Drilling & Injecting

Drilling concrete slabs and injecting chemical is one of the ways to protect a property from termites, and then there are obviously variations of those treatment methods depending on the type of construction and requirements of the treatment. However, there have to be a few specifications met to ensure it is done correctly. Here we will highlight a few for you to consider.

Hole Spacings! When holes are drilled to inject termiticide under a concrete slab to treat the footing of a wall, the holes cannot be more than 150mm from the wall. This home had holes exceeding 300mm. Needless to say, the original treatment failed and the home was re infested. 

Injecting Termidor under a slab.

Holes are often drilled around a perimeter to ensure a complete chemical barrier to prevent termites getting in.

Hole spacings on this property exceeded 300mm! Once again, they were beyond specification, holes should be between 150-300mm apart. The greater tolerance is reserved for porous soil types and rarely used in our practice. Ironically this was done on an internal wall that was a 

Once again, hole spacing was beyond specification. More examples below.... 

It's abandoned - termite bait stations!

Termite bait stations can be a very effective method of controlling termites, but only if the system is maintained. More often than not, a building with bait stations has an infestation due to a lack of proper maintenance of the perimeter baiting system. It's not uncommon for us to be called to a house with an infestation that already had a perimeter bait station monitoring system in place. When we check the bait stations, the attractant wood has been eaten out long ago......

So what can be done?

Well, the safest thing is to make sure that you have a reputable pest controller monitoring the bait stations, this may seem costly but it is so much cheaper than dealing with an infestation and subsequent damage.

Failing that, it may be prudent to check the bait stations yourself. At least something is being done to monitor termite activity, if you find termites, then you can call a pest controller (The Termite Trackers!) to eradicate the colony.

This bait station is far from effective as it is protruding significantly, the top should be flush with ground level.

This bait station was very close by to an termite entry point on a house, as you can see the termites have already eaten most of the wood out before abandoning it.

A Sentricon bait station graveyard, these bait stations were monitored for a while but have now been abandoned....

this bait station hadn't been checked for years....

Hot Water units - a constant source of moisture.

Termites love moisture, no wait, they NEED moisture to survive, so it's not surprising that a big part of a good inspection requires checking for sources of moisture. A storage hot water unit has a relief valve that is often dripping water. This persistent source of moisture is ideal for termites, as they need a reliable source of water to survive. Ensure that this water is piped away rather than dripping against the footing of your house, openly inviting termites.

The Overflow on this hot water unit (Copper pipe going into the soil) drains near the base of the house, coupled with all the vegetation nearby, this is a great invitation for termites.

This overflow is actually plumbed around the hot water unit, but still drains right against the house, it actually drains next to timber lattice! Once again, vegetation is prevalent around the base of the building.

Even concealed hot water units have insufficient drainage. 

Identifying termite galleries.

Evidence of termite damage is often visible before significant damage is done, obviously this depends on the type of timber, structure and termites that are infesting the property, however, with some familiarisation, you'll be able to pick up termite damage, hopefully before too much damage is done. 😊

Evidence of termite activity is clearly visible due to the mudding behind the studs and top plates of this cottage. 

You can clearly see how the termites have made it all the way to the roof trusses.

Although the mud gallery has been removed (this damage was done years before) you can clearly see the signs of termite damage. This spotting and staining on the surface are signs of termite activity, although it has not caused any structural damage to the timber. 

As you can see, if you become familiar with signs of termite activity, you have the knowledge of being able to detect activity yourself before too much damage occurs. Whilst we always recommend you get an insured professional to do a termite inspection in accord with AS3660 at least every 12 Months, it's great to have this knowledge as you might just pick up the evidence before your next inspection was due....

Moisture in subfloors.

Part of a good termite inspection will involve an inspection and report on subfloor conditions. Termites and other timber pests (including wood rot) need moisture to survive. So it's important to know if your subfloor is wet or if there are moisture problems, things such as leaking pipes or overflows need to be reported on to make sure your property is at least risk of timber pests. 

Steel rusting from the high moisture in the subfloor.

Wood rotting due to extremely high constant moisture in the subfloor.

Subfloor covering

Access to the subfloor area of a house is vital for a proper termite inspection. More often than not, if there is a termite infestation then there will be evidence in the subfloor. Not only that, but anything that might be inviting termites into the building will probably be evident in the subfloor (Think leaking pipes and random bits of timber stored in the subfloor)

This garden area not only restricts access to the subfloor, but the plants and decaying organic matter is like a billboard inviting the termites in!

There's little hope of doing a good termite inspection with this much foliage! (And a greater chance of finding termites!)

Not only do the plants against the building compromise the building, but having the timber in the garden makes a great appetizer for the termites before they make it inside.

This subfloor opening was ONLY JUST big enough!

Ant capping - how does it work?

This ant capping actually did it's job, making sure the termites are visible.

It's often thought that Ant capping will keep termites out of a building, unfortunately it doesn't quite work that way. Ant capping prevents termites entering undetected, rather than stopping them completely. This is why regular inspections are important, not checking ant capping regularly is like having a security camera that is never looked at, it's not going to be of any use unless it's actively used!

Read our detailed blog post on how ant capping here.

Read Posts on all things Ant Capping.

Wood rot - timber in garden areas.

A rotting landscaping timber - due to constant moisture being present.

Quite often, wood rot is overlooked as a timber pest. But fungal decay can be a great cause of timber damage, as well as a sign that timbers are susceptible to termite attack.

It's important that any timber that is in ground contact is treated, and if it's not in ground contact that it's sealed. Otherwise it will easily rot especially if the climate or environment around the timber allows a constant supply of high ambient moisture to feed the fungus.

His timber post wasn't even in contact with the soil, but it's exposure to the elements have allowed it to rot significantly.  

Extensive damage - often concealed!

Extensive termite workings, the termites made themselves right at home, then invited all their friends and family over for an all you can eat buffet....

Termites make themselves right at home in yours. This infestation was an extensive one, with large amounts of damage done to structural timbers on this house. Interestingly (or maybe not so much) the extent of the damage was only fully realised after the plaster board was removed and the frames visually inspected.