How ant capping keeps termites out of a building.

Ant Capping is designed to prevent undetected termite entry.

As with all termite management systems, they are primarily designed to force termites out in the open so they can be easily detected during an inspection, or to deter their entry. For these systems to work effectively, 2 conditions must be met:

1. The physical barrier system needs to be complete, covering all entry points and forming a continuous barrier around the perimeter of the building.
2. The property needs to be regularly inspected to ensure that the system is working correctly and there are no termites trying to infest the property.

Check the following photos that identify common problems with ant capping.

The termites have built a large mud shelter tube under this ant cap, but then you see them mysteriously appear in the timber above the ant cap! If this capping was a continuous barrier for the full width of the brick, they would have to build their mud shelter tube OVER the ant cap.

This explains why termites get in without being seen -  the ant capping does not cover the full width of the brick! This does not meet the Australian standard for termite protection.

This ant capping was only partially existent, with an inspection edge that goes off into oblivion. It was not able to prevent the termites getting in a chewing out this frame.  

The ant cap on this wall ends up butting up to a timber frame, there's no inspection edge and no surprises the termites got in. 

This is the most common failing of ant capping, failing to form a continuous barrier when there is a vertical transition, nothing is preventing the termites coming up between the two piers and into the lower bearer, and it would not be visible until it's too late.  

Hidden dangers of previous treatments.

With 1 in 3 Australian houses being affected by termites, it's not uncommon for a house to have had a previous treatment, and while it's good that something has been done to deal with the termites, sometimes the residues of the treatment are far from safe.

Take Arsenic Trioxide for example.

This highly toxic substance has been used for many years to eradicate termite colonies, the main drawback however, is that this substance is left behind in the timber long after the termites have been eradicated.

If there was any doubt about how dangerous it is, look at the MSDS for the Arsenic Dust commonly used for termite eradication and then correlate the Schedule 7 Poison label with this list.

To add insult to injury, it's mandated that notification be provided when arsenic is used to control termites in a building (as with many other termite treatments) however, during our inspections we seldom find any reference to any termite treatment in the meter box or anywhere else in the house. It's usually when we're confronted by the actual dusting that we first realise  that arsenic dusting has taken place.

If you're worried that your home could have arsenic in the timber, make sure that you get a thorough inspection outlining if there has been any termite damage or treatments.

The bright red dust you see in this picture is arsenic trioxide dust. It was used in the past to eradicate termites from this timber and the dust is clearly visible.

The Arsenic trioxide dust penetrates deep into galleries in the timber. Thus exposing anyone who works on the timber, (think renovation) exposed to arsenic trioxide dust. A Schedule 7 Dangerous poison.

Determining termite genus & species - another part of an inspection.

Getting a termite inspection also involves determining the species of termites in a building and also the species of those surrounding the building. Each species have their own characteristics, interestingly only About 12 Species of termite damage sound timber in Australia. That's of the approximately 350 species in Australia, so determining termite species is important. The behaviour of these timber destroying species does vary, so an accurate identification is essential. 

A Coptotermes acinaciformus worker. The Coptotermes genus is one of the most destructive termites in Australia, accounting for the majority of the timber damage in structures. These were found in a subfloor and were consuming leftover formwork in the subfloor.

Nasutitermes on a fence post, this genus are very destructive termites, and are a threat to homes and timber structures. These were within 50m of a house and are a direct threat to the home.

The destructive Schedorhinotermes can be very difficult to control because of their their shy behaviour. And yes, they are very destructive! Here are some during a baiting programme we're carrying out.

So, make sure that termites are identified correctly during an inspection. The threat to your property, the type of treatment options and the effectiveness on control all depend on correctly identifying the termites in and around your home!

It's abandoned - termite bait stations!

Termite bait stations can be a very effective method of controlling termites, but only if the system is maintained. More often than not, a building with bait stations has an infestation due to a lack of proper maintenance of the perimeter baiting system. It's not uncommon for us to be called to a house with an infestation that already had a perimeter bait station monitoring system in place. When we check the bait stations, the attractant wood has been eaten out long ago......

So what can be done?

Well, the safest thing is to make sure that you have a reputable pest controller monitoring the bait stations, this may seem costly but it is so much cheaper than dealing with an infestation and subsequent damage.

Failing that, it may be prudent to check the bait stations yourself. At least something is being done to monitor termite activity, if you find termites, then you can call a pest controller (The Termite Trackers!) to eradicate the colony.

This bait station is far from effective as it is protruding significantly, the top should be flush with ground level.

This bait station was very close by to an termite entry point on a house, as you can see the termites have already eaten most of the wood out before abandoning it.

A Sentricon bait station graveyard, these bait stations were monitored for a while but have now been abandoned....

this bait station hadn't been checked for years....

Drilling & Injecting

Drilling concrete slabs and injecting chemical is one of the ways to protect a property from termites, and then there are obviously variations of those treatment methods depending on the type of construction and requirements of the treatment. However, there have to be a few specifications met to ensure it is done correctly. Here we will highlight a few for you to consider.

Hole Spacings! When holes are drilled to inject termiticide under a concrete slab to treat the footing of a wall, the holes cannot be more than 150mm from the wall. This home had holes exceeding 300mm. Needless to say, the original treatment failed and the home was re infested. 

Injecting Termidor under a slab.

Holes are often drilled around a perimeter to ensure a complete chemical barrier to prevent termites getting in.

Hole spacings on this property exceeded 300mm! Once again, they were beyond specification, holes should be between 150-300mm apart. The greater tolerance is reserved for porous soil types and rarely used in our practice. Ironically this was done on an internal wall that was a 

Once again, hole spacing was beyond specification. More examples below....