Professional Termite Protection for your Property

All homes provide a physical barrier to termites to a greater or lesser degree, but there are always points of weakness where termites can enter the home without being noticed. For example, homes built on brick piers have metal “ant capping” on the top of each pier to prevent termites moving up inside the brick pier and attacking the wood flooring – they need to build around the metal sheet to get to the floor and if they do they will be spotted during a termite inspection.

Most newer homes will have a range of physical barriers (and sometimes chemical termite barriers) installed in and around the house at the time of construction and work with the physical elements of the building to provide an integrated system to provide protection from termites. However, these systems never provide 100% protection and will often be compromised over time, making the home susceptible to termite attack. This is why annual termite inspections are a must and the installation of a termite management system highly recommended.

If you are building a new home or renovating please contact Go Pest about termite protection.

Making your home less attractive to termites is key to reducing the chances of a termite attack – eliminate sources of moisture and food.

Eliminate sources of water

• Fix drainage issues around and under the house
• Don’t water the garden beds around the perimeter of the house
• Fix up any leaking outdoor taps
• Make sure air conditioning and hot water overflows go into drains
• Make sure there are no leaks inside, particularly in the bathrooms and laundry

Eliminate sources of food

• Avoid using wood mulch in gardens, especially next to the house
• Store any fire wood away from the house
• Avoid storing cardboard boxes and waste wood under the house
• Remove any wood stumps from yard
• Avoid using wood retaining walls

Termite inspections at least once a year are recommended by governments, building authorities and Australian Standards. Not only will they pick up active termites and signs of termite damage, but they should identify building construction faults and conducive conditions that may make the building more susceptible to a termite attack.

Although a professional termite inspection is a must, it makes sense for all homeowners to know the signs of termites.

To prevent termites attacking a building, it is necessary to install a termite management system around and under (if you have a sub-floor) the home. The termite management system will either be a termite treatment to the soil or the installation of a termite baiting system. The choice of system will depend on a number of factors including the construction of the building and soil type. It is important to understand that all termite managements systems are designed to work in conjunction with the physical features of the building to prevent concealed termite entry. ie. With a termite management system installed the only way for termites to enter the home is to make themselves visible (by building a mud tube), which can then be observed by the home owner or picked up during the annual termite inspection.

Find out more about how much termite treatments cost