A Termite Ate My House!
Termites are awesome little creatures. They can sneak into your home and eat half of it without you even noticing. One day you lean on a window sill only to find out it’s hollow. They’ve eaten everything inside while leaving the surface looking perfectly normal. You have to admire that.
Of course, that’s also one of the reasons you should fear them so much.
If you own a home (or an investment property, good on you), then here’s what you need to do.
Get A Termite Inspections
This is a good place to start. You need to know whether you have termites, termite damage, or termite activity in your home.
If you have live termites in your home then that tells you straight away you need to do something about it. The image below is a live termite nest in a home on the Gold Coast.
Images provided courtesy of termite inspector Gold Coast Pest Inspector.
You can have termite damage without having termites. They might have done their work and moved on. If you’ve bought the home, the previous occupant may have treated the termite problem but not the damage. (I know this because that’s exactly what happened to me.)
Any termite damage is worrying. If you have damage please get it thoroughly checked. It can range from a little nibble on the surface of the timber to some serious shit like this one below. That’s a roof truss you’re looking at. That’s proper serious structural damage.
Termite activity is a generic term for anything that indicates there are (or were) termites. A classic sign of termite activity are mud tubes. See below.
Termites build mud tubes are avenues into your home. They don’t like walking along the surface, like you and me. They like to remain hidden. When they traverse something like brickwork, as shown, they’ll build these mud tubes. A good pest inspector will see these and know that termites are about.
Get A Termite Treatment
There are a tonne of treatments available to keep your home safe from termites. Years ago, I had a guy come out and drill holes around my home. Into that, he pumped a whole heap of poison. I’m a bit ashamed of that. I don’t think any solution that involves a prophylactic shit-tonne of chemicals released into the environment is the way to go.
What I’ve gone for this time around is a termite barrier solution. Tasty termite baits are stationed every 3 meters around the home. The poison in the baits is not released into the environment. It stays there for termites to nibble on.
The photo below shows Richard making holes for the baits.
They’re stationed every three meters because termites will smell them as they pass. At 3m intervals the termites will always be close enough to one bait station to be tempted. In this way, it forms a barrier of temptation around your home.
Bro, Get Some Protection
Regardless of what solution you choose, just make sure you get one. Get a termite inspection and then get a termite control system. Your house is worth way too much to let it be breakfast for a pack of hungry termites.