE than what I had expected....)
So, your comment about neighbours is probably pretty close to the truth !!!! And those "neighbours" might be further removed than you expect........
Regards,
Nothing beats a D9 bulldozer for fast, efficient demo work !
everything I've read so far says that termite colonies are usually found up to 50, 100 or 150m away. Some sites say up to 400-500m, a good read at http://www.tanzerpestcontrol.com.au/termitesa.htm
Termites usually travel in the top 50 to 100cm of soil, but have been found to travel 6m below ground ( maybe 20 feet from US site, converted to 6m for us metricated people )
They fan out in all directions, and may bypass several houses before stopping to eat at yours.
A quick read at http://www.academicpest.com.au/term/
excellent info on all the poisons at http://www.globeaustralia.com.au/prodptermi.htm. This is a must read site.
Some unfortunate neighbour has probably spent lots of $$$ killing termites - ask around the nearby houses. Did the report indicate how long ago the activity ceased ? Probably not, it's hard to tell. 'Tis possible that colony(ies) have not crashed, but just stunted for a while ( the queen is still alive, but lots of workers dead ) and may come back soonish. Regular pest inspections, every 3 months for next year or two then to 6 monthly ( maybe check once in winter and twice in summer ) - termites don't do much work during winter in Sydney
If anyone wants to see and touch termite mud trails and see where they were under my house, PM me and I'll arrange a guided tour of my place ( exciting, wow...... ) OK, I'll make a nice coffee as well.
rgds,
Richard
everything I've read so far says that termite colonies are usually found up to 50, 100 or 150m away. Some sites say up to 400-500m, a good read at http://www.tanzerpestcontrol.com.au/termitesa.htm
Termites usually travel in the top 50 to 100cm of soil, but have been found to travel 6m below ground ( maybe 20 feet from US site, converted to 6m for us metricated people )
They fan out in all directions, and may bypass several houses before stopping to eat at yours.
A quick read at http://www.academicpest.com.au/term/
excellent info on all the poisons at http://www.globeaustralia.com.au/prodptermi.htm. This is a must read site.
Some unfortunate neighbour has probably spent lots of $$$ killing termites - ask around the nearby houses. Did the report indicate how long ago the activity ceased ? Probably not, it's hard to tell. 'Tis possible that colony(ies) have not crashed, but just stunted for a while ( the queen is still alive, but lots of workers dead ) and may come back soonish. Regular pest inspections, every 3 months for next year or two then to 6 monthly ( maybe check once in winter and twice in summer ) - termites don't do much work during winter in Sydney
If anyone wants to see and touch termite mud trails and see where they were under my house, PM me and I'll arrange a guided tour of my place ( exciting, wow...... ) OK, I'll make a nice coffee as well.
rgds,
Richard
Dear Alpina,
Agree with RichardK that Granitgard is certainly worthwhile. My termite inspector swears by it and tells me that there have been issues with termimesh when substandard material is brought in from overseas. He said he has seen marine grade stainless steel (which termimesh is supposed to be) rust and corrode away.
Sometimes when the distributor has their own pest inspection company there can be a conflict of interest and cost savings do not always add up.
Another thread you may find useful is a previous one I put up about the QMBA termite manual.
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5743
Cheers,
Sunstone.
Agree with RichardK that Granitgard is certainly worthwhile. My termite inspector swears by it and tells me that there have been issues with termimesh when substandard material is brought in from overseas. He said he has seen marine grade stainless steel (which termimesh is supposed to be) rust and corrode away.
Sometimes when the distributor has their own pest inspection company there can be a conflict of interest and cost savings do not always add up.
Another thread you may find useful is a previous one I put up about the QMBA termite manual.
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5743
Cheers,
Sunstone.
Well reading of Richards nightmare experience I think the
$2000 dollars its going to cost me for termite extermination
is really cheap.
You may have heard the story that hardwood is safe from termite attack-- there is a half hollow hardwood post under my house to disprove that theory- They arent in the house yet but thats just good luck - ... I was totally complacent
my house is high set with hardwood beams and concrete posts, The pest man said its a common misconception ...
Another theory is the termites can eat their fill in the garden and will leave the house alone.(they wont of course)
It would be good to see the local councils have a bit of an education campaign -just put a leaflet in with the rates notices
sometimes about basic termite prevention ..just to get people more aware.....
Cheers..
$2000 dollars its going to cost me for termite extermination
is really cheap.
You may have heard the story that hardwood is safe from termite attack-- there is a half hollow hardwood post under my house to disprove that theory- They arent in the house yet but thats just good luck - ... I was totally complacent
my house is high set with hardwood beams and concrete posts, The pest man said its a common misconception ...
Another theory is the termites can eat their fill in the garden and will leave the house alone.(they wont of course)
It would be good to see the local councils have a bit of an education campaign -just put a leaflet in with the rates notices
sometimes about basic termite prevention ..just to get people more aware.....
Cheers..
