Termite Management

There is no simple answer to this question, it depends on a multitude of factors including the geographical location of the property and the surrounding environmental factors and conducive conditions, the type of construction of your property and the materials used and when the property was built.

The best thing that you can do is to have a termite inspection and then discuss the available options with your professional pest management technician based on their assessment and findings.

It is not generally a matter of one or the other, depending on factors such as the type of construction of your property, whether the property is built on a flat or sloping block, the materials used, the surrounding environmental factors and conducive conditions.

One option may provide better protection than the other for example, a property built on a monolithic slab, on a flat block, would be better protected by a non-repellent chemical termite barrier whilst a split level home on a sloping block would likely be better protected by a termite baiting system.

A physical termite barrier is installed at the time of construction and is designed to prevent concealed termite entry to a structure by forcing termites to track over the physical barrier.

You need to ensure that you have regular termite inspection so that your pest management technician can visually identify any termite leads if they track over the physical barrier or to determine if termites have gained concealed entry to your property, possibly indicating that the physical barrier may have failed and therefore an alternative termite management system, such as a chemical termite barrier may be necessary.

Australian Standards recommend that you should have your property inspected for termites at least annually but if you are in a high-risk area, then more frequent inspections could be advisable, also if you find any suspicious areas of damp, mould, mudding, timber decay or termite activity, then you should contact your pest manager to have an inspection carried out. Based on the findings of a termite inspection, your professional pest manager may recommend a termite treatment or preventative options for termite management.

Treatment of a termite infestation in an existing structure requires an integrated approach, including the destruction of the termites within the timber structures, measures to locate and destroy the termite nest where possible, implementation or the re-establishment of a preventative termite solution, such as a monitoring system or a chemical termite barrier and regular inspections to detect any ongoing or new termite activity.

The type of stage 1 termite treatment used will depend on several factors including the species of termite, the location of the property and environmental conditions, the time of year, the property construction and the property owners’ preferences.

The types of stage 1 termite treatments available for termite infestations include:

• Termite Baiting: A replacement food source providing to the termites that typically contains an insect growth regulator to prevent them from moulting, eventually resulting in complete colony elimination
• Termite Dusting: An appropriate pesticide dust is applied to the termite workings, the termites carry the dust particles on their bodies, eventually these particles are transferred back to the nest resulting in colony elimination
• Termite Foaming: An appropriate pesticide foam is applied to the termite workings, the treated termites transfer the pesticide to other termites and eventually back to the nest, resulting in colony elimination
• Direct Termiticide Application: An appropriate pesticide is applied to the nest directly, resulting in colony elimination

With respect to the pesticides used for treatments, providing they are used in accordance with their labels by a licensed pest manager, termite treatments are safe for pets and children.

The purpose of a termite treatment is to eliminate the identified termite infestation, regular termite inspections are still required to detect any new termite activity.