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Protecting New Homes Against Termites
The Building Code of Australia, which is administered by local government authorities, requires various measures be taken when your home is built.
In the past, persistent organochlorine chemicals were sprayed beneath homes. Organochlorines have now been withdrawn from use, due to community concerns, and replaced with more acceptable alternatives. Applied correctly these alternative control agents will help prevent concealed termite entry. There is no system that can prevent termite entry. Termites may still gain undetected entry if you don't take basic steps to help maintain the defenses to your home that have been put in place.
How can you help ensure your home remains safe?
1. Always read and follow the guidelines and recommendations issued by your builder or pest manager. They are designed to ensure maximum protection.
2. A termite barrier abutting the perimeter walls of your home is essential to protecting your home. You must avoid disturbing this barrier. If it is disturbed then concealed entry by subterranean termites is possible. If you have not had this barrier applied yet then your home remains fully exposed to termites gaining concealed entry.
3. Any termite protection program can be rendered ineffective if building alterations or additions are made. The construction of pergolas, awnings, verandahs, etc can provide a route of entry into protected property.
4. With concrete slab homes it is important that you ensure the edge of the slab is left exposed and that the weep holes in between the bricks, found immediately above the slab, are also left exposed. By building up gardens or soil levels over the edge of the slab, termites can gain entry into your home and breach the established barriers.
5. With suspended floor homes any material that may be conducive to termite infestation, including any formwork, timber, tree stumps and similar materials must be kept out of the subfloor and away from the external walls of your home.
6. Ensure that termite shielding (metal strips around the foundation) is not damaged or breached in any way. Termite shields do not prevent termite entry. They are intended to force termites out into the open so they can be detected by regular inspection.
7. Ensure leaking taps, showers, pipes, etc under the home or adjacent to it are immediately repaired in order to reduce moisture levels in the sub floor.
8. Ensure that vents to sub-floor areas are never blocked. These keep the subfloor dry so termites are not attracted to the area.
9. Do not use untreated timbers to form garden beds or retaining walls as these will attract termites.
If you intend to make changes that may affect the protection of your home, as mentioned above, then ensure you contact your pest manager first.
Concrete paving is a great idea!
You can greatly enhance the security of your home by constructing a one metre wide concrete path on a treated sand bed, around the entire perimeter of your treated sand bed, around the entire perimeter of your home. If installed correctly, termites will have to build a mud tube across the pathway to gain entry and can then be more easily dealt with. Make sure the edge of the home slab is not concealed by the paving.
The path must be treated first. This is done through the installation of a soil barrier by your pest manager.
Regular inspections
The Australian Standard provides details for minimising the risks to buildings from termite attack, and methods for treatment to control termite infestations. The provision of a complete termite barrier will impede and discourage termite entry into buildings. It cannot prevent termite attack. Termites can still bridge or breach barriers but they can be detected more readily during routine inspections.
Consequently, it is strongly recommended that you have your property inspected every six months. Your pest manager can perform this inspection for you.
He will perform a thorough survey of your property, including the garden areas and trees where termite nests may be found, and provide you with a full written report detailing the results of his inspection. Appropriate recommendations on treatment and measures you should take to help ensure the security of your home will be outlined.
If you find any evidence of termites, damaged timbers, mud workings, etc, then immediately contact your licensed pest manager.