Termite Prevention

“When it comes to termite prevention, there are two types of homes in Melbourne – those with termites, and those that are about to get them”
There are a variety of factors that can heighten your risk of termite infestation and some important practical measures designed to help you reduce the risks with a proper termite prevention plan.

termite prevention

Reduce any excess moisture around and under the home

Termites require moisture to survive. It’s important to reduce the moisture in and around your home!

  • If you have an automatic watering system or regularly water the plants in garden beds adjacent to the house, don’t over water the garden, this excess moisture can make your home attractive to termites
  • Any leaking garden taps, showers or sub floor pipes must be repaired immediately.
  • Plumb any overflows from hot water units, rainwater tanks and air-conditioning units into an appropriate drainage point.
  • Ensure that all ground water drains naturally away from the house
  • Repair any broken gutters and downpipes making sure they correctly discharge into a storm water drain.
  • Broken roof tiles and damaged eaves can cause dampness and moisture to accumulate in the wall cavities causing timber to rot. This is a high risk situation encouraging concealed termite activity to occur within the building.
  • Make sure that the subfloor is kept dry, cleared of stored goods and well ventilated at all times.
  • Do not obstruct the sub floor vents and weep holes with garden beds or other debris as this will impede cross flow ventilation. • The installation of more wall vents or a wind driven or electrically powered ventilator system, will reduce the humidity and moisture levels in the subfloor. This in turn lessens the risk of wood decay and reduces the likelihood of an infestation taking place.

Don’t make it easy for the termites to sneak in!

  • Ensure that the sub-floor area is neat and cleared of any stored goods. Successful termite inspections rely on unimpeded access to all areas, particularly in the sub-floor where clutter may hide evidence of termites invading your home.
  • Homes on concrete slabs are particularly susceptible to concealed termite ingress. Termites often gain entry into the wall cavity via obscured weep holes in brick walls and minute cracks in the slab edge. Do NOT allow these areas to be covered by pavers, garden beds, landscaping timbers or planter pots, etc.
  • Building up garden beds or soil levels around the exterior of the home can allow termites to gain undetected entry and possibly breach any existing termite barriers. For this reason, all external paving or garden beds should be finished off to at least 150mm below floor level.
  • Avoid letting climbing plants or creepers to grow against the walls of your house as these plants can provide termites with concealed entry.
  • With Termites it’s a simple case of ’better the devil you know’….Get frequent if not, at minimum yearly inspections so that any attack is caught as early as possible. Your home is your biggest investment, and an inexpensive annual house check-up is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
  • A Termite inspection is recommended by the Australian Standard and the CSIRO as the best termite prevention step you can take to ensure your home has a clean bill of health. Failure to uncover a termite attack can cost you dearly.

Reduce termite food sources under and around the home!

  • Termites extract cellulose (they food they require for survival) from wood and paper products. If you leave any of these products in direct contact with the ground it will increase the risk of an attack.
  • Reduce the risk by removing any timber, cardboard, paper or polystyrene based products in contact with the soil, failure to do so is asking for trouble. Clear the exterior perimeter, sub-floor and roof void areas of anything that has the potential to attract termites (Stored wood and cardboard boxes lying on the ground make great termite food!)
  • Make sure any firewood is stored away from the building and off the ground and avoid using un-treated landscaping timbers and mulch when forming garden beds and retaining walls close to the house.
  • Posts for, pergolas, verandas, decks and gates including weather boards & sub floor base boards should not be in direct contact with soil or be obscured by paths or pavers.
  • Remove any dead trees or stumps from your property as they are ideal sites for termites to nest in. Leaving them to rot in the garden bed will only increase the risk to your property.

Install a Termite monitoring system around the home!

“If you reside in a high risk area, it’s essential to protect your home. Early detection is the key to limiting the damage.”

Long term termite protection can be achieved by the installation of a chemical or physical termite management system, or a combination of both. These systems can be employed as a pre-emptive strike, preventing termites from penetrating the structure forcing them to either build their mud tubes out in the open or show up inside a monitoring station where they can be detected during a routine inspection. Termite Monitoring and treatment systems reduce the risk of termite attack dramatically by placing a permanent “safety bubble” around your home.

  • Termite Monitoring and Baiting involves the use of unobtrusive termite bait stations, which are strategically placed in the ground around your structure detecting and intercepting any termite activity. Our technicians will routinely monitor these stations for foraging termites and if activity is detected, bait is then added to the system. Termite workers consume this non repellent bait and unwittingly transfer it back to the nest feeding it to others, ultimately eliminating the colony. The bait inside these stations is highly attractive and palatable to termites but non-toxic to pets and children, giving you peace of mind that your home and your family are protected.
  • Chemical Management Systems form a continuous ‘treated zone’ around the exterior of your structures building envelope and may employ a range of repellent or non-repellent Termiticides designed to either block the termites, force them into disclose their presence or, (in the case of non-repellent), unknowingly transfer the chemical back to the nest via feeding and grooming rituals eventually resulting in the annihilation of the colony. Chemical choices can vary from low-toxicity to non-toxic in nature depending completely on your preference and the mode of action required.

Unsure if you have termites? Take our FREE 2 minute quiz here.