Thread: Termites in slabbed marri?

Hi jack frost, when I was first on my bush block, I took to every termite mound I could find with my pick axe. the ants came from every where and cleaned some of them out. Poor defenceless termites. But about 6 weeks later I turned over a pile of hard wood no more than 3 mtrs from the last nest I destroyed, the little bustards found a new home! I'd also had two pack of tallowwood T&G, wrapped in a tarp. It was ok. Lesson learned I leave the mounds alone now. Termites need a direct link between the ground (earth), to the timber they are in. they build tunnels to keep them self's in darkness, and to stop predators picking them off. If the tunnels are broken they'll die still in the timber. Same if brought in an arm full of cut fire wood that had termites in it, the link is broken they die. Your house has the best protection it can get, given the council obligate this in basix, for new dwellings. For the slab close up any hole and keep the morten handy!

Are these little critters coming from out of the sapwood? If so you could have a dose of lictus borer. They like the sapwood in marri.

Thanks guys. I should have got on this forum ages ago!

Nifty - I'm not sure exactly where they are coming from - they seem to be appearing indiscriminately. I can see borer-type holes in the timber, but these suckers look like tiny tiny white ants.

So, do you reckon they'll just peter out and die? Should I zap em with mortein?!

Thanks again!

I give them a good dose of surface spray when I find any and if I can find their holes I get a suringe and flood each with a dose of aceton. It doesn't hurt the wood but I'm sure it would bugger up the day of any bug or egg down those holes.

Originally Posted by Claw Hama

I give them a good dose of surface spray when I find any and if I can find their holes I get a suringe and flood each with a dose of aceton. It doesn't hurt the wood but I'm sure it would bugger up the day of any bug or egg down those holes.

He he he...

Originally Posted by Claw Hama

I give them a good dose of surface spray when I find any and if I can find their holes I get a suringe and flood each with a dose of aceton. It doesn't hurt the wood but I'm sure it would bugger up the day of any bug or egg down those holes.

Hi, i have recently had the same problem except with borers. they were in my Australian Rosewood Slab. after many many days of looking around i found the CSIRO web sit and they advised to place the timber in a freezer. so i did this for one week and low and behold they are all gone. P.S. this slab was being used for a dining table the slab is 3m x 1m. this slab is being used for my HSC Major Design Project. it needs to be in for 1 week. you can try contacting a butcher or your local morgue (i know a bit morbid). i got my slab into a butchers freezer just after they got there supply of xmas hams and turkeys so there was just about no room but they very greatfuly made room to fit it in.

When I was doing up old furniture the treatment for borer was find the holes and inject turps. If they are termites they will just die out if kept off the ground.

There are ant and roach powders available which work quite well, they are fairly cheap and work very efficiently just sprinkle it around and on your slabs fairly prolifically. borax is another thing you can use and if you dissolve it with ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and spray the timber with it it will basically eliminate the timber as a food source for the mites!!

Mate, show us some pics, if at all possible. That will eliminate guesswork.

'jasons673' was SPOT ON. As a Horticulturist specializing in termites and insect pests, I can categorically tell you that spraying ANYTHING above ground onto termites is just a band-aid solution, and will do next-to-nothing.
Termites cannot tolerate anything below about 90% humidity, so are forced to live underground, or within the confines of a mud tunnel, pipe, tree root, or anywhere enclosed where the open air cannot dry them out, at all times. They MUST live in contact with plentiful moisture + cellulose (timber, or ANYTHING containing timber products, e.g: paper, gyprock, cardboard, etc). They've even been known to eat the coating on electrical wiring, even though it isn't nutritious to them at all.

Mate, I have liaised with the CSIRO, DPI, TRADEC, and Forestry for years, and the amount of complete rubbish that we've had to correct in the general public's awareness is truly staggering.
Do yourself a big favour and look up the CSIRO or Forestry leaflets on termites in your state, and be prepared to learn a lot of new stuff about termites, softwood & hardwood borers, wood-rot, slaters, wood-inhabiting ants, longicorns, etc, and how to tell the difference between them all.
It's too much to describe here, but ONCE YOU KNOW YOUR ENEMY, you'll be able to successfully combat them, and have peace of mind as well. You just can't put your head-in-the-sand....termites can tunnel easily through sand!, and if your head's made of wood!...

Thanks Guys , advice much appreciated. I ended up giving the slabs I'd brought inside a quick spray with insect spray ( as I had it conveniently to hand) and I've noticed no activity since. Not a categorical conclusion to the situation tho... We still have lots of timber on our property from fallen trees, construction waste etc so I'm trying to keep all that as far away from the house as possible. It certainly has reminded me to get myself informed. Know your enemy - good advice indeed!
Thanks again all.

I hope I didn't appear arrogant, jf. I was just concerned that you may have quite a bit at stake on your property.

The best preventative things you can do is rectify any obvious water leaks on your property; get rid of (or elevate off the ground onto metal supports,etc, that can be inspected easily,) large crowns, roots, or piles of timber, and check the dark, dank corners of sheds, houses, etc, for mud tubing that is used by termites when they have to venture out of the ground into our (unfavourable) atmosphere; or any swelling or rotting of wood, especially where there is evidence of sawdust, mud, or staining.

Regular vigilance and knowledge is essential where plenty of wood is concerned, otherwise you could be LITERALLY "eaten" out of house and home.

Cheers mate - good to have your advice. At the moment there's a lot of pressure just to finish the build (wife pregnant with our first - twins!) but I don't want to forget about the termite factor! Certainly relevant in the area we are in. A good clean up of the building envelope and surrounding property is high on the to do list and that will give us much clearer visual
Inspection zones. After having put 2 years of blood sweat an tears into this house the last thing I want is for it to be eaten around us!!
Thanks again )

Originally Posted by jackfrost

Cheers mate - good to have your advice. At the moment there's a lot of pressure just to finish the build (wife pregnant with our first - twins!) but I don't want to forget about the termite factor! Certainly relevant in the area we are in. A good clean up of the building envelope and surrounding property is high on the to do list and that will give us much clearer visual
Inspection zones. After having put 2 years of blood sweat an tears into this house the last thing I want is for it to be eaten around us!!
Thanks again )

Twins, hey mate!! There's a double thumbs up for you!
You're gonna LOVE the time between the ages of about 2 to 4 YO.

Nah, it'll be great, mate, just enjoy every minute you can of them!

My pleasure with the advice. Just make a bit of an inspection mandatory every 6-12 mths, after you've done all you can on the ground.

Kind Regards, jjh.