Termites are on the rampage. The wet and humid weather on the Sunshine Coast has created the perfect conditions for accelerating Termite activity. If you haven’t had an annual termite inspection, or your property doesn’t have a current termite barrier, we strongly encourage you to get a pest professional out to your property immediately.
Our office has been receiving a large increase in the number of urgent calls from customers after finding active Termites in their home. We have seen holes in walls where termites have eaten through the Gyprock. Our pest technicians have also identified a large increase in the number of active Termite nests out in surrounding.
If you have been putting off your Termite inspection, or have never had a termite inspection for your home, there are a number of things you should know:
You may have voided your builders warranty.
If you’re the owner of a newly constructed home, your builders warranty may be void if you neglect to maintain annual termite inspections. What does this mean? Technically it means that your builder could get out fixing your home under warranty if there is a problem with your home, even if it were not caused by Termite damage.
Your building and contents insurance won’t cover you for termite damage.
That’s right, your major investment and belongings could be severely damaged by Termites and you won’t be covered by your insurance. Most people wouldn’t dream of owning a home without insurance. Yet there’s a moderate percentage of home owners that do not get annual termite inspection regardless of the fact that there is a much greater risk that a Queensland home will be damaged by Termites than by fire, flood, or natural disaster.
Termites are natures wrecking ball.
Their destructive powers would be awe inspiring if it wasn’t so threatening to people’s homes and investments. Termites (also known as white ants) are not only destructive, but they’re sneaky. They eat homes from the inside out, meaning they eat the internals of a home without leaving visible signs on the outside or living areas. Although Termites predominately eat wood, they have been known to eat through Gyprock. They also manage to find ways into steel framed homes to find wooden structures and furniture to eat.
What you should do if you find termites?
Leave them alone! Seriously, leave them alone. Don’t touch them, don’t try to kill them, just let them be and call a pest professional. You may think “They’re eating my home, why would I not try to kill them?” Good question. The answer comes down to how to effectively eliminate termites. Termites live in complex social structures, and are in constant contact with one another. They love to groom one another, and dispose of their dead, diseased and unwanted colony members by eating them (why not!?). The leading product on the market for Termites is Termidor, which exploits this fact and works through transference. Basically each Termite spreads the Termidor to any other Termite that it comes in contact with. Therefore, the effectiveness of your treatment will increase with the number of active Termites that can be sprayed directly with Termidor.
Does spraying active Termites protect my home?
Unfortunately, no, it’s not quite that simple. To effectively protect your home there needs to be some type of chemical barrier installed around your entire home. There are a number of different ways that this can be achieved, but they all have a couple of common requirements. For the barrier to prevent the ingress of termites, it has to be a complete and continual barrier. Think of it as a moat around a castle. The moat is rendered completely ineffective it there is even one land bridge (or tree bridge).
To find out more about termite barriers visit Exceed pest control at exceedpestcontrol.com.au
