amazing termites

[LotteBum]

Here's my termite story.

We bought our post war house just over 12 months ago. We got it cheap because there was some termite damage in it, which we played on in a big way.

As soon as we settled, we paid $2200 for a 'chemical barrier' which is warranted for 5 years. After 12 months, we paid $440 for a 'top-up' and I'm pretty sure we have to do this every 12 months until the warranty is up.

It pays to shop around - our barrier quotes ranged from $2200 up to $3,500. It's also extremely important to view your pest guy's licence and insurance details.

Good luck with it.

[cork]

does anyone know whether the physical mesh barriers can be installed around an existing house? Slab construction with easily removable pavers all around. otherwise it sounds as though we are stuck with chemical- which might just wash out of our sandy soil.

[TermiMonster]

If you mean Termimesh, it can be installed into an existing house, but costs more than and arm and a leg. (it costs the arm and leg in a new house, you have to be prepared to roll around on a mechanics rollboard for a retro-install)

[Bleedin Thumb]

TM bring me up to speed ..what is Termimesh?

[Wood Butcher]

Have a read here Bleedin

[silentC]

We used Termimesh on our place. Cost was about $1800 for continuous ant capping, pier caps and a vaious bits and pieces.

[TermiMonster]

As per the website listed by wood butcher, its a stainless steel mesh. Can be installed in most building types, but is used extensively in slab on ground. But like all mechanical systems, is designed to force the termites into easily observable areas, ie it does not stop or kill them. Inspection is a must.
TM

[cork]

our house is on a slab- so I don't think termimesh would be an option ie. can't get under the place. Can only lift the pavers around the edge of the slab. I read somewhere that chekical treatment can be injected into pipes installed around the slab. That should mean that we avoid the problem of chemical washing out of the soil. Does anyone know if the chemical barrier can be installed around an existing slab by running a specialised pipe (with holes in it) around the house?

[Barry_White]

When I built my place 28 years ago on a slab on the ground I had a concern about termites. I didn't want to use chemicals and termimesh certainly hadn't been invented so I have no termite protection.

My solution was to build in steel frame both in the walls and roof trusses so I have no structural timber whatsoever in the house except for hard wood verandah posts and beams which are fully exposed.

The only other timber I have in the house is meranti in the shelves in the cupboards and the reveals and architraves around the windows and doors.

I live in a termite area but have never had any in the house but I do have them in the house yard timber posts but that is where they stay and I leave them alone.

[silentC]

A slab edge is acceptable as a termite barrier. It needs to be fully exposed for at least 75mm. Pipe penetrations and abutments are the only problem you have in an existing house. Half of our house is on a slab, so the pipe penetrations are protected with termimesh skirts that are fitted to the pipe and then vibrated into the concrete. The abutment between the slab and the adjacent foundation wall has a 12" wide strip of termimesh which sits on top of the bricks and under the bearer and was likewise vibrated into the concrete when the slab was poured.

If it's just a slab and all of the edges are exposed, then you have one of the best barriers going.

The reticulated systems that are installed consist of pipes laid under the slab. I don't know if anything can be retrofitted to an existing slab.

[anawanahuanana]

Hey.
Hopefully someone with far more knowledge about termites than me (pretty much anyone) can answer me a couple of things.
When we bought our house a couple of years ago, the pest inspector said that as it was built in 1995 (I think) it had a chemical treatment, that was banned soon after. He said it was excellent for keeping termites at bay, but not so good for the environment. Anybody have any idea what it might be? Something Hyperchloride or Hyperchlorate perhaps?

Also, I've noticed that the wall studs and roof trusses are stamped with the word "cypress". I assume this means the house frame is all cypress pine, which I'm told termites won't eat. Is this really true, or just an exageration?

I've found termites in the yard once, and on the advice of my pest man, sunk 3 homemade traps into the ground around the fence, dead tree stumps etc with some nice damp untreated pine in them, but never found any termites in them.

[ausdesign]

Organochlorines - banned mid 1995. Generally touted as lasting around 10 years.
Cypress pine [except for dead tree roots] is termite resistant as against radiata pine which they love with a passion

[bystander]

Just a note on Tenacity.

We found the little buggers on the 27th floor of a Gold Coast high Rise. Concrete all the way up.

[MikeT]

27th floor? I think if they've worked that hard to get the timber they should be allowed to eat all they like.

Re the cypress pine - I think some termites can eat it. I've recently bought some for my timber floors and found termite trails in it. Having said this it may have happened whilst in contact with the ground. Some species of termites won't leave the ground to venture into a house.

Someone mentioned a worry of the winged termites. Before they can cause any sort of problem a pair have to find somewhere suitable to nest underground where there's a substantial food source and then after a year or two venture out for other food (read your house) so making sure you don't have substantial amounts of timber semi buried in your yard and you're OK. Having said that, don't leave your door open and lights on inside on a hot humid spring early evening, when a nest decides to take to the wing, and then go outside for a while. I did that and within about 20mins had virtually a layer of termites in the house. We were finding dead termites in nooks and cranies for months.

I've got a current termite situation. They're in a walkway heading up into the top floor of my garage and in the deck. Well they were, I've disturbed them. Since I had planned to replace both (the deck because it's decrepid and the walkway, ironically, because it was too open to termite infestation) I opted against any sort of baiting treatment. The 4K plus to do the job will go a long way towards paying for steel frames to help keep the buggers out. Plus - as we back into the bush, we're always going to have heaps of them about so there's no gaurantee they'll get the right nest.

[bentley]

two of the problems are that temites eat the cardboard surfaces of the gyprock and they can only travel through the house in totall darkness inside walls etc(they also build their own tunels so that they are not exposed to the light) they can also come in through small cracks in the concrete slab, most slabs have small cracks in them.