ELLJAY

Just bought a house (16 years old - concrete slab build) - and had Building and Pest Reports done.

They found Termite activity in garden fences and a tree stump - none inside.

The guy (very nice man - not your sales pitch type) said he recommends an outside barrier treatment done ($3200)

Has anyone any experience of this? Do I have it done for peace of mind? (altho God only knows where I'll find the money from)...

or do I leave it ...

HELP

Lj

Vim Fuego

We are going through the same dilemma at the moment, and the white ant thing too (been in a year).

My Aussie OH reckons it's worth it and I've adopted the "she'll be right" stance.

Apparently part of the treatment (for the anti-ants thing) involves dropping all the paving slabs outside below a certain height ... sounds like a joyous job.

ELLJAY

Where in Brisbane are you?

Vim Fuego

On the Logan/Beaudesert border, out in the sticks a bit.

ELLJAY

Oh nice - we are southside too - Regents Park. Really like it here - but the housebuying lark is a nightmare.

Let's hope some people in the know can give us some advice. Where are you from? - I'm from Manchester

moneypenny20

We haven't done it, we have had two checks now and each time there is activity in a couple of trees several metres from the house and the termite guy said we could have it done but he didn't think it necessary. If you read up on Andrew63's posts he has had a nightmare - he's in Taneh Merah.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=370762 and then a bit of info on this one http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371054 should be enough to put the fear of death in to you

Dom the Pom

$3200 sounds very steep to me.

We're getting our house treated tomorrow for $880. That includes treating the termites they've found in the fence and tree stumps, protective treatment around the house permitter, spraying the loft for spiders, and laying bait for cockroaches inside the house.

Apparently the protection is guaranteed for 12 months, but you're insured for 5 years if you pay a maintenance visit of $150.00 per year (which I'm still not sure that I'm gonna go for).

Bear in mind a termite inspector will find termites on the moon if you asked them to come out and give you their opinion. I'd have them treated (for peace of mind if nothing else), but wouldn't be in too much of a hurry.

Get some more quotes!!

biggy

i would get a few more quotes sounds a bit steep....but defo worth getting the treatment done IMO

smiths

Hi

We're in Victoria Point and been in our house just over a month. When we had the inspection done the man found live termites outside in tree stumps that had been cut down and left. anyway the previous owners took them away so we have never done anything about the termites. had a look but can't even see any anymore. Have not had any kind of spraying done but have had quite a few black ants in the house. $3200 seems very expensive, so I guess it'll be off to Woolworths to get some Mortein!

Heather

ELLJAY

t=371054[/url] should be enough to put the fear of death in to you[/QUOTE]

Yep - it's done just that

Felt sick since he left 2hrs and 40 minutes ago

Just glad I picked up a box of chateau cardboard on the way home!

Thanks for all your responses - i'm off to drink my wine. I'll check back in - in the morning - see what anyone else says

Thanks, Lj

king kong

Make yourself a bait box or several and put them in your garden and monitor them .
That way you get to the queen who could be a 100 yds away ,im afraid they are evrywhere and are a part of nature here .

andrew63

That would be me!
Bit of an expert now by default!
There is agreat system called Exterra which is sold as a franchise to most pest control operators. It does involve a lot of work putting in termite traps - even in concrete to form a barrier around your house. As long as there is 3m or less between the traps, if the termites get in, Exterra will cough up upto $100,000 for any damage. So they say! It does cost a forrtune to get installed and you have to pay the installer to do regular inspections!
Unless you have money to burn, don't do it!

The termites are everywhere so don't be worried when you are told there is activity in your yard or tree stumps etc. Thats their natural habitat! Perfectly normal! Only if there has been activity in the house you should be worried!!!

Anyway, there are tons of alternative and cheap ways to monitor termites. I bought EPS Termite Nesters (found near the base of this page http://www.cureallpest.com.au/termites.html#inspections) for around $70 for 5 of them. I bought 15. Put them round my house approx 3 - 5 meters apart where the yard is and not in any concrete. Once every 6 weeks I inspect them. very simple, just lift the lid. Also a quick check around the perimeter for mud tunnels.

Anyway, since I installed them, 2 of the traps are swarming with termites. No drama! they are outside. In Australia, you can't buy the termicide (you can in UK and USA) yourself without a posions licence. It's actually harmless to humans and you can buy on line from US stores but I havent tred to import yet. Anyway, to get any termite guy around to lay the "poison" is $80 if its one trap or all of them. They take the poison back to the nest and wipe it out. It could be 100s of meters away.

So, you can protect yourself very cheaply!

I have studied more and if you don't want to but the termite traps, you can use empty ice cream containers, punch lots of holes on them (except the lid), put in some termite friendly food (certain woods) and bury up to the lid. Check every 4 - 6 weeks. Still have to pay to get the "posion" laid.

One more workd of warning, don't be too hasty killing ants in your yard, they eat the termites!

Feel free to ask any more questions!

Andrew

wanderingwombat

A remedial perimeter termite treatment to an existing house usually involves trenching hard up against the house with a 'leaky' pipe laid in a sand bed. Existing paths/driveways/patios should be cut back to ensure it is a full perimeter treatment.

Access to the perimeter of the house will depend on the $. You need to ask as to what exactly they are proposing to do for $3K. It could be possible with on a small rectangular house with little paving adjoining the house.

If you have paving higher than the weep holes (quite common on older slab on ground houses) then the paving should be lowered (often easier said than done). The cost of rectification can result in a walk-away from the sale.

Spraying around the house is more for spiders and black ants.

If supermarket flyspray was effective on termites then there would be no need for termirte treatment companies.

WW

Stitch

Friends of ours next door neighbour ignored the $3000 suggestion from the pest man and are now facing an extra $10000 bill because they moved in to the house!

Cheers

Ginny

wanderingwombat

Putting tmber in containers in the ground is not dissimilar to any dead tree bits in the yard. Some are hit while others can be missed. These systems can identify activity but not fully protect your house.

A case of risk management - detection or protection.

WW