marco121068

What kind of termite protection have you gone for (Specifically SA)?

cresta57

Can't believe you didn't get any replies to such a serious question. When you invest so much cash into a property you'd think more people would be interested.
The house we live in now is a timber framed house with brick veneer, termite protection is "graniteguard" which is like a coarse sand that the termites cannot get through as the individual grains are too heavy for them to move. This is coupled with sprayed on protection by the local pest control guys who also drilled and injected the concrete in the front porch and installed a perforated pipe across the run in to the garage.
The house we're building has no protection other than visible inspection. sounds bad but we're building a highset on 2.4m steel stumps so it's easy to spot any tell tale trails.
You have to be really careful about the white ants. Here in QLD I know a couple who tried to save a few bucks by installing their own outside tap. They were on 600mm steel stumps and to save drilling the steel he knocked a softwood stake into the ground screwed it to the side of the house and then fixed his tap to that. A combination of the tap leaking [diy plumbing ] and the softwood stake meant the white ants used it like an elevator. By the time he'd spotted the problem most of his kitchen walls needed replacing as well as the rafters a costly exercise in cutting corners.

Wol

Having lived in Florida, where there are dozens of colonies per acre, I had to do a lot of research on termites!

Until about 8 years ago a new house there would have an oil-soluble termicide saturated area under the slab: it worked very well and was almost everlasting. However, the EPA banned it (as they have in Oz) and made a water-based fluid mandatory. Unfortunately this only lasts a year or two before leaching away.......

There is no 100% protection, and any system must be backed up by good building practice and regular inspections for the tunnels and hidden signs of infestation.

Barrier systems usually involve digging a trench around the house ad pouring in termicide, or drilling holes and injecting. Either way it can be quite invasive and noticeable!

We had a bait system by Dow. The franchisee pops little "bait" tubes into the ground every 8' or so round the house. They contain poplar blocks (very tasty, apparently) and have no termicide, since the ants won't touch anything they find suspicious. Every month the guy comes around and takes the blocks out: in the event of a "hit" he replaces the wood with a hollow tube of termicide and scrapes the ants into it. The clever bit is that the only way they can get out is by eating the chemical and then, apparently, when they make their way back to the colony, they excrete a pheremone (sp?) which "tells" the rest of the little b*****s that what they've eaten is safe - and nourishing. Result: they swarm back down the tunnel, gobble it up, groom the queen (which is the important bit) and larvae and they all stop their continuous moulting, which kills the colony.

Dow keep a very close eye on the franchisees from California: each bait station is barcoded and read each visit by a laser device: when the data is downloaded the Dow computer picks out any missed stations and if it happens more than a few times the franchise is dropped.

All the above is what I've been told; it did seem to work pretty well though. We had perhaps 30 hits in six years, with the termites disappearing in a week or two each time.

I believe the same type of protection is starting to appear in Oz, but what the cost is I don't know.

Hope this helps!

Perthforme

My mate in Sydney had termites eat one corner of his house and a tree which fell over missing the house just! Cost him A$20k via ins.
I will be getting termite ins !

andrew63

Just had an extension built so had to look into that here (QLD).
Original house is 15 yrs old so it has the barrier that is now banned but is meant to last forever.
Extension has www.termi-mesh.com barrier under the slab.
There is also a tube sticking out of the slab for adding chemicals I think but I did not think this was necessary with termi-mesh.
All looks OK to me.

Andrew

Wol

If by "Ins" you mean insurance, can I know who does it? I don't know of any company which will insure against them, at least one that doesn't have so many pages of small print that you can never actually have a claim met!

Perthforme

Well yes insurance, but not sure who he used.
Would have to write to hi to ask as he not a tecky and loves snail mail.
But i'm 99% sure he got paid out on this would of been like 5 years ago !
He had a problem re termites .

Ceri

Termimesh is a pretty standard barrier to put in here in Qld when you are building, you're offered a choice of different products from various companies when you build a new home, it's what we went for ( Termimesh) when building and have on our home. ( They used to rely on a lot of very toxic chemical barriers many years ago, many of those very toxic chemicals that they used years ago many have been banned).
No barrier is 100% fool proof - you need to have the home checked once a year by a pest/termite inspector and keep the receipts - if you don't get yearly inspections and you have an outbreak, the part of your building cover which protects you financially from termite damage will not be valid if you get termites - they won't pay out otherwise. so get yearly pest inspections, and keep the receipts safe.

Insurance - don't know if you can get insurance cover from the major insurance companies - it's not in any home insurance I have had with the various home insurance companies , and not in my current home insurance . my home insurance ( Au Unity) does not cover it at all ( I have the top package from my insurance company which covers everything else)-
For termite insurance cover , I just have cover for that with my building company for a few years, when that runs out in years to come - I'm not covered for any termite damage ( Are you sure the guy with the tree which fell over didn't get paid out with his insurers because of the tree falling on his home? irrespectively whether he had termites or not. Or was it a new home? ie less than ten years old? As a lot of houses are covered insurance wise for termites by most builders if it was fairly new for so many years) .

I would be interested to know if anyone has insurance which covers this too, as my insurance company doesn't, and I would take out insurance cover on this when my own cover expires from the building company. If there is a company out there who does it - anyone know of one?. reasons why, I have had a home which had a termite infestation - they don't half do some damage - to the pocket as well. ( which wasn't mine thank goodness , it was rented)

But when you build you are covered by the structural insurance from those house builders and the termite barrier company product you have used for so and so years --it's in my building/house guarantees, but haven't got my contracts on me at this moment to specify the exact many years for you ( it all varies anyway from company to company ) - this is only if you get your house checked once a year by a professional termite inspector . If you don't keep up these checks and you get termites, they will not pay out.

Regular checks by yourself( and once a year by a licensed pest inspector) is the best way ( besides having termite barriers of course - you'd be mad not to ) - But do not rely on any barrier for 100% protection. About One in 4 homes in SE Qld get termites at some time, it costs people millions a year.

One of the homes we rented in the past had a termite break ( which had a barrier) out when we were living there - they had ate their way up through the outside shade ( poles going into the ground) - came up through that, and into the window frames , came bursting out of the inside window frames one night ( only part of the home which was wood). There were no tell mud tail trails outside the home - they came up under the ground , directly into the poles of the sun shade and up ( the source of them was located in the neighbours garden).

The wood that is used here today in the frames of the brick homes is supposed to be also termite unfriendly - but don't rely on that either, and again it is not 100% guaranteed by the companies. I know of a case where termites had even chewed through the bottom of a fibre glass boat! The boat had been sitting on the ground for a few years - someone renovating it, and they had eaten into all the bottom of it - it was wrecked.

checking for them yourself regularly and once a year inspections by a termite inspector/company here is a must in Queensland - it's the worst in Aus for termite damage to homes. Humidity reasons - they love it.

( I can't help with SA, but I would think it's pretty much the same prevention methods there too)

The only real 100% protection is to build in double brick, steel frames etc and have no wood what so ever.

cheers

donna

[QUOTETthanks for that ceri,we have just had a house built with termimesh protection and the paperwork says its guarenteed if its been upkept properly,but i didnt know what upkeep was needed.But you are saying that a yearly inspection is all thats needed.
thanks again
donna

jad n rich

Just briefly, I have wasted so much time not working today, curse this forum

Most termite cos give the warranty in conjunciton with an info pack, and an indemnity form stating you have read the terms and cos and understand them which you sign. Stickers placed in your meter box and under kitchen sink usually confirm the annual inspections are being done, without the inspections many protection systems will be VOID! If you havent got any of this contact the builder/termite installer and confirm you have all the relevant docs.

wanderingwombat

The type of termite system to use depends on the construction of the house and the degree of risk in the region (all of mainland Australia is at risk).

You need to have the builder explain to you the termite barrier options for your home. I would also be tempted to get a second opinion from someone in the pest industry to give you unbiased advice. Choice is often driven by budget and how long you intend to live in the house....

A number of systems rely on other trades getting the sub-strate right and subsequent construction trades keeping the barrier in place. Termites need only a crack in the slab to gain access to the frame.

Choices are
Exposed edge of slab with barrier to service penetrations,
Termi-mesh to perimeter & service penetrations,
Granitgard to perimeter & service penetrations,
Chemical impregnated plastic sheeting to perimeter & service penetrations (chemical can not be replenished),
Chemical reticulation under slab and to perimeter (warning to green thumbs there).

I would also consider using LOSP treated timber for the structure if the risk was high.

If you are using a project home builder they will want to use their own preferred method.

Do a Google search on the issues with the systems.

WW

marco121068

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll contact a couple of pest companines in SA.