What are Termite swarmers, or Alates as they are correctly called? How can you identify them? Are they a threat to your home? Find out in this blog post.
Read MoreTake the Termite test!
Take this simple termite test to see if your home is susceptible to termite attack!
Read More"Inadequate" Ant Capping
Ant capping is barrier that prevents termites from being able to get into a building undetected, this is generally made of a strip of galvanised metal shielding. It's very purpose is not to stop termites completely, but to give them some sort of obstruction so that they have to build a mud shelter tube to go around.
These can often be overlooked and forgotten about when renovations take place, repairs or changes are made to the existing building and sometimes can just rot away without anyone noticing.
A water saving tip!
How can a Termite inspection save you water and money? Find out!
Read MoreSpring has sprung!
Spring brings about some lovely weather and great times! Termites, unfortunately, also enjoy the warmer months. See what you can do to avoid them this Spring.
Read MoreMould. A sure sign of high moisture.
High moisture is a major conducive condition to termite attack, and nothing says "hey there's lots of moisture here" better than fungus. Mould is often seen growing in areas of persistent moisture. So it's not surprising that where here is mould, there are termites nearby. This is because the prevailing conditions required for both mould and termites are very similar. So if you see mould in your place, it might be time to get a termite inspection. It's also a good idea to do all you can to reduce the moisture (and mould!) in your home for health reasons.
Termite Hazard map.
We often get asked if a particular suburb has ha high incidence of termite activity. I often have to explain that most areas are! If you look at this map you'll notice that a lot of the highly populated areas of Australia are also zones with high environmental termite pressure!
How to identify termite mudding.
We often get calls when people find some dust, debris or any fine material that appears out of places it probably shouldn't. Good news is, it's not always termites, but it's bad news when it is. How can you identify what it is?
Termites build mud shelter tubes to keep them nice and cozy and moist, they can't be exposed as they will dehydrate and die. So, keeping this in mind, you need to remember that you're looking for nice moist, tightly packed mud. If the termite activity isn't new, the mud may be quite dry and cracked, but it's normally quite dense and difficult to break off. Termites are great engineers, and they will build solid mud tubes that protect them from the outside world.
If you see any debris or something that isn't where it should be, give it a rub with your finger, if it's hard and doesn't break away easily then it could likely be termite mud!
Here are some pictorial examples of what to look for:
Here is a deceptive example:
Arsenic Trioxide Dusting - A Dangerous way to kill termites!
This is some termite damaged timber that has been treated with Arsenic trioxide dust. You can see the remnants of the arsenic in the galleries in the timber, its bright red! Arsenic trioxide dust was introduced many years ago as a means of treating live termites in their workings in an attempt to eradicate the colony. Whilst it has been an effective means, arsenic trioxide is extremely toxic and there are much better methods nowadays that don't introduce toxic chemicals into your property. Termidor dust and baiting are just some methods that can be used. Unfortunately, arsenic trioxide is still readily available and still being used by pest controllers in Australia.