Why every place needs termite protection.

 Wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer set up a camera trap in the Peruvian Amazon, after returning what did he find? Termites had infested his camera setup and had done some significant damage to the camera, which, by the way is not wooden!

Before you dismiss his post, we'd like to highlight that the genus of Termite was Nasutitermes, a common genus in the Central coast, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regions we service. We often find them around homes during our inspections, and have done many eradications in homes infested with this genus of termite. 

So, even if your home is made of steel, and you don't have a termite management system in place, imagine what these termites could do to your camera, or computer, or Tv,  bookcase etc.?

http://petapixel.com/2015/09/17/termites-ruined-this-photographers-jungle-camera-trap-dslr/

Termites infested this camera. Photo Copywright Jeff Cremer. 

Nasutitermes in the shutter/mirror mechanism of the DSLR. Photos Copywright Jeff Cremer. 

A sad sight for any photography lover. Termites all over the lens, effectively destroying the optics! 

The termites completely destroyed the camera, fortunately he was able to recover data from the memory card. 

Extreme Termites! 

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.... 

Mould. 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. 

Mould on the side of this book highlights the persistent high humidity in this room. Not only bad for your health but is also a sign of high moisture. Forget book worms, it's book mould! 

A leaking bathroom provided all the moisture needed for this mould to grow nicely on a ceiling! 

High moisture , a warm environment and a cold aluminium window frame allows mould to grow as moisture condenses on the aluminium.