An average of 1 in 4 homes will be attacked during the life of the home.

There are are many different species of termites in Rockhampton and throughout Australia, but thankfully only a few of these cause problems to buildings.

Australian Termites are the greatest economic causes of damage to timber in homes or in forested areas. They are often regarded as the most destructive insect in the world.

Australian termite types.

There are three main types of termites in Rockhampton.

Subterranean Termites:

• Nasutitermies Walkeri
• Microcerotermes Turneri
• Coptotermes
• Heterotermes spp

Coptotermes species are widely considered as “public enemy number 1” in Australia.  They are considered the most destructive termites in Australia, as they can infest and destroy structural timbers and joinery timbers as well as furniture.

Subterranean termites are the main pest species of termites in Australia, most of them invade buildings from subterranean tunnels in the ground.

Dampwood Termites:

• Neotermes insularis
• Protermes adamsoni

These termites are low risk or are considered not significant pests of buildings. They mainly feed on timbers that are already decaying like dead trees and decaying stumps, or buildings with timber that is extremely weathered or damp.

Drywood Termites:

• Cryptotermes brevis
• Crytotermes primus

All the termite species (the ones that attack your homes and the non-pest species) often live side by side so proper identification is essential.

Correctly Identifying Australian termites can be a challenge, sometimes it is necessary to collect samples and send them to a scientific authority with a termite specialist.

As a trained and qualified Australian Termite technician, Mr Bond is able to determine which species of termite may be in your home and act accordingly.

Click here to learn about signs of termite activity.

Termite protection options.

Physical barriers:

Steel capping, woven mesh or a chemically impregnated membrane prevents termites from getting to the places we can’t visually inspect, for example, the slab penetrations for services like plumbing etc. A physical barrier lasts the life of the building but all it does is bring the termites into the open where the visual zones are. The termites build a mud lead over the barrier and can still gain entry into your home. It is important with a physical barrier that you have your property inspected for termites annually to ensure they have not gained entry past the barrier.

We use two products for physical barriers, one is FMC Homeguard which has been around since the start of physical barriers and the other is Greenzone which replaces ableflex with a chemically impregnated version of ableflex.

If you are renovating and in need of a professional builder we recommend Jamie Stait Builder.

Chemical barriers:
These do the same job as a physical barrier. The chemical used will dictate how often the system needs to be re-pumped. There are two types of chemical barriers:

Non-deterrent chemical barrier.
Termites do not realise this chemical is there, and they track through the chemical, pick up the chemical and take it back to their nest without realising. This works to spread the chemical around the colony and kill off the colony. This is by far the most effective barrier system on the market as it not only protects your property it also prevents further attacks.

Deterrent chemical barrier.
This option kills any termites that come into contact with the chemical, thus protecting your home when installed correctly. On the other hand, it does not kill the termite nest/colony as termites avoid this chemical and go elsewhere.

Reticulation System:

The only system we use is called Altis, we use this system due to it being the only system that can be laid down in 50m sections and when pumped the pressure through the line from the beginning to the end is consistent, most other systems can only be run about 10m and then you will be required to have another fill point placed.

This system uses a network of underground pipes which allows protection against termites by using precise control of the chemical application.  This is an ideal system if you live in a high risk area.

Your local Mr Bond, qualified termite technician, will create a pest management plan suitable for your property. Call us today 0405 110 540