Don’t burn your house down to stop termites

Last week I did a job for a man who believed he had his house under control from termite attack.

He was and old bloke from the country and when he would service one of his cars he would pour the old oil around the perimeter of his house, on top of this he bought a bottle of chemical from Bunning’s (the bottle clearly says termite killer on the front) and he would spray this chemical in his weep holes once a month, also he had several bait stations he bought from Bunning’s in the yard.

He thought he would be right. No need to get an over priced termite guy to do an inspection or offer an opinion.

So he calls me when he discovers that termites have nearly collapsed the North Western side of his building.

I have to admit he was a very likable bloke in person and I understand where his thinking comes from. In the bush if you want something fixed you have to do it your self.

However there are some jobs where an expert opinion is very important. (These experts generally do not include people who stock shelves at Bunning’s).

Why this plan fell apart.

• Sump oil or creosol does deter termites however you can’t just pour it around your house and expect it to work
• Also it might help to set your house on fire but that’s something else altogether
• You cannot spay your weep holes and expect termites to stop from getting into other areas of your house
• Your bait stations are only useful in attracting termites and have no effect on termites unless active termites are found and baited with a colony eliminator
• Bait stations with out being regularly and competently checked are only attracting termites to your property.

Just because a chemical bottle says termite eliminator on it, does not mean your house will be protected from termites if you use this product. Termites are easily killed, the problem is finding them, randomly spraying chemicals you buy from Bunning’s is not going to do much in the way of protecting your house from termite ingress.

Call a professional termite technician and get his opinion on your management program – and pick his brain for any thing you can use to maintain this program or make your home less inviting to termites.

Damien