Termite inspections in Sydney

Termite inspections are absolutely imperative to ensure that termite incursion does not happen. There is no method of termite treatment that will work without termite inspections being carried out. In Australia we have standards of workmanship that are often dictated by a series of documents named Australian Standards. The Australian standards for termite control, point out that whenever you have installed a termite management system you must have a termite inspection carried out each twelve months or more regularly where the risk is higher.
A termite inspection when carried out properly must include very close inspection of the following.

• The exterior of the property
• The under floor (sub floor) area 
• The interior
• The roof void

All of these areas need to be inspected thoroughly and in conjunction with each other. To inspect a part of a house only gives a part of a picture. The Australian standard is a very good read when you need to know how best to  inspect or what you should expect from a termite inspector.

Remember CHEAP = NASTY

Do not skimp you will get what you pay for!

Termite inspections are crucial

Termite inspections are a crucial part of the termite management systems built in to every home.even 100 years ago the termite management systems designed into a house were designed in such a way that without human interaction (inspection) they would fail.
An inspection is necessary to enable all functions in termite management

• Prevention
• Detection 
• Elimination

Without the initial inspection all of these functions can only blindly be carried out. For a homeowner to believe that they are adequately able to carry out an inspection is a pipe dream. Experienced pest control technicians struggle with termite inspection. It is truly a specialist field. In Sydney, termite inspections are carried out by many levels of technician. It takes only one week to become qualified to carry out termite inspection and treatment, there is no requirement for experience.

Cheap inspections are very readily available, avoid cheap like the plague. There is only one word that fits perfectly with cheap and that, is Nasty. It takes time to carry out a proper termite inspection and the time will vary dependent upon the size of the home and the complexity of its construction.

Ensure that you research any termite inspection or control company and see to it that they are appropriately skilled, qualified, licensed, insured and that the person who proves he is all of the preceding will be the one carrying out the work. For good measure if you require that anyone that you employ is a member of the AEPMA (the relevant industry association) and Pestcert (a body created to raise industry standards) then you will be well on your way to choosing a quality company.

Termite extermination in Sydney

Exterminating termites in Australia is known as termite control. Extermination is an often used word coming out of the USA which is not incorrect but little used in this country. Where we use the term termite control, termite extermination is fine to be inserted.
Now that we have got that out of the way, killing termites is a serious business. When termites are accessing your home by some out of the way subterranean route, no one can afford to try and carry out control measures themselves, it is too easy to mess up and the cost of messing up can be extreme termite damage to your home. Termite control should be left to the professionals and should always be carried out with the following in mind.

1. A termite inspection is necesary to enable the termite expert to be able to fully assess the situation and recommend the appropriate solution.
2. Termite colony control measures must be undertaken when live termites are found. It is of no use to carry out a preventative type treatment when the termites are still actively working in the building. It just does not work.
3. Preventative measures must be undertaken when colony control has been achieved, this may take the form of a chemical treated zone around the home or a "greener" monitoring system placed around the home. either way continual ongoing maintenance must be undertaken to ensure that a re-infestation cannot occur.

Killing termites in Sydney

How do you kill termites?
There are three methods of killing termites that are available today. Two of these methods are tried and tested, have science to back them up and are the best choice. The other method goes outside the pesticide label (the law) and the Australian for termite control AS3660.2
The methods are

1. Baiting the termites to achieve colony elimination.
2. Dusting the termites to achieve colony elimination.
3. application of a liquid termiticide.

Here is a link to a video with a quick demonstration of how baiting works.

I will continue this post over the next few days.

Termite control

Termite control has been undergoing significant changes in Australia since 1995 when Organochlorine pesticides were taken off the market. Initially organophosphate pesticides were used as replacements with varied results as many technicians received no training on the very different way that these pesticides needed to be installed. Then over the last ten years several different termiticides have been released onto the market, all with proven performance when applied properly, the biggest downfall of all of these products is that there is room for applicator error. If the product is applied in any way incorrectly it will not do the claimed job and no manufacturer will warrant that. In the last five to ten years a new and different approach has been having success in controlling termites. Baiting systems have been implemented for controlling colonies of termites and monitoring systems have been successfully intercepting termites before they reach homes. These methods are low toxic, long term, 100% gauranteed and are certainly leading the choices in intelligent termite control.

Which Termite Control Product is Best? Is Sydney Different?

Termite treatment methods must vary from state to state and from area to area. Many Termiticides will have varying lengths of life and effectiveness dependent upon the soil type which they are introduced to. Very high alkaline soils have been proven to reduce the life and effectiveness of Chlorpyrifos based pesticides by up to five times. Very sandy soils are not at all good for the installation of chemical soil barriers as the molecules of the active ingredient find it difficult to bond to the sand particles, much more organic matter is needed in the soil for successful treatment and control. Clay soils present their own problems with it being very difficult to keep the pesticide from all running to a low point without evenly soaking in, and occasionally when good bonding to the soil has occurred a termite control treatment can be completely compromised if the clay dries out and does what clay does in dry conditions, and opens up, with large cracks which effectively give pathways through the treated areas.

There are some homes where these types of treatments are useful and can be the ideal termite control method, however they are few and far between. Ensure that you fully research all termite control methods before embarking on a method that may just be fruitless. Always take colony control measures first, this means killing the termite colony that is affecting your home. There are several approved methods of colony elimination including introduction of a termiticide dust to the termite workings, direct destruction of the colony and baiting

Termite Control Measures and the Home Owner

Termite control is not something that can be delegated to a pest control company and then forgotten about, you need to take responsibility for your own space. Leaving firewood stored against your home like in this photograph is an open invitation for termites.
Termites will forage around underground looking for what to them is a food source,and trying to find that food whilst keeping out of our environment. This means that they will be very secretive attacking timbers from below where you cannot see them until it is often too late. Often there are Water sources around homes that provide the termites with all of the moisture that they need. Moisture is a very important commodity to termites as they need very high humidity levels to survive. It is your responsibility as a homeowner to ensure that these high risk factors are minimised around your home.

Termites still going strong in Autumn in Sydney

We are into Autumn now in Sydney and the termite attacks that often start to wane at this time of year do not appear to be doing so this year. Pestec still is taking multiple reports of termites attacking homes each day! There are still several different species of termites doing the damage, mainly though the termites are Coptotermes spp, Schedorhinotermes spp and Nasutitermes spp termites. No matter which termite decides to attack your home significant damage can occur. The best security against termite attack is a monitoring system like the Nemesis Termite Monitoring System, further information and videos showing how this works can be found here.

Thermal imaging ever more important in termite detection

Thermal imaging is certainly not new technology, it's use in termite detection is now becoming "old technology" the gimmicks of thermal imaging have worn off and the real benefits of using the technology in well trained hands is being seen.

A Thermal camera that is properly rated for the task at hand, will find traces of termites where a standard inspection may miss them. For example, if a termite colony has taken up residence in a cavity wall of a house, there may be no signs of that infestation under the home or even in the roof void above that area, given that termite colonies produce quite a bit of heat, the colony will show up even if the walls are double brick.

Follow this link to see a photograph of a wall of a house where for successive years the pest controllers could not find where the termites were getting in. The termites in fact lived in the wall cavity on the second floor. http://www.pestec.com.au/technology

Thermal imaging is no "magic wand" but in many situations it is invaluable.

Flying termites going strong in Sydney

Termites fly from their colony every year with the aim of continuing the species by forming new nests. The flights are a sight to behold with up to one hundred thousand termites gushing from the nest when the time is right. They need an afternoon with low winds and high humidity. This small piece of video shows hundreds of termites swarming around a light in the early evening, then some termites trying to crawl into the wall space of my house.

A week of termite flights in Sydney "flying ants"

Wow!!What a week as far as termite activity in Sydney, the annual colonising flights of lots of species of termites started this week in earnest. Reports were heard that flights had taken place in almost all suburbs.We had only four reported flights that were coming from nesting sites inside peoples homes, however many people were very concerned that individual and in some cases masses of "flying ants" were entering their homes.There is very little immediate danger when a termite flies into your home. The colonising flight is for just that purpose, for termites to leave the original nest and find a mate and set up a new colony. To do this they have to fulfill several basic requirements,
1. Shelter, like most creatures termites need somewhere to set up their home base. This will often be nearby to their feeding site for ease of access. Remember at this point their are often only two members of the colony until they can start to produce young. Once the queen establishes herself she can lay up to 2000 eggs per day.
2. Food, a cellulose based one preferably, this gives a wide variety of items that are a target. cardboard boxes, books any stored or waste timbers, mulch, houses, posts, fences, telegraph poles, retaining walls, trees, stumps and pretty much anything that can provide them with sustenance.
3. Moisture, a very important and often overlooked point. Termites need a lot of moisture to sustain them. Prime points around a home for termites to gain access to a continual moisture source are, hot water system overflow pipes (they drip) leaking taps, leaking gutters or pipes, poorly drained areas, areas that have little chance of being accessed because of size restrictions or stored goods being present.
If you see termite alates around there is a chance that they will set up a new colony! Be smart and have a termite inspection carried out by a competent inspector. Choose a member of the AEPMA, the peak industry association and employ a Pestcert accredited company.
Pestec 1800 111 616 www.pestec.com.au

What does a termite look like?

Termites are commonly referred to as white ants. The truth is that they are neither white nor ants. In fact termites are more closely related to cockroaches than ants. Termites have three castes that are commonly found by homeowners so we will deal with those three here. Most worker termites tend to take on the colour of the timber that they are consuming as they have an opaque skin.
1. Alates
Alates are the winged reproductive caste of termites. The size of alates varies from species to species however generally they will be between 6-10 mm long. Alates (called swarmers in the US) are usually only seen in summer, after a very warm and humid day and given quite still conditions they will leave the nest en masse. They have clear veined wings which they drop very shortly after landing. The purpose of this colonizing flight is to establish new colonies.
2. Soldiers
The soldier caste of termites carries out the function that the name suggests. Large numbers of soldier termites exist throughout the colony placed strategically to ensure that if intruders are found that they can be swiftly dispatched. Some species of termite have the ability to exude a substance from the fontanel on their head which is useful in warding of enemy ants etc. Soldier termites do not feed themselves they are fed by the worker termites and are often the last in the colony to receive food.
3. Workers
Worker termites are the caste which causes the most damage to buildings, being the termites at the coal face. Apart from being the gatherers of food, these termites are responsible for the distribution of food to the Queen, King and other castes. The workers are also responsible for building the shelter tubes that protect the termites from the outside environment and also for providing moisture for the colony.

Top seven tips for natural termite control.

1. Remove termite food sources
Termites will eat any product that contains cellulose and some that do not. Inadvertently homeowners store all manner of belongings in areas that are easily accessible to termites, the worst place to store items is under your house. Often items are stored in cardboard boxes which themselves are commonly attacked by termites. When the boxes are placed on soil termites have easy access directly into them and their contents. Other commonly attacked items include such things as firewood, stored and waste timbers and furniture.
2. Reduce moisture sources
There are many different reasons that excess moisture can build up under or next to a building. Leaking pipes are an obvious cause. Often the overflow from the hot water system has a constant drip and this makes for a large moisture source. Drainage and irrigation placed inappropriately can cause a moisture buildup. Gutters that are in poor repair allow moisture buildups. Termites need large amounts of moisture to keep the air in their workings high in humidity. The easier we make it for them to find moisture near our homes the easier termites will enter our homes.
3. Reduce soil levels
Often soil levels around the perimeter of houses are built up to the point that physical termite barriers that have been installed during construction are rendered inoperative. Termite entry to homes where soil or concrete levels are high, is often not detected until large amounts of damage have been done, this is because it is often at the entry point that termites are first noticed but when the entry point is covered by soil they will not be easily detected.
4. Improve ventilation
When ventilation under a home is poor, built up moisture that arrives via a variety of means (see tip number 2) has a very poor chance of drying out if the ventilation is not up to scratch. The theory behind successfully ventilating subfloor areas is that when dry air moves through an area of high moisture it picks up moisture and carries it away depositing it outside the area of concern. Terracotta vents that were put in place historically often do not allow enough air movement for the drying process to happen. The amount of ventilation required varies from building to building and is partially dependant on the terrain where it is constructed. Where this is the case the ventilation may need to be augmented by larger vents or even specially designed fans that will extract large volumes of air quickly and over a long period of time.
5. Improve access
Often when buildings are constructed there are small (and sometimes large) voids that are left with no access to them. This leaves us with several problems, firstly no ability to inspect these areas routinely with the rest of the home. Secondly, voids notoriously contain building waste, often formwork timbers and other items that provide a food source for termites. Finally, where voids are not accessible they are often poorly ventilated creating problems as pointed out in tip 4
6. Plan monitoring points
There will be high risk areas around your home that can be chosen as points to monitor for termite activity on a regular basis. E.g. a timber retaining wall is a huge monitoring point and the gaps between the timbers and at the joins of the timber will become filled with termite mud packing when activity starts. Stumps can be a good monitoring point (though they should preferably be removed) many stumps are used in gardens as a feature and end up covered in vines or other foliage or with a pot plant placed on top, remove the foliage to check along the grain for termite mud packing and make sure you move the pot plant and check under it!
7. Inspect, inspect, inspect.
There is no substitute for professional termite inspections, however if you educate yourself about termites, and the signs that you need to look for when inspecting, you can help to augment the inspection programme put in place by your inspection company. The more regularly that your premises are inspected the earlier any signs of termite activity can be picked up. There are many termite monitoring systems available on the market that can be installed and easily monitored by the homeowner, again the use of these systems augments a professional inspection regime.