Thread: treating termites in timber

Termites galleries are based around a queen and her colony. If you move the timber away from the colony and stack it, any termites within the timber are unlikely to survive for long. They can not reproduce and do not have a colony to feed.

Stacked timber that is attacked is done so from a nearby colony. You are far better spraying the ground around your timber stacks with a residual termite approved spray to stop any nearby colonies from attacking your stash rather than spraying the timber itself.

There are lots of different residual termicides available from agricultural supply shops. All should be handled only with the appropriate PPE and after reading the directions carefully.

that is what i really wanted to hear,only prob with that is i might go and move a few stacks around and do a bit of spraying thanks burnsy

I've tried this only a couple times, so no guarantee about its effectiveness. Set the timber on skids above ground, and drape a tent or tarp over the stack. Run a pipe or hose from a lawn mower's exhaust into the tent. Run the mower for about an hour. I'd read that termites can hold their breath for about 15 minutes; an hour should provide enough carbon monoxide to kill them. Repeat as needed, perhaps monthly. The cost of petrol probably isn't excessive, and the mower needn't be winterized if run frequently. Also works with a road vehicle.

Joe

my mower doesn't need to be winterised,though i could do it to a few things but i don't think she'd like it and not a bad idea on the tent

Another thing mate, once you 'open up' a gallery and then stack the timber etc the black ants tend to do away with the termites quite nicely - once the defenses of the galleries have been sawn through it's easy for the black ants to get the termites, they love termites and swarm really well.

The UV in sunlight kills termites due to their lack of pigment, the sun cooks 'em, that's why they don't like it

the uv thing makes sense and as for ants every time i find a nest it get relocated to the wood pile.so pretty much all is good

I have just recently had the termite guy at my house and i have a variety of ant which have multiple nests and if the queen and king are killed off in 1 nest another king and queen will be produced in another nest. My variety also are shy so as soon as the r exposed they take off. They are the shadow something variety i have renamed this variety to %@#*%@# termites but i am sure that everyone renames them this when they find them. Btw termites we think usually come from the ground up, because i have a 2 story house, top level at street level mine are coming from the top down. good luck to anyone with termites..

thank crickey your'e in brissy

Originally Posted by edhorl

I have just recently had the termite guy at my house and i have a variety of ant which have multiple nests and if the queen and king are killed off in 1 nest another king and queen will be produced in another nest. My variety also are shy so as soon as the r exposed they take off. They are the shadow something variety i have renamed this variety to %@#*%@# termites but i am sure that everyone renames them this when they find them. Btw termites we think usually come from the ground up, because i have a 2 story house, top level at street level mine are coming from the top down. good luck to anyone with termites..

Shadow Perhaps something like Shedorhinotermes Intermedius, though agreed shadow as a name may be easier to remember. Most Pest Managers just call them Schedo's and they can be particularly challenging and time consuming to treat.

Subterranean termites are surprisingly easy to kill in small numbers with many different chemicals. But and it is a big but you will not knock out the whole colony. Fly spray is one of the favoured methods of homeowners and kills termites that it hits, but not the 1,000's behind them they don't see, similar outcome for most other diy methods people try.

Subterranean termites are particularly prone to dessication (drying out basically) due to a thin exoskeleton, so are keen to stay in damp areas or protected in their humid workings.

Generally if they are Subterranean termites then depending on how large the piece of milled timber is if you start reducing the moisture content in the timber by whatever means and there is no chance of termite access from the ground (where they can bring moisture with them on their bodies or in rare cases where there is no ground contact but a consistant moisture source such as a leaking pipe) then you are going to make life extremely hard for that small percentage of the termite colony unlucky enough to be in your milled piece of timber.

Dry wood termites are a different mater and small colonies can easily survive in a single piece of timber with a suprisingly low moisture content.

This post is general in nature and cannot be relied upon, as all situations are different it is strongly recommended that you seek professional advice for any termite problems.