Termites
 

I would be grateful if anyone knows anything about these critters. We are in the process of buying a house and the pest survey has showed up termites.

The estate agent has assured me it is a recent infestation in a small area. I guess she would say that LOL.

I am waiting to receive the report, but I wondered if the majority of people would just walk away from a property if termites are found, or would you consider it if it is a small infestation?

I am clueless tbh. I need to know stuff like, if they are there now, are they likely to come back even if sprayed. Would we need to put some sort of protective layer in the house to prevent further attacks?

Any info would be good.

Katie

Re: Termites
 

Hi KAtie

I've no experience personally but have a look at:

http://www.forest.nsw.gov.au/researc...festations.pdf

NSW but generally still applies.

Any treatment, I imagine, would generate a warranty on behalf of the contractor, which would be required to be passed onto subsequent purchasers of the house; the same as dry rot etc in the uk. Have a think about whether you would be willing to buy a house which had previously suffered from termite infestation, and if the idea puts you off then it would certainly put others off also. As with most things, buying is the easy bit, selling is the more difficult.

Andy

Re: Termites
 

We are in the process of getting some barrier protection in after a scare (the timber was just rotten, in the end). Termites are also known as 'white ants' by the way. You can sometimes tell where they are by looking for 'airtight tunnels' that they build. Have a google, there's good info out there.

The stuff we are looking at is injected into the ground and is a repellant, the other type of treatment involves trapping them.

Nothing is 100% but the people we are thinking of using give a 10 year guarentee that if any problems occur in the future then they will cover the costs of repairs ... how sure that is remains to be seen (a lot of loopholes I'd imagine) ...

We are looking at about $2,000 for the whole job, this is for a medium-sized low-set brick and colo(u)rbond property.

We have had various good bits of advice like keeping wood away from the house, removing plants next to the house and lowering some paving slabs below a certain level.

We will be pulling down the rotten excuse for a 'patio' soon anyway and plan to do the treatment after the new one is constructed (makes more sense than disturbing the repellent).

That's about all I know, I would advise getting at least 3 quotes though, ours varied widely in costs and quality of information.

In a house you are about to buy? Dunno, I might be tempted to walk, depends on how much risk you want to shoulder.

Hope this helps in some way,
Matt

Re: Termites
 

id walk away from it personally .I dont believe there is an insurance company in Australia that will insure you against 'white ant' and i am under the impression too that the pest control people wont give you cover ,even if you get the place sprayed every 12 months but i maybe wrong on that one ,worth checking out if they offer a warranty etc .

Re: Termites
 

Seek further information from your pest inspector (I assume you engaged the pest inspector). If you werent at the inspection, the pest inspector should never have spoken to the agent as you are the client. I would have a serious word with the pest company if this was the case.

The issue with pest damage is that you may accept it but when you go sell the next buyer might not. Also be aware that in the event of an insurance claim, the insurance company may use termite damage as an out to not pay.

The only effective long term solution is put a barrier around the house. For some reason spraying doent go through concrete paving etc.....


WW

Re: Termites
 

Hi Katie Star,

I've just finished replacing stud walls that these little f*****s destroyed. They basically turn soft woods into the finest powder you've ever seen. Following a bit of research, I found that they have a salivery Ph of 1.1 and have been known to melt through plastic in order to get to the wood that they like.

The area they destroyed was about 3 sq metres and only included pine stud walls. They don't like the jarra floorboard apparently. :)

It was pretty easy to fix the problem and replace the studs with perma pine which, i've been assured they don't like. I've also been told that if you have "sugar ants" the black sort, then the "white ants" disappear as the black ones feed on the white ones. Far too complicated.

I think the only real way to avoid the bloody things is to buy a steel framed construction house that has been termite proofed from the get go. Trying to retrospectivley keep them out might be a bit futile.

The funny thing is, when I mention "white ants" to Aussies they go very quiet. Almost as though it's a taboo subject that you shouldn't really talk about. :huh:

Dave.

Re: Termites
 

Normally in Aus you have to do a termite inspection before buying the house, if they find termites then it is the sellers responsibility to treat for them. We have someone who does a major treatment every 5 years and a survey treatment every year, costs about $150 a year i think..

Re: Termites
 

Spraying's pretty useless. The only way to avoid termite problems is to destroy their breeding cycle.

In Florida there are reputed to be dozens of colonies per acre. Killing a few million ants has no overall effect on the damage they do.

We used a Dow Chemical system: little units every 8' around the house and pool area - about 45 in total IIRC. The trick is that the units only have wooden sticks inside them: the termites can detect poisons and won't touch them, but they will and do eat the wooden bait sticks.

Every month a man came around and checked each bait station, and scanned the bar code for that individual station with a radio scanner linked to a Dow computer in California. If there were significant termites in the tube he replaced the wood with a grooming poison which is inside a solid tube of the same stuff. The only way the things can get out is by eating their way out, so they do. By doing so they ingest the poison but it doesn't kill them: the clever bit is that they now give off a pheromone that tells the rest that the poison is OK to eat so the rest of the colony turns up for dinner. Soon they are all grooming the larvae and queen and afetr a few days the whole colony dies.

Termites are fascinating things if you're into insects (I'm not) but understanding their life cycle is essential for eliminating them and I suspect that moanyof the Australian pest control people haven't a clue and think that poisoning a few million will stop the problem. It wom't.

Re: Termites
 

Walk away unless it's the property of your dreams. We bought our house, had termite inspection ( nothing shown up ) and vendors supplied us with 10 yrs of receipts / guarantees of termite barrier treatment. All good until 9 months later.... huge termite nest broke through one of the walls. Must of been there for ages. Obviously a huge wrangle with said company and their guarantees, but they eventually did come and remedy the situation ( exterminate said invaders ). All seemed ok until a few weeks later, we found more. They have polished off bedroom skirting boards and window frames. Absolute pain in the arse ( and pocket if not under guarantee ). Seems they've been around for years and not been picked up.

Yes, I would still have bought the house knowing all this as I love it here ( my dream home ) but if the house isn't the dream one - walk on by. It's a lot of mess, hassle and possible expense.

All the best in whatever you do.

Re: Termites
 

By the way - we've been advised ( by professionals ) that spraying is pretty much a waste of time. We are currently looking at major barriers to stop them getting into the fabric of the house.

Great, only several thousands of dollars then :eek:

Oh, and don't believe all the companys or so called helpful mates tell you.

Re: Termites
 

Its all bulshit in 99% of cases !! Dependant on where they found termites.

Have you ever seen John Goodman in Arachnophobia?

Tapping beams with back of a screwdriver?

Thats about it !!

Pest fellas, have to justify their existence, and normally always find termites in a post way down the yard !

If termites are in the house, then WALK AWAY !!!

Not worth it !

Re: Termites
 

Thanks very much for all your replies. You have been very helpful :D

The report from the building and pest inspector has just been sent through to me. They did an infrared scan, which found no sign of termites in the main house. The critters were seen visually in the yard and subfloor.

I guess it could have been a lot worse, so we will seek further advice and take it from there.

Thanks again and I will keep you guys posted. If you are interested hehe :p
Katie

Re: Termites
 

yep theres fillions of the muckers. They leave what are call mud tubes here which are the main signs. Personally I'd walk away, actually I'd run away

Re: Termites
 

LOL I am not a big fan of ants in general :p The little black ants keep biting me when I am in the back yard. They seem impermeable to the poison that was sprayed a few months ago and are taking over the place. Little horrors :mad:

Re: Termites
 

The thing is the the more ants you have around the place the better they hate ''white ant''who arnt even an ant anyway and are closely related to the cockroach .
White ant are everywhere in aussie and they love that dead timber in your garden or house .

Re: Termites
 

Yup, the ants are always the first thing to come back after a pest treatment, I think we got 2 weeks ant free before they returned.

Re: Termites
 

We've just had a building and pest report back for a house we want to buy (in Springfield QLD). There were no signs of termites, but the property was assessed as HIGH risk for infestation because some areas were inaccessible to the inspectors. Anyone had any experience of this? Should I be worried? :confused:

Re: Termites
 

Depends on what is deemred inaccessible. Underfloor due to restricted access can be very high risk. No roof access is a lower risk. Etc.

Also depends on the age of the house as older houses had little termite protection.

WW

Re: Termites
 

Yes, I'd recently discovered that black ants eat the white ones so now, much as I dont like the little critters, I try and avoid killing black ants (unless they are in the house of course!)

We had a termite mound in our garden, recently got it treated and as he was putting the spray in he said they eat trees but arent interested in houses.... dont know if that's true or not but I felt really bad for killing them after that. :(

Re: Termites
 

Older houses built from White Cypress. ( Callitris glaucophylla ) and
River Red Gum ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis) are regarded as immune to
termite attack , as the oils in the timber are a deterrent .
Using White Cypress in new builds will still give protection (its usually only
available in flooring now direct from the mills) River Red Gum has to be of
an age which is not found readily today (too much heart wood in younger
trees-we are talking 80yrs as young!)
Look at the biggest wooden structures in rural Australia -the iconic
shearing shed -many are over 150yrs old with out any termite damage.

Back on subject -any risk with termites is too much risk, most insurers
only allow a retreatment under the policy not repairs. Read the fine print
in the "warranty " given with a termite treatment. its scary

Termites can live on grass roots , you don't actually need dead or dry timber,
the only way to live with them is having total access to all areas. Well
ventilated dry substructure easily accessible

Re: Termites
 

A backyard full of black ants does NOT guarantee No white ants. I can tell you that from experience.

Re: Termites
 

As there have been some new posts I will give you an update. We did buy the house. The treatment was done after we bought the house and the chap who did it was very confident we would have no more troubles with them. Hubby has been keeping a close eye under the house to make sure they aren't coming back.

The house is fab, so I am glad we did go ahead with it. But as OP have said the pest companies wont cover any damage caused by future attacks of termites, just come out and respray. Apparantly we were lucky that the termites in our house eat slowly, rather than some types that eat very quick :huh:

We are having problems from a pesky mouse though, that is invading our kitchen and evading our mouse traps.

Thanks again for your replies
Katie

Re: Termites
 

hi all we had terrmites on report after further test by independent company they were found in old trees about 300meters from house, since moving in we have made good friends with pest inspector. If they are in the house they need to be delt with before you buy with a 5year warrenty then asked them to return every five years jonny

Re: Termites
 

Chocolate as bait in the trap usually works.
WW

Re: Termites
 

Poison seem to work best.

Re: Termites
 

They are fascinating but there are a lot of myths.

Think you find that many of the pest control people know this only too well but need to stay in business and or pander to the paranoia of their clients. The bait syste, is considered to be a license to print money especially as you say there are termites everywhere.

Spraying (with Termidor etc) does work in that it is the same principle- a peristant fairly safe agent that will be taken back to the nest.

The important thing I reckon is regular inspections. I would not trust physical barriers at all. I like having stumps - I can check them.

cheers

B

Re: Termites
 

Agreed! Termites like any material that is cellulose based.

Yeah - well accessible dry substructure is vital. Termites need damp to do damage and maintain their ecosystem.

Re: Termites
 

Ta. We tried chocolate and the pesky thing ate it off the trap and got away. The last time the trap went off, but got caught on the oven pipe. :blink: Lucky mouse.

Re: Termites
 

Hi
We bought our house 6 months ago. The pest inspectors said there was minimal old termite damage but no new termites. They could not access certain areas so there were so many exclusions in their report it was a worthless piece of paper anyway. Decided to go ahead and buy the house. We wanted to do some renovations so decided if there was any termite damage we would live with it. There was more than some termite damage - the whole front of the house is riddled with it. The house originally had vj walls but the whole house had been covered with plasterboard and painted - should have been a warning sign! Took off the plasterboard in teh porch and all we could see was mud everywhere - it was all the mud tubes and eaten timber. The VJs were non existent - pine apparently. When we took the plasterboard off, the windows just about fell out. The windowframes were made of pine. It was just paint keeping the windows in the frame. We felt we had no option but to strip the adjoining room - our bedroom. We were hoping for good VJs as we wanted to retain them. We had to replace 1/3 of the VJs in the bedroom. We have ornate plaster ceilings in the house so replacing VJs is not easy without ruining the ceiling. Next adjoining room is the verandah - 12 new VJ's, some new window frames and door frame. This is just the front wall of the house and 2 internal walls at the front. OH also had to cut out the rotten stumps at the front of the house and has welded on metal ones. We are lucky as OH has done all the work himself. The cost would have been astronomical if we had employed tradesmen. We havent even started towards the back of the house yet!!
I would say if you hear the word termite be very cautious. I have some photos if anyone is interested.

Re: Termites
 

Ouch. That's got to hurt.

Re: Termites
 

I too feel for you with termite infestation. My friend bought a house here in Melbourne and I was around there and a all these little flying ants were flying up as it was a warm night, anyway turned out termites and she had not had an inspection before she bought. When she phoned the pest people they knew the house in fact she found out that most houses in the street were affected with termites as the developers had buried the trees instead of burning them when they subdivided it and therefore they could not locate the nests.

Paving on sand should never cover the membrane of the house if you are on a slab as the termites just go straight through the damp sand into the house.

The pest man told her not to worry I have just come from treating a tree and they asked if it could fall through their top storey they had termites.

We have them in the garden but as we built out own house we got the brickies to make sure that the membrane was wrapped properly around the bottom bricks. They often say "no you don't need to do that" but you do.

I guess it would depend on how chemical sensitive people are whether you wanted to have the house treat and buy it or buy one which does not have termites.

One thing I did learn though if there is concrete paving around a house or paving if the house has been treat you can see the holes where they have put the chemical in as they fill the holes afterwards and its a different colour being newer than the original concrete, or paving.

Unfortunately the sleeper landscaping craze of the seventies and eighties left most areas with termites that is how they got into formerly free areas.

Good luck

Re: Termites
 

I think you mean damp proof course?



The holes in the paving are the first warning sign that there has been a termite hit on the house.

WW

Re: Termites
 

Just a tad! We were wanting to do some renovations in time, just happened a bit quicker than anticipated.
OH used to kid on a friend of ours who also has a queenslander in need of renovation that he lived in a delapidated shed. He didnt take too kindly to the joke - guess the joke is on us now.

Re: Termites
 

It seems we have termites :(

We're in a rental and thankfully the LL was round as soon as we called him - we thought it was damp and he seemed to think so too, but called the pestman along with the plumber just in case.

The pestman says it's definitely termites. If it is, they're eating through a plasterboard wall that is the start of the extension on an old (1930s) brick whaler's cottage. He went under the old wooden floor in the original structure and couldn't find the source. The extension is on a concrete base.

We initially thought it was lizard poo, as it was high up, below a very high windowsill, although the only lizards we see in the house are brought in against their will (pesky cats). However it didn't brush off and seemed to be coming out of the wall, like it had blown. Then my husband hoovered up some dust on the skirting board and put the pipe through the wall so we realised it was a bit of a problem. :blink: Still thought it was damp from either the adjoining bathroom or the flat roof immediately above.

The pest guy is coming later in the week to treat it, and we'll take it from there.

I've just been googling for images of termite damage and I can't find any that look like what we see on the surface of the plasterboard, so am a bit puzzled.

Also concerned for all my Indonesian Teak and Chinese/Tibetan elmwood furniture. :unsure: