amazing termites

[Greyham]

I am amazed at the tenacity of termites, my house is a steel framed house with absestos walls, between the asbestos is foam. the house is on a slab and I have added an extension, this is timber floor and verandah. 4 years old.

inside the house all the walls were asbestos, and every meter a metal strip held them together, not a nice look, so I have gyprocked the walls, finally finished.

There is timber in the house, such as a new frame for the kitchen wall which went up against the old walls, and sat on a slab, then gyprocked. 1 year old.

the only other timber is a 50mm x 40mm pine which sits under the suspended ceiling, like a architrave (?) all around the house. Not in the new area.

The other day I found part of the architrave, about 20cm of this timber, riddled with lovely termites. which is a long way from the new timber.

A closer inspection showed a small trail heading into/from the steel frame.

My question is, "HOW THE HELL, did they get to this one bit of timber, having to travel at least 6 metres up and over the wall, without eating timber on the way, as I can not see how they got there."


I am not overly concerned as I doubt they will eat the asbestos, and the house is not going to fall down. I have contacted a pest firm and they suggest a full inspection, around the $200 mark, Do you guys think I need an inspection or just get them to spray, I can't see any problems with the new extension and the rest of the house is steel and asbestos, with just a hint of pine.

Your advice would be appreciatted

[Gumby]

Being in an industry where I get to see lots of homes, I can tell you that these little buggers get anywhere and everywhere. There isn't any logic to them. Sometimes they'll bypass some delicious timber and end up eating something else further away. They can be in the walls of a house but the roof is clear of vice versa. Just get it checked completely. You may have others and it isn't worth taking any chances. $200 is about right for a decent inspection.

Since they banned some of the chemicals they used to use and now have more environmentally friendly pesticides, these thing are spreading. I believe there's a new system where they can send micro waves through the building to kill them but not sure if it's being used extensively yet.

[Harry72]

So what they can nuke yer whole house now... Hmmm can we use it to dry some wood!

[Ashore]

Since they banned some of the chemicals they used to use and now have more environmentally friendly pesticides, these thing are spreading. How right you are another win for the political correct try and get a 10 yr guarentee on termite control now
As for getting anyware I believe I read that they can get through a crack 0.2 mm wide




The trouble with life is there's no background music.

[knucklehead]

Check the gyprock. Termites are quite good at tunneling through it. I have seen the gyprock look untouched but whole sections were hollowed out when you peeled the paper back. The termites were found when someone tried to clean what looked like little black spots of the wall. The spots were actually small holes where the termites had gone through the paper. The tracks then were easy to follow into the ceiling where they were having a greatime with the trusses.

[Pestmaster]

Grayham, you are right when you say termites are tenacious. I am a pest controller and my full time job is now carrying out termite inspections in buildings. Termites can and do go to great lengths to find timber to consume. Sometimes as "knuclehead" says, they will tunnel inside the gyprock linings, dont forget, gyprock has a carboard backing... Mmm very tasty...

My advice would be to have an inspection, any good pest control company would insist on inspecting before they treat because they need to know exactly what they are dealing with before they can recommend the best treatment for your particular case.
Believe me, this is not a job to be taken lightly, I am constantly dealing with people who "thought" they could fix it themselves, only to have the termites return later, or be in a hidden place that the owner didn't know about.

"Gumby" is right about how "illogical" they can be, but then again, we aren't a termite and can't think like one. One thing is for sure, they have been around a few more years than us humans, and I don't see us wiping them out in the near future, besides, they perform a very useful job.... recycling timber..... and they also keep me in a job..... bless their little souls.

For the record, my inspections run out at $190 - $250 depending on the house and can take between 1.5 - 2.5 hours, plus a fully detailed typed report.

"Gumby" the only micro wave instrument we have at the moment is caled a Termatrac motion detector that can give a display of any movement within a wall cavity. Your inspector should have one of these devices with him during the inspection. Very often we can track them to an entry point.

There is other ways to deal with termites today other than spraying chemicals Exterra and Sentricon are both baiting systems that work very well. And as far as chemicals go, non-detectable treatments such as Termidor and Premise are working extremely well.

Sorry for being lengthy, but its what i do day in day out.

[Trent The Thief]

Pestmaster, very interesting information.

Very disturbing, too.

[Greyham]

Thanks guys for your speedy and depressing views, I always had a smile on my face when mates mentioned termites in their hose, thinking I was safe. Well, no more smirking from this black duck.


Pestmaster, thanks for your reply, I will have the full inspection, if only for piece of mind. I do my best to keep timber that is around the place, of the ground.

Recently I had a pile of pine offcuts on the ground, left there for ages, and when I went to clean up, there was a city, complete with monorails, hospitals and the begining of a parliment of termites, lets just say that Nero had nothing on me when I set fire to it.

[julianx]

DON'T PANIC somtimes prevention can cost more than the cure. Heres our story-
an organisation I'm involved with owns ten properties. For 5 years up until last year we had yearly termite inspections done at $150 per house. These inspections included quotes for barrier treatments averaging $2000 per property plus follow up treatments, around $300 per year with full treatments to be done again after about 7years. This was way out of our budget so we didn't have the treatments and consequently no guarentee against termites. In the 5 years of getting the inspections we had 3 infestations none of which were found by the inspectors, the last one we found 2 weeks after an inspection. Naturally we sacked them. After a few calls we found a new termite guy with a differant approach. For $1100 he did a full inspection of the infested property (showing us how to inspect it ourselves and simple prevetative measures), treated the infestation and another we found during the inspection then gave us an unconditional 2 year guarentee. The repair work will cost under $600 as it did with the other properties, even if the repairs were $6000 dollars we would still be better off. We now keep a few grand in the bank earning interest and do our own inspections.

Not a recomendation, just a story

[capedcrusader]

I dont think theyre ever going to be stopped because of the fact that they send out winged versions twice per year looking for new termite opportunities. If you can find out where they are getting in why dont you just fix the access point (the hard part) and kill the little ba$tards that you can see with insect spray (the fun part) or squash them individually with your fingers if youre feeling a bit sadistic. You might want to check that you dont have a tap seal causing dripping inside a wall cavity too - I had a termite superhighway happening because of an internal leaking tap.

[Greyham]

Just in case you guys heard a loud thump, it was my jaw hitting the floor, I had a pest controller come out and he had a quick look, seemed nice enough, said my termites were the shy type, soon as you disturb them they run away, but aren't far and look for a new place. (maybe I should bang on the walls constantly, annoy the little buggers.

Basically, he said there are two ways of treating them, one is to lay baits, about $3000 for the first year then about $400 each year after that, or spray, roughly $1800, jaw dropped at this stage.

Because I have a slab and it appears that a small verandah added later, also a slab, has caused areas to allow infestation, possibly.

As I said before, not much timber in the old part, except maybe under the bathtub, will look next week.

The Pest controller seemed to think spraying wouldn't work, What do you think, spray and keep a vigil, seeing as there is not much timber for them to eat, and spray the new timber area"s.

it was intersteting to hear cape crusader mention winged buggers, and I recall seeing such buggers, do they morph into termites? Ah the angst of it all.

Your advice and information has eased the worries, slightly, thanks again

[Trent The Thief]

This PDF (http://pathnet.org/si.asp?id=399) has some interesting information about things termites have bored through to get some dinner. Damned scary reading.... So much for thinking cellular PVC was safe :eek:

[cork]

Hi
We bought a house with termite damage 12 mths ago (no nest- just some leads)- yes we knew that it had damage when we had it inspected- but decided to go ahead with the purchase given that it is rendered bessa brick with brick internal walls and metal door frames etc... The only timber is in the roof- and we factored new rafters etc... into the price.
Our biggest dilemma is what sort of barrier/system will be most effective in the long term. The house came with an Exterra system (and $660 per year fee for regular inspections). Should that be backed up with internal inspections? I've heard that there is a chemical barrier that can go around the house for approx. $4000 (with an 8-10year guarantee)- so, slightly more cost effective- but have to pay upfront. I've heard that the barrier that they put in binds to organic matter in the soil. We are on sand- so I don't know if it would be effective.
Should we stick with Exterra (and risk termites getting in between the stations) or go for a chemical barrier? Does either system work? :)

[Buzza]

We doused our walls with petrol.

On the very next day, the termites came out on motorbikes.:wink:

[silentC]

We had about 10 of those Exterra stations put in. After about 6 weeks he got some activity in one of them, so he put the bait in it ($80 a pop). Found some more activity in another one a couple of months later. In the meantime, the termites had come up a cavity between a brick wall and a timber stud wall under the house and eaten one of the floorboards. We sold the house, so don't know what happened in the end.

The point is that the bait stations are aimed at killing the nest, not keeping the termites out of your house. It's down to whether the installer puts them in the right place or not. Initially they bait them with wood and cardboard. Then inspect them every now and then until they see tracking inside. Then they have to remove the wood and replace it with poison, hoping that the activity continues and the termites take the poison back to the nest.

There could be several nests in the area and you can never kill them all. The best solution is to remove their access to the house. Unfortunately that's not always possible on an existing house, which is where the spray treatments come in.

Personally, I'd prefer to spray every couple of years knowing that it has a very good chance of keeping them out, than to pay $3000 for a system that might kill the nest if you're lucky.

[LotteBum]

Here's my termite story.

We bought our post war house just over 12 months ago. We got it cheap because there was some termite damage in it, which we played on in a big way. :2tsup:

As soon as we settled, we paid $2200 for a 'chemical barrier' which is warranted for 5 years. After 12 months, we paid $440 for a 'top-up' and I'm pretty sure we have to do this every 12 months until the warranty is up.

It pays to shop around - our barrier quotes ranged from $2200 up to $3,500. It's also extremely important to view your pest guy's licence and insurance details. :2tsup:

Good luck with it.

[cork]

does anyone know whether the physical mesh barriers can be installed around an existing house? Slab construction with easily removable pavers all around. otherwise it sounds as though we are stuck with chemical- which might just wash out of our sandy soil.

[TermiMonster]

If you mean Termimesh, it can be installed into an existing house, but costs more than and arm and a leg. (it costs the arm and leg in a new house, you have to be prepared to roll around on a mechanics rollboard for a retro-install):o

[Bleedin Thumb]

TM bring me up to speed ..what is Termimesh?

[Wood Butcher]

Have a read here (http://www.termi-mesh.com/frameset.cfm?main_page=how_it_works.cfm&page_title=How%20It%20Works) Bleedin

[silentC]

We used Termimesh on our place. Cost was about $1800 for continuous ant capping, pier caps and a vaious bits and pieces.

[TermiMonster]

As per the website listed by wood butcher, its a stainless steel mesh. Can be installed in most building types, but is used extensively in slab on ground. But like all mechanical systems, is designed to force the termites into easily observable areas, ie it does not stop or kill them. Inspection is a must.
TM

[cork]

our house is on a slab- so I don't think termimesh would be an option ie. can't get under the place. Can only lift the pavers around the edge of the slab. I read somewhere that chekical treatment can be injected into pipes installed around the slab. That should mean that we avoid the problem of chemical washing out of the soil. Does anyone know if the chemical barrier can be installed around an existing slab by running a specialised pipe (with holes in it) around the house?

[Barry_White]

When I built my place 28 years ago on a slab on the ground I had a concern about termites. I didn't want to use chemicals and termimesh certainly hadn't been invented so I have no termite protection.

My solution was to build in steel frame both in the walls and roof trusses so I have no structural timber whatsoever in the house except for hard wood verandah posts and beams which are fully exposed.

The only other timber I have in the house is meranti in the shelves in the cupboards and the reveals and architraves around the windows and doors.

I live in a termite area but have never had any in the house but I do have them in the house yard timber posts but that is where they stay and I leave them alone.

[silentC]

A slab edge is acceptable as a termite barrier. It needs to be fully exposed for at least 75mm. Pipe penetrations and abutments are the only problem you have in an existing house. Half of our house is on a slab, so the pipe penetrations are protected with termimesh skirts that are fitted to the pipe and then vibrated into the concrete. The abutment between the slab and the adjacent foundation wall has a 12" wide strip of termimesh which sits on top of the bricks and under the bearer and was likewise vibrated into the concrete when the slab was poured.

If it's just a slab and all of the edges are exposed, then you have one of the best barriers going.

The reticulated systems that are installed consist of pipes laid under the slab. I don't know if anything can be retrofitted to an existing slab.

[anawanahuanana]

Hey.
Hopefully someone with far more knowledge about termites than me (pretty much anyone) can answer me a couple of things.
When we bought our house a couple of years ago, the pest inspector said that as it was built in 1995 (I think) it had a chemical treatment, that was banned soon after. He said it was excellent for keeping termites at bay, but not so good for the environment. Anybody have any idea what it might be? Something Hyperchloride or Hyperchlorate perhaps?

Also, I've noticed that the wall studs and roof trusses are stamped with the word "cypress". I assume this means the house frame is all cypress pine, which I'm told termites won't eat. Is this really true, or just an exageration?

I've found termites in the yard once, and on the advice of my pest man, sunk 3 homemade traps into the ground around the fence, dead tree stumps etc with some nice damp untreated pine in them, but never found any termites in them.

[ausdesign]

Organochlorines - banned mid 1995. Generally touted as lasting around 10 years.
Cypress pine [except for dead tree roots] is termite resistant as against radiata pine which they love with a passion

[bystander]

Just a note on Tenacity.

We found the little buggers on the 27th floor of a Gold Coast high Rise. Concrete all the way up.:?

[MikeT]

27th floor? I think if they've worked that hard to get the timber they should be allowed to eat all they like.

Re the cypress pine - I think some termites can eat it. I've recently bought some for my timber floors and found termite trails in it. Having said this it may have happened whilst in contact with the ground. Some species of termites won't leave the ground to venture into a house.

Someone mentioned a worry of the winged termites. Before they can cause any sort of problem a pair have to find somewhere suitable to nest underground where there's a substantial food source and then after a year or two venture out for other food (read your house) so making sure you don't have substantial amounts of timber semi buried in your yard and you're OK. Having said that, don't leave your door open and lights on inside on a hot humid spring early evening, when a nest decides to take to the wing, and then go outside for a while. I did that and within about 20mins had virtually a layer of termites in the house. We were finding dead termites in nooks and cranies for months.

I've got a current termite situation. They're in a walkway heading up into the top floor of my garage and in the deck. Well they were, I've disturbed them. Since I had planned to replace both (the deck because it's decrepid and the walkway, ironically, because it was too open to termite infestation) I opted against any sort of baiting treatment. The 4K plus to do the job will go a long way towards paying for steel frames to help keep the buggers out. Plus - as we back into the bush, we're always going to have heaps of them about so there's no gaurantee they'll get the right nest.

[bentley]

two of the problems are that temites eat the cardboard surfaces of the gyprock and they can only travel through the house in totall darkness inside walls etc(they also build their own tunels so that they are not exposed to the light) they can also come in through small cracks in the concrete slab, most slabs have small cracks in them.

[Ekim]

<A href="http://www.termitetrap.com.au/index.htm" target=_blank>http://www.termitetrap.com.au/index.htm

Note that the supplier is based in Queensland.

The concept seem so simple that perhaps you buy one, examine the design in detail, then build a few more using a few bits and pieces from a hardware store and plumbing supplier.

<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
Regards,
Mike

[Andy Mac]

My acreage is infested with termites, mounds included. Even digging in the house yard will uncover them...the timber garden edging, old tree roots, and the firewood heap. My brother reckons they are inland Australia's version of the earthworm!
I've had them in my shed (had to replace timber framing with cypress) and also into my timber stash before I made up steel framed racking. One thing I've noticed is if you uncover & disturb a nest, they will disappear, all migrate very quickly with the little black ants in hot pursuit! One reason not to spray indiscrimately, but where do they go...onto new pastures!:oo:
As for cypress, I have found many ocassions where they will burrow along the outside, making a slight indent with their clever tunnel/covering, but not really eat it. Old and damp stuff in contact with the soil will eventually succumb.
A mate of mine close by had his plasterboard paper and meranti mouldings/skirtings eaten, inside a slab-floor house, with cypress frame and sandstone walls.:(

Good luck.

[bugsy]

Hey.
Hopefully someone with far more knowledge about termites than me (pretty much anyone) can answer me a couple of things.
When we bought our house a couple of years ago, the pest inspector said that as it was built in 1995 (I think) it had a chemical treatment, that was banned soon after. He said it was excellent for keeping termites at bay, but not so good for the environment. Anybody have any idea what it might be? Something Hyperchloride or Hyperchlorate perhaps?

.

Heptochlor.

How i loved that chemical.:B
*Sigh*

I miss you

[billbeee]

Grayham,
You've started a great thread!
I built an extension to a house about 5 years ago, concrete slab and besser block walls.
Pump up reticulation under slab and part B reticulation around the perimeter. The owner rings me up about 3 years later saying he has termites. A small bit of skirting had to be replaced.
The pest guy told me that the owner had never had his yearly inspection and pump up. The guy's wife told me later that when he received the yearly reminders, he looked at the cost and said "forget it".
You can't legislate for stupidity.

Another one that maybe the pest controllers can answer. I was working at an old school once and a pest controller asked me if I could spare a couple of guys for a small job. Removing a termite nest in a ceiling. We pulled out at least 4 wheelbarrow loads of earth type crap out of that ceiling.
I always thought that termites had to return to ground every day. Is this a true or just a myth?

Cheers
Bill

[graemet]

My two cents worth.
I built a house in 1966 and had the area within the foundation area and the joists sprayed for termites. It was guaranteed for 25 years. A mate who was a pest exterminator told me it would be active for more like 75 years! A few years later, I saw him after a long gap. "How are you?" "Dying" The stuff he had been using, at that time just banned, had given him a death sentence. Oh yes, he had been told to wear protective gear, respirator, gloves, oversuit etc. but it was too hot/cumbersome/expensive and anyway, who REALLY needs it? No-one used the gear and hundreds of pest exterminators are now dead.
When I bought my present house, I had the mandatory pest inspection report, but it was so hedged with disclaimers, I doubted that the guy even bothered to get under the floor.
Cheers
Graeme