Termite problem

[Ev]

Looked under my house and was concerned by seeing some damaged timber, not sure if it is old and treated or new and a problem.

The termites and the house have co-existed for many years now and I need to ensure the truce is maintained

Please help


Just looking for some realistic down to earth solution, not the paranoid hard sell crap which I am sure I could find myself, no trouble...

Thanks Ev

[tigerleo]

I've used the guys from Midland Pest Control a few times - they seem very thorough. If you have a an older wooden floored house then I would certainly recommend getting some one in who is willing to go through all the crawl spaces to inspect and spray. They tend to do the mail out after with summer offers to "spray for spiders etc for a discount with every full treatment" kind of thing, which is not a bad thing. But I did get a guy who was scared of spiders once

If you go with a professional mob they will guarenttee against further/new activity for 12 months.

[XSorXpire]

I worked as a sales person for atlas pest control for a while. I got to hard sell bunches of people into buying pest control. You are right, dont get caught on the hard sell.
If you saw damaged timber, did you see the sandy type trails that go with termites or did you just see old damage?
If there are no trails then do not fret. hunt around your yard, pick up bits of timber around the ground, chesk stakes and trees to see if you have any activity. If you find nothing do nothing. If you find activity under your house get someone in to fix it. If you find nothing under your house but find something in your garden get a spot treatment done. Try to find someone who is not going to use arsenic. It is not very effective. I think fipronil is better. It is one of the things they use for fleas in top spots, it is more likely to get back to the queen and sterilise her than arsenic is to kill her.

If you have a probl;em with spiders and the like fdo not bother with a proffesi8onal jobbie. Go buy some coopex dust from bunnings, mix it with water and spray under your eves now and again at the end of summer. It will cost about $20 to do your house if you have a sprayer. That will help break the breeding cycle.
Me i have no issue with spiders, they bring birds.
Mice and rats use bromokill or Talon. These will not stay active in the dead rodent and therefore will not kill your pets if they decide to eat them. They also leave your house in search of liquid and die near that and not in your roof.

Hope this helps.

Oh and i would not use the company i worked for.

[Havago]

If you want I'll come around and have a squizzy to see if it is old or if active.I have had 5 years pest control experiance over east.
From there I can let you know what is the best options.
Just an offer.

[Ev]

If you saw damaged timber, did you see the sandy type trails that go with termites or did you just see old damage?

If there are no trails then do not fret. hunt around your yard, pick up bits of timber around the ground, chesk stakes and trees to see if you have any activity. If you find nothing do nothing. If you find activity under your house get someone in to fix it.

Oh and i would not use the company i worked for.
[/b]

Thanks XS went under 3 years ago I found a single sand staligtite type structures castles etc where they found a peice of scrap wood I assume and ate it

However when I went under yesterday I saw about 6 or so formations, none appeared active, but it shows they have been looking around

the bit that concerned me was what looked like a crack in the timber where something might have been eating away I think I would have to bust it open and look inside to know

Also noticed abit of a crud over a like a nail hole at the top of a wooden door frame

I need to know me thinks and will get someone onto it next week

PS: yeh wasn't gonna use any company that tried to telemarket me any ohh my god paranoia sales pitch

[tigerleo]

I worked as a sales person for atlas pest control for a while.
Oh and i would not use the company i worked for.
[/b]

Think I had these guys once as used by a Real Estate Agent for a pre-sale inspection... my recollection was not to use them myself after observing them...

[masterblaster]

Make sure there is sufficient ventilation under the floor so that it stays nice and dry without high humidity.
Apparently termites do not like dry environments, you might need to install some air vents to provide better ventilation.

[Ev]

Thanks everyone they are interesting enemies, and the situation is now under control...

Havago... legend came around and gave me the advice I needed and showed me a few things to keep on top of them

The termites are around but they are not very active under my house and have certainly not eaten any of it lately....

However I will be actively hunting them using a ruthless first strike method, to keep them under thumb from now..... First I will kill the workers and then I will take their Queen.... evil laugh hahahahahhah

[reddog]

For what it's worth we have a Sentricon system at our place and it destroyed every one of the little subterranean buggers. Would highly recommend it. Apparently you can buy the stations and baits yourself now if you are keen. I think it costs $500p/a for the service but the guys check the stations every month and supply bait if the stations are active. I think it is pretty cheap insurance and works much better than sprays.

If you need any further information Nationwide are the agent for sentricon.

regards
Ryan

[Ev]

For what it's worth we have a Sentricon system at our place and it destroyed every one of the little subterranean buggers. Would highly recommend it. Apparently you can buy the stations and baits yourself now if you are keen
[/b]

Yeh gonna do a home made version based on Havago's advice pretty much and check it myself, if they sell the poison I might need some but I don't expect they do.. probly need a contractor to do that bit...

While I would prefer to let them live.. for the good work they do in the garden....I just cannot afford to have problems with my house.. nor would I be comfortable with large quantities of pesticides being used to treat my home if they did get in.

PS: recommended reading for anyone who might deal with termites ie if you own a house or building... get the Agricultural department of West Australia to send you out some info... tis a good place to start